Check out the Las Vegas Strip like you’ve probably never seen — PHOTOS
By Kristen DeSilva reviewjournal.com
Traffic and signs on the Las Vegas Strip on Dec. 31, 1986. (Jim Laurie/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Traffic is seen on the Strip in this March 1983 photo. (Gary Thompson/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Looking south on the Las Vegas Strip in March 1982. (Gary Thompson/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Road workers install a median on the Las Vegas Strip in this 1981 photo. (Rene Germanier/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
The Las Vegas Strip is seen in this March 1993 photo. (Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A cross is shown in front of an ad for "The Naked Sin" on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip in this undated photo. (Review-Journal file)
Signs on the Strip advertise a $3.95 steak dinner in January 1984. (Scott Henry/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A couple looks at the Strip from Sunrise Mountain in this undated photo. (Gary Thompson/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A TraveLodge and a wedding chapel are seen on the Las Vegas Strip on Aug. 10, 1970. (Rene Germanier/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Traffic and signs on the Las Vegas Strip on Dec. 31, 1986. (Jim Laurie/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
People walk in front of the Dunes in 1986. (Review-Journal file)
Traffic is seen in front of Bally‘s on the Las Vegas Strip in this undated photo. (Rene Germanier/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Signs are seen along the Las Vegas Strip advertising 99 cent gas in this 1989 photo. (Review-Journal file)
Mountains are seen in the background of the Las Vegas Strip in the 1980s. (Rene Germanier/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Women are seen filling out job applications for the El Rancho in this 1982 photo. (Rene Germanier/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
The Dunes hotel is shown in this March 1985 photo. (Scott Henry/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
The Dunes hotel and sign is shown in this 1990 photo. (Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Bettors line up at windows at the Dunes hotel in January 1981. (Scott Henry/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Joel Bledsoe installs neon bulbs to the "Oasis" sign addition to the Dunes hotel in August 1982. (Scott Henry/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
The view from a suite in the Dunes hotel is shown in this undated photo. (Review-Journal file)
A Las Vegas Sands sign is seen advertising Dean Martin in this 1982 photo. (Las Vegas News Bureau)
Joel Bledsoe installs neon bulbs to the "Oasis" sign addition to the Dunes hotel in August 1982. (Scott Henry/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A showgirl is seen at the Dunes in this 1993 photo. (Review-Journal file)
The Dunes sign is seen in this 1993 photo. (Jim Laurie/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A sign for the Aladdin is shown on the Las Vegas Strip in this 1987 photo. (Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Aladdin‘s lamp is seen during the closing of the Aladdin hotel in 1985. (Scott Henry/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
The El Rancho hotel is seen in this undated photo. (Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
"Pretty Dunes‘" showgirl, Kim Darvos, launches the groundbreaking ceremony for the Dunes‘ new gold course in this undated photo. (Las Vegas News Bureau)
People are seen at the Las Vegas Sands in this October 1981 photo. (Review-Journal file)
A lot has changed on the Las Vegas Strip since the Flamingo opened in 1946. For 10-20 years after opening night, the street exploded with life and business success — only for many of those businesses to be torn down and reimagined years later.
While the Flamingo still stands, the Strip isn’t recognizable today as the original animal it was.
Where the Dunes, played at by Liberace, Dean Martin and the like, stood from 1955 to 1993, now sits the Bellagio. The Stardust was imploded and became the location of the currently in-development Resorts World. The Aladdin became Planet Hollywood, and so on.
Many of the “original” Las Vegas Strip resorts could be seen and visited as late as the 1990s, when those properties began to be replaced with bigger and better attractions.
The turn of the century saw a dramatic shift on the Strip that continues today. Check out photos from the Strip’s past above.
Contact Kristen DeSilva at kdesilva@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @kristendesilva
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