Las Vegas- A little history

 

Registration for the first SAGA Retreat of 2015 will open on Monday, 1 December at 10:00 am Central Time. The location is Las Vegas- so here is a little information about the city.



 

Las Vegas is the most populated city in Nevada and one of three leading cities in the US for conventions and business meetings.

Established in 1901 and incorporated as a city in 1911.

It is thought that the earliest visitors to the Las Vegas area were nomadic Paleo-Indians, who traveled here 10,000 years ago, leaving behind petroglyphs. Anasazi and Pauite tribes followed at least 2,000 years ago.

In 1829 a trader named Antonio Armijo led a 60 man party along the Spanish Trail to Los Angeles and these were the first non-Native Americans credited with entering the valley.

The area was named Las Vegas, which is Spanish for "the meadows", as it featured abundant wild grasses, as well as desert spring waters for westward travelers.

John C. Fremont arrived in the area in 1844 and his writings helped lure pioneers to the area. Downtown Las Vegas’ Fremont Street is named after him.

Eleven years later members of the Latter Day Saints church chose Las Vegas as the site to build a fort halfway between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, where they would travel to gather supplies. The fort was abandoned several years afterward. The remainder of this Old Mormon Fort can still be seen at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Washington Avenue.

1931 was a pivotal year for Las Vegas. At that time, Nevada legalized casino gambling and reduced residency requirements for divorce to six weeks. This year also witnessed the beginning of construction on nearby Hoover Dam. The influx of construction workers and their families helped Las Vegas avoid economic calamity during the Great Depression. The construction work was completed in 1935.

In 1941, the Las Vegas Army Air Corps Gunnery School was established. Currently known as Nellis Air Force Base, it is home to the aerobatic team called the Thunderbirds.

Following World War II, lavishly decorated hotels, gambling casinos and big-name entertainment became synonymous with Las Vegas.

The 1950s saw the opening of the Moulin Rouge, the first racially integrated casino-hotel in Las Vegas.

 

In 1951, the first atomic bomb was detonated at the Nevada Test Site, 65 miles (105 km) northwest of Las Vegas. City residents and visitors were able to witness the mushroom clouds until 1963 when the limited Test Ban Treaty required that nuclear tests be moved underground.

The iconic "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign, which was never located in the city, was created in 1959 by Betty Willis, who never copyrighted it.

During the 1960s, corporations and business powerhouses such as Howard Hughes were building and buying hotel-casino properties. Gambling was referred to as "gaming," which transitioned into legitimate business.

In 1989, entrepreneur Steve Wynn changed the face of the Las Vegas gaming industry by opening up The Mirage, the Las Vegas Strip’s first mega-casino resort.

Official City Website with tourist information such as weather things to do

http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/Visitor/default.htm