The Way We Were

The longer you live in a town, the more changes you see. Nowhere is that more true than in Las Vegas.

But not all change is good. Sometimes, old places and things just seem -- for reasons of familiarity, or sentimentality or maybe just nostalgia -- better than their replacements.

Here's what we mean.

We miss: Shows with goofy names

We're not so crazy about: Shows with names that sound like they come from focus groups

There was a time when producers were unashamed of coming up with over-the-top names for Las Vegas shows. Take "Dan Sin' Dirdy," a show at the old Marina hotel in the late '80s that capitalized on the success of the film "Dirty Dancing." And then there was "Nudes on Ice," which was so Vegas-perfect on so many levels.

Now we have "Ka" and "Zumanity" and other titles that could be the names of just-merged corporations. Blah.

We miss: Restaurants that serve up good food with a distinctive Vegas vibe

We're not so crazy about: Restaurants run by people who wouldn't know The Green Shack from The Green Door

Ah, The Green Shack, that haven on Fremont Street that opened its doors in 1932 and was famous for its skillet-fried chicken dinners. By the time it closed for good in 1999, it was Las Vegas' oldest restaurant and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Freddie G's. Hilda's Living Room Lounge in North Las Vegas. These now-deceased eateries -- products of evolution rather than deliberate design -- offered nutrition for both body and psyche, unlike today's high-concept restaurants that appear to be more of a feast for touristy eyes.

We miss: The old movie theater at Bally's

We're not so crazy about: Multigigamegaplexes

Park in the back of Bally's and walk into a comfy movie theater with plush seats, where you could order up a gin and tonic from the cocktail server and settle in for a big-screen showing of "Gaslight" or "Casablanca."

Such was possible until the '90s at Bally's, which, thanks to its previous incarnation as the MGM Grand, regularly showed a slate of classic movies in surroundings upscale theaters have only recently begun to emulate.

We miss: Tower Records at The Wow! Store

We're not so crazy about: Big box music emporiums

At the old Tower Records, record -- excuse us, CD -- buyers felt as if they walked into a touring company production of "High Fidelity," where clerks not only knew about the music they were selling but were passionate about it, too.

Compare and contrast, if you will, to today's big box stores, where ever-declining stocks of CDs are sold as if they're the aesthetic equivalent of microwave ovens.

In a day when most of us buy music via download, perhaps we mourn too much. But there are times when talking about the music we love is as important as merely listening to it.

We miss: Vegas World

We're not so crazy about: The homogenization of Las Vegas casinos

While Las Vegas eras are tricky things to pin down, the demise in 1995 of Bob Stupak's Vegas World -- now the site of the Stratosphere -- was the transition point between gaudy Vegas and classy Vegas.

Yes, the opening of The Mirage in 1989 foretold of big changes. Yet, Vegas World lingered with its mirrored walls, flashing lights and, for some reason, a spaceman and spaceship hanging from the ceiling, and an exterior that looked like the Smithsonian Institution without the dignity.

As tacky as it was, there are times we'd love to once more experience the seizure-inducing Vegas World on a busy Saturday night.

We miss: Locally produced entertainment programs

We're not so crazy about: The look-alike news shows that now make up the bulk of local programming

Locally produced entertainment shows have a long and venerable history. In Las Vegas alone, longtime viewers fondly remember such local TV personalities as Jack Lehman (later a District Court judge) portraying spaceman "Commander Lee," and affable hosts Jack Kogan and Gus Giuffre, and even Jim Parker as "The Vegas Vampire."

In fact, as recently as the '80s and early '90s, Las Vegas Valley residents still could have watched the R-J's own Nathan Tannenbaum hosting "Tarzan Theater" on KTNV-TV, Channel 13, and Count Cool Rider hosting Saturday night horror flicks on what is now KVCW-TV, Channel 33.

Really, how hard would it be for a local station to invest a few bucks on a package of old movies and find a witty Southern Nevadan to play host?

We miss: Having the most prominent buildings on the Strip skyline be casinos

We're not so crazy about: The creeping condo-ization of the Strip

Remember when the Strip's skyline was dominated by hotel-casinos? Not anymore, as luxury condos have overtaken what should be the most prominent landmarks on what we humbly assert to be the most famous boulevard in the world.

It's just not as fun to drive a visitor along the Strip and say, "condo, condo, Sahara, condo, condo, condo, Venetian, condo, condo ..."

Scratch that. It's more than not fun. It's just wrong.

We miss: Free-standing bowling alleys

We're not so crazy about: Bowling "centers" in casinos

Granted, the Showboat lanes were something to see. But we can't help feeling a pang of nostalgia for all of the free-standing bowling alleys that once dotted the local ten-pin landscape.

Maybe it's just our imagination, but at places such as the old West Hill Lanes at Charleston and Decatur boulevards, the beer seemed colder, the hamburgers grilled to just the right degree of greasy deliciousness, and anybody who'd dare to suggest bowling to a music video accompaniment would have been rightly shunned.