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At the intersection of Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard is a display of neon signs.
Photo by Jeff Scheid.
A portion of the Berlin Wall is found in a men's restroom near the Garden Court Buffet at Main Street Station (1).
Photo by Jeff Scheid.
Main Street Station features a Victorian-themed interior and is a good starting point for a downtown urban hike (1).
Photo by Jeff Scheid.
The California Hotel's Buddha is well-worn where gamblers have rubbed it for luck (2).
Photo by Jeff Scheid.
The walls of the Las Vegas Club are covered with photographs, posters, jerseys and an autographed baseball bat exhibit (3).
Photo by Jeff Scheid.
Visitors enjoy the light show beneath the electronic canopy of the Fremont Street Experience (4).
Photo by Jeff Scheid.
Vegas Vic, a 40-foot-high neon cowboy, has presided over downtown for 50 years (13).
Photo by Jeff Scheid.
Enjoy a shrimp cocktail for 99 cents and listen to David Morris perform on the baby grand piano at the Golden Gate (14).
Photo by Jeff Scheid.
The Blackhawk antique rail car, built in 1903, once served as a personal car for Buffalo Bill Cody and Annie Oakley (15).
Photo by Jeff Scheid.
Click above for an enlargement.
NEW SERIES DEBUTS
This is the first in a series of local excursions called Urban Hikes.
In the following months, writer Jenny Scheid and her husband, Review-Journal photographer Jeff Scheid, will be taking these hikes -- walks ranging from one to five miles -- through the residential and commercial neighborhoods of Southern Nevada.
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Sunday, February 04, 2001
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
URBAN HIKES: Doing Downtown
Walk through city's historic core
proves a rewarding experience
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Downtown Las Vegas doesn't have the glitz and glamour of the Strip with its themed megaresorts. In fact, most of the casinos are somewhat dated and worn.
Yet, it is their small sizes, friendly staffs and historical backgrounds that make these casinos so charming. And unlike the Strip, it's easy to walk from one casino to another. The main drag is a covered, traffic-free pedestrian walkway filled with entertainment, specialty items and drinks.
Dating back to the early 1900s, the downtown area is the historic core of Las Vegas. It was the gaming center long before there was an Eiffel Tower, pirate show or spouting volcano.
Casino owners Benny Binion, Jackie Gaughan and Sam Boyd made their fortunes downtown, and their families are still involved in the gaming institutions there.
1) Main Street Station
At the far northwest corner of downtown, Main Street Station displays a fabulous collection of antiques. Rich, dark woods prevail in the Victorian-themed interior.
Check out the turn-of the century apothecary cabinetry in the hotel's registration lobby; the ornate chandelier, which once hung in the Figaro Opera House in Paris; the brewpub's mahogany bar that once graced the Schlitz family home in Milwaukee; and the stained-glass window that was given to 1880s' singer/actress Lillian Russell by "Diamond Jim" Brady. Men can anoint a piece of the Berlin Wall in the restroom near the Garden Court Buffet.
Near the southeast entrance, an escalator leads up to a covered pedestrian bridge that crosses over Main Street to the California Hotel. Both Main Street Station and the California Hotel, as well as the Fremont Hotel down the street, are operated by the Boyd Gaming Corp. The hotels -- especially the California and Fremont -- cater to an Asian/Hawaiian clientele.
2) California Hotel
If you're going to gamble, you might want to improve your odds by paying a visit to the California Hotel's Buddha. A gift to the Boyd family, the rotund statue is near the hotel lobby, just past the Pasta Pirate restaurant.
His protruding belly is well-worn where gamblers have rubbed it for luck. Other believers leave money. The Buddha usually collects $1,000 a year, which is then donated to United Way in Hawaii.
3) Las Vegas Club
The Las Vegas Club, across Ogden Avenue from the California Hotel, is a sports fan's dream with its large collection of sports memorabilia. The walls are covered with photographs, posters, jerseys and an autographed baseball bat exhibit. The sports book even features bleacher seating, and the cocktail waitresses wear cheerleader uniforms.
4) Fremont Street Experience
All but a handful of downtown casinos face Fremont Street. Once a busy thoroughfare, Fremont Street was closed to traffic when a huge canopy was constructed over a four-block section in 1995 as part of a city redevelopment project called the Fremont Street Experience. The canopy towers 90 feet above the street and houses more than 2 million lights.
Starting at sundown, a free, computer-generated light and sound show is presented hourly. There are several themed shows. For a schedule of shows and times, check the Web site www.vegasexperience.com.
5) Binion's Horseshoe
There's nothing fancy about Binion's Horseshoe, just a long tradition of catering to the serious gambler.
An exhibit near the front entrance of the casino features a collection of guns: a Smith & Wesson .32 owned by matriarch Teddy Jane Binion, a .357 Magnum that belonged to former Desert Inn owner Moe Dalitz and a Benny Binion commemorative Winchester with a gaming chip embedded in the handle. Along the east wall of the casino is the Poker Hall of Fame photo gallery, where you can view winners of the Horseshoe's World Series of Poker.
6) Fremont
The Fremont is home to our favorite downtown restaurant, Second Street Grill. A Zagat Survey top vote-getter, Second Street Grill features a fusion of American and Pacific Rim cuisine.
7) Fourth Street
Past the Fremont are a number of shops and fast-food restaurants. You'll be coming up to the intersection of Fourth Street. Although the Fremont Street Experience canopy extends another block to Las Vegas Boulevard, Fourth Street is a throughway, so keep an eye on the traffic light.
8) Neonopolis
An empty lot dominates the northeast corner of Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard. This is the future site of Neonopolis, a $100 million retail, food and entertainment complex. The project has a proposed completion date of early 2002.
9) Neon Museum
At the intersection of Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard is a display of neon signs. The public art exhibit is courtesy of the Neon Museum, which acquires old Las Vegas signs, refurbishes them and puts them on display.
The most prominent is the Hacienda Horse and Rider, found in the center of Las Vegas Boulevard. Others include Aladdin's Lamp and Andy Anderson, Anderson Dairy mascot from the 1950s.
10) Race Rock
The east end of Fremont Street Experience is anchored by Race Rock, a full-service, motorsports-themed restaurant. Race fans will want to check out the two-story facility, which is jampacked with memorabilia from all forms of motorsports.
11) Fitzgeralds
One of the best places to catch a Fremont Street Experience light show is from the second-floor balcony of Fitzgeralds. Just take the escalator up to the second level. The small balcony can get crowded during the shows, so get there about 15 minutes early.
12) Golden Nugget
The Golden Nugget is downtown's most upscale hotel and casino. Wind your way past the cashier's desk and craps tables back toward the shops. There you will find the world's largest gold nugget at 61 pounds 11 ounces on public display.
Around the corner above the VIP services desk in the lobby is a painting by LeRoy Neiman. Commissioned by former Golden Nugget-owner Steve Wynn in 1988, the artwork depicts a number of high-stakes table games.
Look for entertainers Kenny Rogers and Paul Anka talking to a seated Wynn in the lower left corner of the painting. Neiman himself is shown seated at the baccarat table.
13) Vegas Vic
Las Vegas' most famous neon icon is near the west end of Fremont Street underneath the canopy. Vegas Vic, a 40-foot-high neon cowboy, has presided over downtown for 50 years.
From atop the now-defunct Pioneer Club, he greeted visitors with a booming "Howdy Partner." Then in 1966, actor Lee Marvin -- in town filming a movie -- complained of the noise, and the imposing cowboy was silenced for more than 20 years.
14) Golden Gate
The funky Golden Gate sits on the southwest corner of Fremont Street. The Golden Gate originally opened as the Hotel Nevada in 1906. The history of those early days as well as that of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco are commemorated in photos on walls throughout the small casino.
The Golden Gate is most famous for its shrimp cocktail priced at 99 cents, available in the back delicatessen; a lemon wedge is an additional 5 cents. A pianist entertains nightly.
15) Blackhawk Rail Car
The Blackhawk antique rail car sits on the west side of Main Street between the Plaza and Main Street Station. Built in 1903, it served as a personal car for Buffalo Bill Cody and Annie Oakley, and is now part of the rail car collection featured at Main Street Station.
If you've worked up a thirst, continue on to Main Street Station where downtown's only microbrewery, the Triple 7 BrewPub, serves up five of its own creations.
Total mileage: 1.6 miles.
Best time to go: Evening.
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