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Tuscany in the Mojave
April 14, 2009
Paris and the Venetian aren't the only fake European cities within the confines of Clark County, Nevada. An often overlooked (if not the most overlooked) resort destination in Las Vegas is a place known as Lake Las Vegas. The reason for its relative obscurity is probably explained by the 25 mile drive from Lake Las Vegas to Planet Hollywood. I actually clocked it on the odometer. Throw traffic into the equation, and you have a solid 60-90 minute drive. Depending on how much you like faux-Europe, it may or may not be worth it. Lake Las Vegas is technically in Henderson, and is also called “The Lake Las Vegas Resort”. The primary objective of the resort is to create a “Mediterranean” theme for residents and visitors alike. From what I understand, the place is supposed to resemble Tuscany, and I guess it does to some extent. The lake itself has a shoreline of 10 miles, ... Read the full blog post...
First Friday in Las Vegas
April 4, 2009
Well, it was that time of month. No, not the time of month that most men fear. Yesterday was the first Friday of the month. Many cities nationwide have "First Friday" events to promote their Arts Districts, and Las Vegas is no different. While I am not a huge fan of the "loft" concept they are trying to push Downtown, I am a big fan of The Arts District. It's one of the few places on the West Coast that reminds me of my neighborhoods back east. From Dino's to the Outlet Mall, it's one of my favorite "hang out" areas in town that don't have anything to do with casinos whatsoever. It's actually a human-scaled, pedestrian/bike friendly area that I pray never becomes gentrified (read: ruined by yuppies). Last night was cold and windy. It was about 45 degrees, and we were getting solid 40Mph gusts. First Friday is usually packed, but the weather ... Read the full blog post...
Oscar's Legacy … Union Park
March 30, 2009
I headed Downtown this morning to take care of a few things. The real Downtown. Because traffic was somewhat, heavy, I took another one of my “super-secret” alternate routes. This route takes me past both the Las Vegas Outlet Malls (more on this in a later post) … and it also takes me past something that I refer to as “The World's Ugliest Building”, at least in its current state. This supposed work of art sits across from the World Market Center, and conclusively proves that art is truly in the eye of the beholder. I digress … This little detour also takes me directly past the future site of “Union Park”. Now, not a whole lot of people are familiar with Union Park, but for those of us who live in the environs of Downtown Las Vegas, it's actually a pretty big deal. Union park is a massive project that will not just sit ... Read the full blog post...
The Las Vegas Arts District
February 26, 2009
Yes, we have one. Sort of. What does a city do when it wants to charge above-market rent in otherwise seedy parts of town? They turn that part of town into an “Arts District”. Every city in America has an Arts District. Some have several, but they all serve the same purpose … gentrification. A depressing warehouse area on the fringe of Skid Row in Los Angeles got turned into an “Arts District”. Parts of Williamsburg, Brooklyn saw a similar “artist” influx. The same has happened in nearly every city throughout the country. Cities and towns attempt to gentrify a gritty area by making it hip and “funky”. In real estate parlance, “funky” means “this place is ghetto, but we are going to charge you a fortune anyway”. Most self-described artists embrace Art Districts. People like to categorize themselves and segregate themselves. It's human nature. “Artists” (whatever that term means) are no different. I was in the Arts ... Read the full blog post...
Sunrise Manor
February 23, 2009
When I began coming to Las Vegas about a decade ago, Sunrise Manor was my favorite neighborhood in town. This was The off-strip neighborhood to be in my opinion. It was actually my first choice as a Vegas home, but I moved here during the Real Estate boom, and properties in the area just weren't commanding reasonable prices at all. The houses there are custom built. Unlike Summerlin, Green Valley, Aliante, The Lakes, etc … Sunrise Manor is actually a very unique place in Las Vegas. Although some people (including myself) often refer to the area as “Sunrise Mountain” or simply “Sunrise”, the correct name for it is “Sunrise Manor”. To make matters even more complicated, the neighborhood is still mis-named. The mountain on which most of the neighborhood actually sits on is “Frenchman Mountain”. Apparently, the mountain drinks wine, laughs through its nose, and refuses to wear deodorant. There is a “Sunrise Mountain”, but ... Read the full blog post...
The PJ's
February 17, 2009
Even though they exist in every major American City, people are often very surprised when they learn that Las Vegas does, indeed, have housing projects. When I am sitting at a gaming table and I mention to people that I live here in Vegas, I often get replies along the lines of “Wow, I would love to live here. It must be paradise!” Some tourists simply assume that we all live in 9 bedroom mansions with three pools, showgirls as maids and white tigers in our backyard. It is hard to imagine that a tourist destination like ours would have actual housing projects. It's akin to opening a door at Disneyland and accidentally walking in on Mickey Mouse taking a dump. Nobody wants to think about such things. Now, there are huge differences between our projects, and the projects of other cities. The primary difference is that ours don't actually look that bad. Hell, they ... Read the full blog post...
Nora 2
January 29, 2009
There has been some talk of Nora 2 online lately, and I realized that unlike Naked City, few people outside of Las Vegas are really familiar with the area. Nora 2 is the “other” infamous neighborhood near The Strip. “Nora 2” is actually the police designation of a one square mile area of low-rise apartment buildings and strip malls, adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center, and about half a mile behind the Wynn Hotel. As a matter of fact, the Wynn hotel is an omnipresent fixture on the Nora 2 horizon as it is one of the few structures visible from practically every street in the neighborhood. In years past, the neighborhood has been, and is still … known by a half dozen other names. Personally, I called it “Crack Alley” for years. I called it this because this is the name that was conveyed to me by cab drivers when I first ... Read the full blog post...
Chinatown … Vegas-Style
January 20, 2009
I visited Chinatown this afternoon, and while there, I realized that many people outside of Las Vegas probably don't realize that we even have one. For such a relatively unknown place, Chinatown is actually quite close to The Strip. The neighborhood begins at Spring Mountain and Valley View, and is only a few blocks from the Rio and Palms Hotels. In order to get there, you simply head west on Spring Mountain Rd. … past Treasure Island, past the Fashion Show Mall, over the I-15, and you're there. It's about 1.5 miles west from Las Vegas Boulevard itself. Truth be told, almost every city has a Chinatown … or at least desperately wants to have a Chinatown. Some of them are interesting, and some of them suck, but every city in the U.S. feels utterly compelled to have someplace they consider “Chinese”. It's like a symbol of legitimacy or cosmopolitanism. You haven't truly reached ... Read the full blog post...
Naked City
January 18, 2009
“Naked City” is perhaps one of the most famous neighborhoods in Las Vegas. Well, not so much famous as notorious. It is not only well-known to locals, but if you mention Naked City to practically anyone in the U.S., they have at least heard of it. It has quite the reputation as being one of the seediest areas in the country. At one point it was renamed “Meadows Village”, but nobody calls it that. It is, was, and always will be Naked City to us Las Vegans. Naked City is a neighborhood in Las Vegas which is roughly bounded as follows: North: Utah Ave. East: Las Vegas Blvd. South: Sahara Ave. West: Industrial Rd. To more accurately describe it to the layperson, Naked City encompasses pretty much everything within a quarter mile of The Stratosphere Hotel and Casino. If you've ever stayed in the Stratosphere, and were assigned a west or north-facing room … then you've seen Naked City. ... Read the full blog post...
This Was Once A Neighborhood
January 7, 2009
You are looking at what used to be The Desert Club Apartments, The Winnick Apartments, The Flamingo Arms Apartments, and The Summer Bay Resorts. Back in 1962, this entire area was known as “Flamingo Estates”, and it was actually one of the few neighborhoods in central Las Vegas built to be livable without owning a motor vehicle. For as long as I have lived here, this square mile area was, by far, the most convenient area in which to live in Las Vegas. The apartments were certainly not the nicest, but neither were they the worst. I knew many a person who called the place home, and a solid majority of them were reasonably happy there. This was one of the few RESIDENTIAL neighborhoods on the Vegas Strip, and I actually contemplated moving there more than a few times. There were few vacancies, and the views from the units sucked, but you could literally ... Read the full blog post...
