While Las Vegas vacations can vary, you really should consider making Fremont Street a part of any trip to the shining city in the desert. Next to the Las Vegas strip, Fremont Street is the second most well-known street in the city.
The street was named after John Charles Fremont, the European explorer who led an expedition through the Las Vegas region of Nevada in the 1840s. It is considered by most to be the heart of historic Las Vegas and was the home of many of the original Las Vegas casinos.
Located closed to The Strip, Fremont Street was at one time the quintessential picture of Las Vegas glitz. Images of the street were frequently used in movies and television shows to depict the glamour of Vegas, and the prevalence of neon signs in the district resulted in the nickname Glitter Gulch for Fremont Street.
The Fremont Street Experience is a theme park-like area in downtown Las Vegas and encompasses the five westernmost blocks of the street in addition to some of the adjacent streets. It is a pedestrian mall and features free live music nightly, other street performances, light shows, and various vendor booths, dining and bar venues. It is the home to the Neon Museum and also the location of Las Vegas’ annual New Year’s Eve bash.
With a rich history, Fremont Street is the beginning of many of Las Vegas’ advancements as a city and tourist town. It is where the first hotel, telephone, paved street, traffic light, elevator, high-rise building, and planned casino were added to the city. In 1995, it became the location of another of Las Vegas’ firsts – a themed show section of the city designed specifically as an indoor pedestrian mall with all the trappings of Vegas nightlife and then some.
The Fremont Street Experience is a four-block-long canopy that encloses the street, on which a nightly light show is put on. It is the world’s largest light show and the most spectacular show of its kind in the world as well. The panels of the canopy itself are comprised of multiple light bulbs and each is able to range the full spectrum of colors.
The project took nearly a year to complete and in 1995, the first light show was conducted in December. The city’s New Year’s Eve celebration was held at the new Fremont Street Experience locale in 1995 for the first time and continues to be one of the best tourist attractions for the city.
The following year, The Neon Museum at the Fremont Street Experience was opened. It is an outdoor museum in which classic neon signs from Vegas’ old casinos, hotels, restaurants and other businesses are displayed for pedestrians to view. Many of these old signs were stored in the outdoor bone yard of the Young Electric Sign Company and were deteriorating due to exposure to the elements. They are now slowly being refurbished and added to the offerings of the Neon Museum around the Fremont Street Experience.
Early in the new century, permanent performance stages were added to the Fremont Street Experience and nightly free concerts are now given with the help of an upgraded sound system. Another upgrade occurred in 2004 which changed the canopy lighting from incandescent bulbs to LED lights, allowing for an even more colorful and visually impressive display. This canopy is known as Viva Vision and runs between Main Street and Fourth Street, along the Fremont promenade. The canopy includes a whopping 220 speakers that provide the sound for the Fremont Street Experience light and sound shows.
Starting each night at dusk, light and sound shows are numerous and include a variety of themed visual performances. Some of the most popular are the tribute shows that pay homage to Vegas icons. Race car driving and alien invasions are among the other themes available. The 4th of July brings the American Freedom show and is a big hit with audiences.
If you want to see the historic Vegas while still experiencing some of the most incredible visual effects the world has to offer, Fremont Street is your destination spot. There are several Las Vegas hotels that call Fremont Street home and the prices for accommodations are less expensive than those on The Strip.
While The Fremont Street Experience encompasses the five blocks on the westernmost section of the street, the Fremont East District is of merit as well. It underwent some major improvements in 2007 and has revived some of its vintage Vegas glamor. The area is home to many city businesses, including restaurants, bars and clubs; it is just another reason to make Fremont Street a part of your Vegas getaway.
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