In search of ‘Old’ Las Vegas

Las Vegas is a strange place. Its central, tourist heart is at once sprawling and compact, and it assaults the senses both in the daytime and after dark. It is a welcome site when you first see it on the I-15’s horizon, towers sprouting up in the haze of the Nevada heat. Get closer and the buildings multiply and suddenly you’re in a maze of concrete and traffic and many signs. Signs everywhere, advertising casinos, hotels, wedding chapels and fast food. At night these take on a seedier edge. One van drives up and down the Strip exclaiming ‘escorts, direct to you!’ on its oversized advertising hoarding. Las Vegas, it seems, is not a place one visits for history, which is a shame as the city has a very interesting one. 

In my search for the Vegas of old I am staying on the Strip’s newest, and largest hotel, the Fontainebleau. It’s a 729 ft monolith, making it Vegas’ tallest tower. There are 3,644 rooms, 36 restaurants and bars, and a 173,000 sq ft casino. It opened in December 2023, and it feels brand new and with an attention to detail that’s lost on similarly huge hotels. It’s located a little further down the Strip, away from little Paris and New York, which instantly gives it a more relaxing feel. If you are positioned on the tower’s south side you get a view of the action from the comfort of your room. 

There wasn’t always as much to look at in Las Vegas. The modern settlement came to be in 1905, and in 1911 it formed part of Clark County, becoming the county seat. Prior to that, Native Americans lived in the Las Vegas valley as early as 10,000 years ago. The area was annexed to the United States in 1855, resulting in the widespread displacement of tribes including the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe. 

The city didn’t really become the Vegas we know today until the 1930s. In ’31, construction of the Hoover Dam, then known as the Boulder Dam, began. With it thousands of young male manual workers came to town, which is when the casinos, bars and theatres popped up. Prohibition didn’t end until 1933, but that didn’t stop a number of stores offering illegal liquor sales before then. In January of ’31, the Prohibition Bureau undertook its longest ever series of raids, with twenty-three agents from Los Angeles uncovering nine Las Vegas speakeasies in an undercover operation.  

Only a few months later in May ’31, the first hotel-casino resort was unveiled. The Meadows Club, opened by Frank and Louis Cornero, who were brothers of bootlegger Tony Cornero, was located on Fremont Street. It kickstarted a series of similar resorts, and the template for the Vegas hotel was set. It wasn’t long before the mafia got involved. 

The mob were the key to Vegas’ success, financing much of it throughout the ‘40s and ‘50s. The first mob-run hotel was the Flamingo, one of a number of hotels that were built on the Strip, moving Las Vegas’ centre away from Fremont Street. Billy Wilkerson, founder of The Hollywood Reporter originally came up with the idea, purchasing the land in 1945. But his mistake was the business partners he chose, one of whom was Benjamin ‘Bugsy’ Siegel. 

According to the Mob Museum in Las Vegas: “As Ben Siegel became more involved with the Flamingo construction, he sought to diminish Billy Wikerson’s role in the project. Ultimately, Siegel forced Wilkerson out. In March 1947, Siegel signed an agreement to buy out Wilkerson for $600,000. Siegel paid Wilkerson half the money in April, with the other half due in August.” Siegel had his own problems though, and was believed to be embezzling money from the casino. His mob associates found out, murdered him in June, and Meyer Lanksy took over. Wilkerson never got the rest of his money.

Today, the Flamingo, and the majority of Vegas, looks nothing like it did back then. The final part of the original Flamingo building was demolished in 1993 to make way for a huge high-res tower. Las Vegas, like many cities, has constantly reinvented itself, with new structures, ventures and ideas popping up every year. The Sphere is one such recent addition, and the re-arrival of Formula One has spurred a new interest in the city. 

There are snippets of history to be found. Take a drive down Fremont Street east and go back in time to the Vegas of old. This was where the majority of the resorts were located throughout the ‘30s before the Strip became a thing in the ‘40s. A far cry from the huge developments a mile down the road, the street is full of old motel signs, smaller casinos and the occasional sign for ‘strippers’. It’s interesting to see the difference in the buildings’ scale, as well as the original motor hotels and colourful signage. 

There are at least a couple of places trying to preserve Vegas’ history, too. The aforementioned Mob Museum on the nearby Stewart Avenue is an excellent telling of the mafia connection, as well as a general history on the city. It houses a pearl-gripped .38 Smith & Wesson belonging to Al Capone, and original ‘figural’ slot machines from the Pioneer Club, which closed in 1995. The Neon Museum too has collected a vast number of original signs from old casinos, displaying them in the backyard of the restored 1961 La Concha Motel. The museum’s mission has been to protect and restore these original neon signs, all of which have their own artistic and cultural significance. 

As for a place to stay, the Fontainebleau is a truly impressive operation. The building’s vastness can be slightly overwhelming, but the attentiveness of the staff instantly makes you feel at home. The rooms favour a clean, minimal decor, and the spa is perfect for a relaxing day, but the restaurants were the big standout. Chyna club offers its own take on Chinese fine dining, while Don’s Prime delivers some of the best steak you’ll find anywhere. Both restaurants are technically just off the casino floor, but you forget this as soon as you enter, which is a testament to the interior design, lighting and knowledgeable staff. 

The Fontainebleau, like Las Vegas, is an escape from reality. It’s why people have flocked to this desert oasis over the decades, throughout its varying shapeshifting forms. This is surely what drew those Hoover Dam workers to the city nearly a hundred years ago, and it remains true today.