Editorial: Marking time downtown

Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007 | 7:15 a.m.

A s arched gateways and such illuminated wonders as a gigantic martini glass pull visitors' attention upward, the people and events that helped make Las Vegas an entertainment capital will be under the feet of those who stroll the new Fremont East District in downtown Las Vegas.

According to a story by the Las Vegas Sun's Mark Hansel, 18 bronze medallions will be embedded in the sidewalks of the area between Las Vegas Boulevard and Eighth Street to commemorate such events as the 1905 railroad land auction that allowed creation of the city, the 1906 opening of its first hotel and the 1931 legalization of gambling.

Markers will memorialize some of downtown's early casino owners, such as Benny Binion and Bugsy Siegel. And they will tell of a bygone era's odd and seedy side, marking the 1938 ban on saddled horses inside casinos and the 1942 closure of the infamous "Block 16" red-light district.

Certainly, there are important events and names missing from this brief stroll through Las Vegas history. But the Fremont East District's $5.5 million beautification project - of which the markers are a small part - is designed to help brand the area as an entertainment hub with new restaurants and nightclubs.

It makes sense that these markers follow an entertainment theme - even when the entertainment is bizarre, such as the Nevada Test Site's first atomic blast in 1951. Many longtime Las Vegans still can recall heading into the mountains to watch mushroom clouds rise high over the desert, at a time when the risks of such blasts were not well known.

It doesn't always take a multimillion-dollar museum to help people learn something about the history of their surroundings. A few attractive, well-placed markers can do the trick. We hope to see more such markers included in future projects, to help visitors and locals discover the pioneering figures and diverse cultures that laid the foundation of what has become a great city.