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“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.  It’s that ghetto underneath you.  If you have ever parked in the Stratosphere self-parking garage, then you have driven through the far eastern edge of Naked City.

When you mention this neighborhood to most locals, it typically invokes fear and loathing as it is one of the most notorious areas in the entire Las Vegas Valley.

The neighborhood is plagued with drug dealing, prostitution, violence, and, well … pretty much every type of crime imaginable.

Of course, it wasn’t always like this.

The neighborhood was actually quite a tourist attraction back in the day.  The area was a popular hangout and home for showgirls, and they used to lounge by the pools without clothes on … which is how the area got its name “Naked City”.

Hell, I’m sure it would have been my first stop if I was around back then.

Today, there are no naked showgirls to be found around these apartment complexes.

Now, the neighborhood is bad.

How bad?

Taxi drivers are advised to completely avoid the area.   There is an average of almost two drug arrests per night in this very small geographical area … which is pretty impressive given that the police themselves often avoid the area out of fear for their own safety.

As a matter of fact, it is generally considered the most dangerous neighborhood not only in Las Vegas, but possibly the entire West Coast.  I can’t think of any other ½ square mile in the United States with almost 500 drug arrests yearly.

The Stratosphere’s location, practically in Naked City, is one of the reasons that this otherwise fine property has developed quite a poor reputation over the years.  The walk from the Sahara to the Strat takes people to the fringes of The Naked.

People riding the rides on top of the Stratosphere Tower aren’t nearly as afraid of falling off the tower, as they are of landing in Naked City.  If the fall doesn’t kill you, one of the local neighborhood residents will.

I make it a point not to hang out in The Naked too often, but that is exactly where I found myself today.  I happened to be looking for a particular place in the neighborhood, and I had to drive up and down every street in NC before I found my destination.

I actually kind of like the street names of this hood.  New York Ave, Chicago Ave, Philadelphia Ave, Boston Ave, St. Louis Ave, … it really seems like they had different plans for the area.  Perhaps a different city theme on every street?  That would have actually been quite cool, but it never materialized.

What always strikes me about this place is that in the daytime, it actually doesn’t look all that bad.  It’s just a bunch of apartments. It doesn’t look upscale, but it really doesn’t look terribly ominous either.

I was eyeballed by each and every person on the street.

Was I an undercover officer?

Some lost, hapless tourist ripe for a car jacking?

Somebody looking to score crack?

A rival gang member?

They did their level best to figure that out with each turn I made.

Hell, I even rode with the windows down.

As a matter of fact, the widely accepted test as to whether or not you have a nice car is to drive through Naked City with your windows down.

If you get a gun shoved in your face, the car is decent.  If not, you are driving a piece of crap.

I failed the test.  The gang bangers had absolutely no interest in my car, and frankly, I feel a little insulted.

I mean, at least show some respect and make a verbal threat or throw a rock or something.  There is no need to be so insulting as to make absolutely no attempt to steal the car.  That’s just cruel.

There have been some attempts to clean up this area over the years.

For instance, not only was the Strat built here, but so was the upscale Allure condos.  I always wondered how the people in the million dollar condos felt about overlooking this neighborhood, but as they have all probably been foreclosed upon by now … most of Naked City could possibly be comprised of former Allure residents at this point.

While most of the nude showgirls are gone from the area, they haven’t completely abandoned the area.

Believe it or not, one of the most popular topless pools in the city for Strippers and Showgirls is called “Beach Club 25”, which is located on the 25th floor of The Stratosphere Hotel.  This is what the pool looks like from ground level.

And here’s the pool from The Tower:

I guess some things never change.

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