Fremont Street

Fremont Street is a street in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is the second most famous street in the Las Vegas metropolitan area after the Las Vegas Strip. Named in honor of explorer John Charles Frémont and located in the heart of the downtown casino corridor, Fremont Street is (or was) the address for many famous casinos such as Binion's Horseshoe, Eldorado Club, Fremont Hotel and Casino, Golden Gate Hotel & Casino, Golden Nugget, The Mint, and the Pioneer Club.

Prior to the construction of the Fremont Street Experience, the western end of Fremont Street was the picture of Las Vegas that was included in virtually every television show and movie that wanted to display the lights of Las Vegas. The abundance of neon signs, like cowboy Vegas Vic, earned the street the nickname of "Glitter Gulch".

History

Fremont Street dates back to 1905, when Las Vegas itself was founded.

While gambling was well established prior to being legalized, the Northern Club in 1931 received one of the first 6 gambling licenses issued in Nevada and the first one for Fremont Street.

"Glitter Gulch" was closed to vehicle traffic in September, 1994 to begin construction on the Fremont Street Experience.

Film and media history

* The 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever featured a chase scene in which James Bond, running from Las Vegas police, side-rolls a car through an alley exiting onto Fremont Street.
* The 1987 music video for the song I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2 was filmed on Fremont Street and featured the band members wandering around, while The Edge played an acoustic guitar.
* 1998 Very Bad Things featured Fremont Street in the movie.
* 1992's Honey, I Blew Up the Kid prominently featured Fremont Street in the movie.
* In 1994, "Glitter Gulch" was featured prominently in the TV Miniseries The Stand.
* The 1997 comedy Vegas Vacation includes a few scenes on Fremont Street.
* In the 2004 movie , Steve the Pirate is seen along the Plaza near the Fremont Street Experience.
* In a 2005 release, Panic! at the Disco released a song about cheap motels on Fremont Street called Build God, Then We'll Talk.
* The 2007 released movie Next, has Nicholas Cage's character entering the Golden Nugget from the Fremont Street Experience.
* Ice Cube's music video for "Chrome and Paint" took place on Fremont Street, with Ice Cube in a lowrider.
* In the video game, , Logan Keller, and his teammates Jung, and Michael infiltrate Fremont Street to find a news van, which they find by going through the maintenance tunnels under the "Stocco Casino".
* Heavily referenced in the Tom Waits song 'Mr. Siegal'.
* Featured at the beginning of the TV Series - CSI season 7 finale episode 24.
* Featured in the opening credits of the TV series Vega$.

Fremont East

In 2006 the city revealed plans to redevelop Fremont street east of the Experience. Detailed plans for the redevelopment were released early in 2007 and included 4 "street scape" neon signs. The $5.5 million plan is part of an effort to revitalize the downtown area. [ [http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/consumer/2007/jan/18/566620162.html Las Vegas Sun, "New district is all about old Las Vegas"] ]

A three block section of Fremont Street just east of the Fremont Street Experience opened on August 24, 2007. The area is indented to increase the draw of downtown Las Vegas by offering a compact entertainment area of bars and clubs. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= PHOTOS: Fremont East Gets Glamour Treatment |url= http://www.lvrj.com/news/9370336.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |publisher= |date= 2007-08-25 |accessdate=2007-08-27 ] [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Third Street has potential to be night life magnet |url= http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Sep-18-Sat-2004/news/24797105.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |publisher= |date= 2004-09-18 |accessdate=2007-08-27 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.fremonteastdistrict.com Fremont East]