Las Vegas, New Mexico

Infobox Settlement
official_name = The City of Las Vegas, New Mexico
settlement_type = City
nickname =
motto =

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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of Las Vegas, New Mexico


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = New Mexico
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = San Miguel
government_footnotes =
government_type =
leader_title =
leader_name =
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established_date =

unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 19.5
area_land_km2 = 19.5
area_water_km2 = 0.0
area_total_sq_mi = 7.5
area_land_sq_mi = 7.5
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 14565
population_density_km2 = 748.3
population_density_sq_mi = 1938.2

timezone = Mountain (MST)
utc_offset = -7
timezone_DST = MDT
utc_offset_DST = -6
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 1958
elevation_ft = 6424
latd = 35 |latm = 35 |lats = 49 |latNS = N
longd = 105 |longm = 13 |longs = 21 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP codes
postal_code = 87701, 87745
area_code = 505
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 35-39940
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0915788
website =
footnotes =

Las Vegas is a city in San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Once two separate towns, West Las Vegas ("Old Town") and East Las Vegas ("New Town"), divided by the Gallinas River, retain distinct characters and separate, rival, school districts. The population was 14,565 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of San Miguel CountyGR|6.

History

Las Vegas was established in 1835 after a group of settlers received a land grant from the Mexican government. The town was laid out in the traditional Spanish Colonial style, with a central plaza surrounded by buildings which could serve as fortifications in case of attack. Las Vegas soon prospered as a stop on the Santa Fe Trail. During the Mexican-American War in 1846, Stephen W. Kearny delivered an address at the Plaza of Las Vegas claiming New Mexico for the United States.

When the railroad arrived in 1880 it set up shop one mile east of the Plaza, creating a separate, rival New Town (as in Albuquerque). During the railroad era Las Vegas boomed, quickly becoming one of the largest cities in the American southwest. Turn-of-the-century Las Vegas featured all the modern amenities, including an electric street railway, the "Duncan Opera House" at the NE corner of 6th Street and Douglas Avenue, a Carnegie library, a major Harvey House hotel, and the New Mexico Normal School (now NMHU). Since the decline of the railroad began in the 1950s the city's population has remained relatively constant. Although the two towns have been combined, two separate school districts remain (West and East).

Outlaws

The arrival of the railroad on July 4, 1879 brought with it businesses and people both respectable and dubious. Murderers, robbers, thieves, gamblers, gunmen, swindlers, vagrants, and tramps poured in, transforming the eastern side of the settlement into a virtually lawless brawl. Among the notorious characters were such legends of the Old West as: dentist Doc Holiday and his girlfriend Big Nose Kate, Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, Mysterious Dave Mather, Hoodoo Brown, Durango Kid and Dancehall Rustler. [http://www.legendsofamerica.com/NM-LasVegas.html]

Historian Ralph Emerson Twitchell once claimed, "Without exception there was no town which harbored a more disreputable gang of desperadoes and outlaws than did Las Vegas." [http://www.edge.net/~dphillip/Outlaw.html]

Libraries and museums

The New Mexico Highlands University is home to the Thomas C. Donnelly Library. It supports the teaching, research and community activities of New Mexico Highlands University. It acquires, organizes, preserves and provides access to pertinent information and scholarly materials for curricular needs, intellectual pursuits and personal enrichment of its clientele. It promotes programs and services that emphasize the diversity of the university’s multicultural community and heritage. An addition increased the square footage from 23,700 to 53,500 and now holds a book collection of almost 200,000 volumes. [http://lasvegasnm.org/community/library.htm]

The Carnegie Library, established in 1904, is the first and only surviving Carnegie Library in New Mexico. Built from a $10,000 donation from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, its Neo-Classical Revival architecture resembles Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. The library sits in the middle of a park that occupies an entire city block, bordered by Victorian-style homes and buildings.

The City of Las Vegas Museum & Rough Rider Memorial on Grand Avenue, dedicated in 1940, was first established by the decision of Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders regiment (the first Volunteer Cavalry Regiment of the Spanish-American War), who named Las Vegas their official reunion home. Their first reunion was held in Las Vegas, June 1899.

The museum, free and open to the public, houses a memorial collection of artifacts, archives and photographs from the Rough Riders and mementos in relation to the 1898 Cuban Campaign of the Spanish-American War, with information on over 200 members of the original regiment, RRR Association documents, etc. The museum illuminates the history of Las Vegas, its connection to the Rough Riders, the Santa Fe Trail and the development of New Mexico. It features collections of local Native American pottery, household items, costumes, ranching and farming equipment, agricultural and mercantile operations, and home life.

Housed in a 1940 Works Progress Administration-funded building, the museum is built of stone, with Pueblo Revival nuances. [http://www.lasvegasmuseum.org]

Geography

Las Vegas is located at coor dms|35|35|49|N|105|13|21|W|city (35.597031, -105.222589)GR|1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.5 square miles (19.5 km²), all of it land.

Las Vegas is 65 miles due east of Santa Fe on Interstate 25, the highway that connects Santa Fe with Albuquerque.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 14,565 people, 5,588 households, and 3,559 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,938.2 people per square mile (748.8/km²). There were 6,366 housing units at an average density of 847.1/sq mi (327.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 54.21% White, 0.99% African American, 1.96% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 37.19% from other races, and 4.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 82.94% of the population.

There were 5,588 households out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.0% were married couples living together, 21.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.3% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.4% under the age of 18, 13.3% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,214, and the median income for a family was $29,797. Males had a median income of $26,319 versus $21,731 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,619 as compared to $21,587 nationally as noted in the 2000 Census. About 24.3% of families and 27.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.7% of those under age 18 and 20.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The City of Las Vegas is served by two public school districts. Las Vegas City Schools serve areas of the city located east of the Gallinas River. Areas west of the Gallinas River are served by West Las Vegas Public Schools.

Las Vegas is the home of New Mexico Highlands University and Luna Community College. The United World College in nearby Montezuma, New Mexico is a two-year international high school and one of the venues used by the International Baccalaureate Program for teacher training in the United States.

Architecture

Las Vegas is home to a very large number of historic structures (mostly railroad-era houses and commercial buildings), with over 900 listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Although many buildings are in varying states of deterioration, others have been restored or are awaiting restoration. Some of the city's notable buildings include:

*Dr. H.J. Mueller House, 1881 example of Victorian eclecticism with unusual octagonal tower
*Plaza Hotel, 1881, site of the first reunion of Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders in 1899
*Old City Hall, New Mexico's first municipal building, completed in 1892
*Louis Fort House, Queen Anne house on Carnegie Park, built in 1895
*Masonic Temple, Richardsonian Romanesque building erected in 1895
*La Castaneda Hotel, mission-style Harvey House built in 1898
*Carnegie Library, built in 1903 at the center of Carnegie Park and modeled after Monticello

Transportation

Railway
*Las Vegas Amtrak Station is a stop on the Southwest Chief route.

Airport
*Las Vegas Municipal Airport Single engine, small commercial jets, and helicopters.

Major Highways
*Interstate 25
*Interstate 40 (55 miles to the south via U.S. Route 84)

Movies filmed in Las Vegas

Many silent Western films were made in and around Las Vegas, especially in the years 1913-1915, including a number that starred Tom Mix.

The 1962-1963 NBC television western series "Empire" and its second-season version entitled "Redigo" were filmed in Santa Fe and near Storrie Lake in Las Vegas.

In the 1969 movie "Easy Rider", Las Vegas, New Mexico, is the town where the two bikers ride behind a parade, are arrested for "parading without a permit," and meet Jack Nicholson's character in jail. The name of the town can be viewed in the background in one scene during this part of the movie.

The town was the filming location for parts of the 1978 movie "Convoy", a film about truck drivers inspired by the 1975 song of the same name.

Parts of the 1982 made-for-TV film " [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083613/ The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez] " were filmed in and around Las Vegas.

Las Vegas was the real-world town used to represent a fictional setting of Calumet, Colorado in John Milius' 1984 film "Red Dawn". As of 2005, many of the buildings and structures seen in the film remain.

Parts of the 1994 movie " [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111256/ Speechless] ", with Geena Davis and Michael Keaton, about a fictional New Mexico senatorial campaign, were filmed in Las Vegas.

Several scenes in the 1998 film "John Carpenter's Vampires" were filmed on the plaza.

" [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120699/ The Hi-Lo Country] " and "All the Pretty Horses (film)", released in 1998 and 2000 respectively, were almost entirely shot here.

In the 2001 documentary Freedom Downtime, a cross-country road trip to Las Vegas, Nevada ends up in Las Vegas, New Mexico by mistake.

In 2006, the film "Fanboys" used Las Vegas as one of its film locations. The film is about a dying Star Wars fan and will be released in 2008. The 2006 movie "The Astronaut Farmer" was also filmed here.

Most of the Coen brothers' "No Country for Old Men (film)" (2007), was filmed here.

References

External links

* [http://www.lvsmchamber.org/ Las Vegas / San Miguel County Chamber of Commerce]
* [http://www.lasvegasnm.gov/ Las Vegas, NM City Government]
* [http://www.lvsmedc.org/ Las Vegas / San Miguel Economic Development Corporation]
* [http://www.lasvegasoptic.com/ Las Vegas Daily Optic]
* [http://www.vegasnewmexico.com/ My Tiny Vegas / Las Vegas, NM photographs and articles]
* [http://www.inabundance.net/ Mission de la Osa - Provides aromatherapy, counseling and energy healing in the historic Distrito de las Escuelas emphasizing the history of Las Vegas, NM.]
* [http://www.lasvegaschatter.com/ Las Vegas Chatter - A community forum about beautiful Las Vegas, NM]
* [http://www.desertgate.com/ Desertgate - Provides Wireless Internet to San Miguel County and Features a community forum about Las Vegas, NM]
* [http://www.luna.edu/ Luna Community College]
* [http://www.nmfilm.com/filming/filmography/index.php The NM Film Office's Filmography page. Enter "Las Vegas" in the "Location" window for a chronological list of movies filmed in Las Vegas, NM.]