[T-Rob123]

While Skyping with my parents last night and talking about our June trip to Vegas (meeting them out there for my Mom's 60th) she said the only time she'd ever been to LV was back in 72 or 73. She said that she visited Caesar's, The Flamingo and The Sands, but they never made it to "the strip" meaning Freemont.
Of course now people call LVBlvd The Strip, just curious when did that transition take place?

Hope everyone is having a merry Christmas.

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by T-Rob123

While Skyping with my parents last night and talking about our June trip to Vegas (meeting them out there for my Mom's 60th) she said the only time she'd ever been to LV was back in 72 or 73. She said that she visited Caesar's, The Flamingo and The Sands, but they never made it to "the strip" meaning Freemont.
Of course now people call LVBlvd The Strip, just curious when did that transition take place?

Hope everyone is having a merry Christmas.

Las Vegas Boulevard South, from Sahara Ave. to Russell Road, has been known as The Strip since the 40's or 50's (without looking up the exact date if there is one). Fremont (one 'e) Street is in downtown Las Vegas and has never been called The Strip. Although we have a Main Street which runs N-S, and Fremont St. runs E-W, Fremont St. has always been pretty much the main drag downtown, at least until they blocked off traffic from Las Vegas Blvd to 2nd St. and put a canopy over it in the 90's (Without looking it up I think it was about 1996). Then they/we renamed that part of it The Fremont Street Experience. So if your parents visited Caesars Palace, the Flamingo, or the Sands, they were on The Strip. It is a common mistake though - Downtown is Downtown, and The Strip is The Strip. The Strip is actually Las Vegas Boulevard South, and Las Vegas Boulevard North begins on the North side of Fremont St and runs from there through North Las Vegas, past Nellis AFB, all the way to I-15 near Apex, way north of town. Las Vegas Boulevard South, aka: The Strip, was once called the LA Highway also, so I believe The Strip name came about gradually among local PR people probably. Las Vegas Boulevard was also known as 5th Street in Las Vegas' early days.

[Tek_Freek]

You cause me to recollect a trip Mrs. Tek and I took (I cannot remember the year) when we saw them building the Excalibur. We both wondered if that casino would make it since it was so far away from the rest of the strip.

I guess it did okay...

[owelles]

Originally Posted by T-Rob123

While Skyping with my parents last night and talking about our June trip to Vegas (meeting them out there for my Mom's 60th) she said the only time she'd ever been to LV was back in 72 or 73. She said that she visited Caesar's, The Flamingo and The Sands, but they never made it to "the strip" meaning Freemont.
Of course now people call LVBlvd The Strip, just curious when did that transition take place?

Hope everyone is having a merry Christmas.

Mid-1940s. Guy McAfee, who owned several casinos downtown, including the Golden Nugget, named it after the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. McAfee was a former L.A. policeman.

I've never heard Fremont Street called The Strip, but maybe others have.

[T-Rob123]

Cool, thanks for the info.
I am guessing she either didn't know that where she was was called the strip, or she forgot. And over the years of hearing about the Las Vegas Strip and remembering that there were a ton of casinos on Freemont she probably just got confused, you know how Moms can be

[newopty]

I found an old photo of my parents standing in front of Hotel el Rancho Vegas. According to Wikipedia it was the first resort on the strip and opened in 1941.

[owelles]

Originally Posted by newopty

I found an old photo of my parents standing in front of Hotel el Rancho Vegas. According to Wikipedia it was the first resort on the strip and opened in 1941.

The date is correct, but it wasn't known as The Strip then. That was five years before Bugsy opened the Flamingo (exactly 66 years ago today - Dec. 26, 1946).

The El Rancho Vegas was on what was known as Highway 91 or, as Buzz correctly pointed out in an earlier post, the LA Highway.

[Exaday]

Originally Posted by T-Rob123

Cool, thanks for the info.
I am guessing she either didn't know that where she was was called the strip, or she forgot. And over the years of hearing about the Las Vegas Strip and remembering that there were a ton of casinos on Freemont she probably just got confused, you know how Moms can be

Good question!

I personally have never known the details, been the strip since I can remember in my life ( Since late 70's)

The Downtown vs. The Strip thing has always been a source of confusion for tourist.

I don't know how many times I have talked to an out-of-towner and they will refer to what we in Vegas most commonly call just 'downtown' as "The Old Strip", "Old Vegas"or some other name.

I don't know when people started calling "Downtown" by the name of "Fremont" either. The name Fremont has also been correct my entire life, but I take it that just before my time nobody called it Fremont. Obviously it is named after the road that is named after John C Fremont but the road was always there.

I personally always liked the name "Glitter Gulch"

I wonder how long that title has been floated around? Before my time at least.

Downtown Vegas is nostalgic, and become more so everyday. I hope they keep it like that and never change it except to tweak it to the modern taste of the time to some degree. It is smart to keep a rare old specimen of Americana preserved for future generations to see.

[T-Rob123]

Originally Posted by newopty

I found an old photo of my parents standing in front of Hotel el Rancho Vegas. According to Wikipedia it was the first resort on the strip and opened in 1941.

Sure it's true of any city, but this is one of the things I love about Las Vegas. The then & now aspect of it. I love seeing old pictures of places like El Rancho and then compare it how it looks today. One of the reasons why I love downtown, or what I've always been guilty of calling "Old Vegas".

[dynimagelv]

NOOO NOOOO Old Vegas is out by Bonnie Srings Ranch