Timeline of Las Vegas history
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The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. The Spanish Trader Antonio Armijo led a 60-man party along the Spanish Trail to Los Angeles, California in 1829 and found a natural steam water Land that was named Las Vegas.


20th century


1900s–1950s

* 1900 ** The population of Las Vegas, six years before it is founded as a city, is 22. * 1905 ** Las Vegas is founded as a city on May 15 when 110 acres (45 ha) of land adjacent to the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad tracks are auctioned off by the railroad company. The areas that were auctioned off were situated between Stewart Avenue on the north, Garces Avenue to the south, Main Street to the west, and 5th Street (Las Vegas Boulevard) to the east and would later become the downtown area. * 1905 **
San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad The Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad was a rail company in California, Nevada, and Utah in the United States, that completed and operated a railway line between its namesake cities (Salt Lake City, Utah and Los Angeles, California), via Las Ve ...
begins operating, linking Southern California with Salt Lake City and making Las Vegas an ideal refueling point and rest stop due to the availability of water. * 1906 ** Las Vegas & Tonopah Railroad built. * 1909 ** Las Vegas becomes seat of Clark County. ** ''Clark County Review'' newspaper begins publication. ** '' Las Vegas Evening Review and Journal'' newspaper in publication. * 1910 ** Victory Hotel in business. * 1911 ** June 1: Citizens of Las Vegas vote 168 to 57 in favor of incorporation. ** June 1:
Peter Buol Peter Buol (October 1, 1873 – February 11, 1939) was an American politician. He was the first mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada from 1911 to 1913.A. D. Hopkins, "Peter Buol: The Promoter" in ''The First 100: Portraits of the Men and Women Who Shaped La ...
is elected first mayor of Las Vegas, Stewart, VonTobel, McGovern and Gaughlin become city commissioner and assure a "conservative city government". * 1920 ** Population: 2,304. * 1930 ** Population: 5,165. * 1931 ** Gambling legalized. **
Hoover Dam Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on Se ...
construction begins near Las Vegas. * 1933 ** Post Office built. * 1934 ** Helldorado festival begins. * 1940 ** Population: 8,422. ** Las Vegas Union Pacific Station built. * 1941 **
Las Vegas Army Airfield Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in " Military Oper ...
activated. * 1943 ** Las Vegas YMCA active. * 1944 **
Huntridge Theater Huntridge Theater, sometimes known as the Huntridge Performing Arts Theater, is a Streamline Moderne building located in Las Vegas, Nevada, that is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places. The building was designed by S ...
built. * 1946 ** Flamingo Hotel and Golden Nugget casino in business. * 1949 ** The Desert Sea News Bureau is established to promote the city, and is later renamed the
Las Vegas News Bureau The Las Vegas News Bureau is a promotional agency within the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). It is based in the Las Vegas Valley. It was created as the Desert Sea News Bureau in 1949, originally as a promotional branch of the l ...
. * 1950 ** Population: 24,624. ** U.S. military Nellis Air Force Base dedicated. ** '' Las Vegas Morning Sun'' newspaper begins publication. **
Desert Inn The Desert Inn, also known as the D.I., was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, which operated from April 24, 1950, to August 28, 2000. Designed by architect Hugh Taylor and interior design by Jac Lessman, it was the ...
casino in business. * 1951 ** Binion's Horseshoe casino in business. * 1952 ** Unitarian Universalist Congregation founded. ** Sahara Hotel and Casino in business. ** Sands Hotel and Casino in business. * 1953 ** City of
Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *He ...
chartered in vicinity of Las Vegas. ** KLAS-TV, Las Vegas' first television station, signs on the air. * 1955 ** Riviera Hotel and Casino in business. ** Las Vegas' second television station, KLRJ-TV (now KSNV), signs on from Henderson; it will move to Las Vegas by the end of the year. * 1956 ** The City of Las Vegas annexes one square mile of land, the first such addition of land since incorporation 45 years earlier. ** Las Vegas Air Force Station in use. ** Fremont Hotel in business. ** KSHO-TV (now KTNV-TV) signs on. * 1957 ** University of Nevada, Las Vegas and United Way of Southern Nevada established. ** Tropicana in business on the Strip. * 1958 ** Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada established. * 1959 ** The
Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign is a Las Vegas landmark funded in May 1959 and erected soon after by Western Neon. The sign was designed by Betty Willis at the request of Ted Rogich, a local salesman, who sold it to Clark County, Nevada. ...
sign is built, designed by Betty Willis at the request of a local salesman who sold it to Clark County. **
Oran K. Gragson Oran Kenneth Gragson (February 14, 1911 – October 7, 2002) was an American businessman and politician. He was the longest-serving mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada, from 1959 to 1975. Gragson, a member of the Republican Party, was a small business ow ...
becomes mayor. ** Las Vegas Convention Center opens in
Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
.


1960s–1990s

* 1960 ** The population of Las Vegas has grown to 64,405, which represents more than 22 percent of Nevada's total population, even though with just 25 square miles it occupies less than 0.02 percent of the state's land. * 1964 ** Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114, flying from Phoenix, Arizona to
McCarran International Airport Harry Reid International Airport is an international airport in Paradise, Nevada, and is the main government airport for public use in the Las Vegas Valley, a metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Nevada, about south of Downtown Las Vegas. ...
, crashes on a hill just southwest of Las Vegas during a landing approach in poor weather conditions. All 26 passengers and 3 crew members were killed when the plane exploded on impact. * 1966 ** Aladdin casino in business. **
Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesars P ...
casino in business on the Strip * 1967 **
Las Vegas Marathon The Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon & 1/2 Marathon is an annual marathon foot-race run on the Las Vegas Strip and in parts of the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada. The race was one of the oldest marathons in the United States, having been run between 1 ...
begins. ** Barrick Museum of Natural History established. ** Nevada's first independent station, KVVU-TV, signs on in nearby Henderson. * 1968 ** Circus Circus in business on the Strip. **
KLVX KLVX (channel 10) is a PBS member television station in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Owned by the Clark County School District, it is the flagship outlet of the district's communications arm, the KLVX Communications Group. KLVX's studios ar ...
, Nevada's first ETV station, signs on. * 1970 ** Population: 125,787. * 1973 **
Las Vegas City Hall Las Vegas City Hall is the center of municipal government for the City of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is located downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultura ...
built. * 1979 **
Liberace Museum The Liberace Museum Collection is a private museum collection that includes many stage costumes, cars, jewelry, lavishly decorated pianos and numerous citations for philanthropic acts that belonged to the American entertainer and pianist Wladziu V ...
opens near city. ** Faith Lutheran Middle School & High School opens. * 1980 ** November 21: In nearby Paradise, the MGM Grand fire occurs. ** Population: 164,674; metro 463,087. * 1981 ** Cinedome movie theatre in business. **
KUNV KUNV (91.5 FM) is a non-commercial, jazz-oriented campus radio station in Paradise, Nevada, broadcasting from Greenspun Hall on the campus of University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-g ...
college radio begins broadcasting. ** February 10: In nearby
Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
, a fire occurs at Las Vegas Hilton hotel. * 1982 ** Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas established. * 1983 ** Harry Reid becomes
U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
for
Nevada's 1st congressional district Nevada's 1st congressional district occupies most of Nevada's largest city, Las Vegas, as well as parts of North Las Vegas and parts of unincorporated Clark County. Before the 1980 census, Nevada was represented by a single at-large congres ...
. * 1984 ** Spanish Trail Country Club opens. ** Meadows School established. * 1985 ** Paradise 6 cinema in business. * 1989 **
Mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', meanin ...
casino in business on the Strip. * 1990 ** Guinness World Records Museum established. ** Population: 258,295; metro 741,459. ** Excalibur casino in business on the Strip. * 1992 ** Cannon Aviation Museum established near city. * 1993 ** MGM Grand, Treasure Island, and Luxor casinos in business on the Strip. ** ''Las Vegas Business Press'' begins publication. ** Defcon hacker convention begins. * 1994 ** Zen Center founded. * 1995 **
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and ro ...
in business * 1996 ** September:
Murder of Tupac Shakur Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...
. ** Neon Museum founded. ** '' Las Vegas CityLife'' newspaper begins publication. **
Stratosphere The stratosphere () is the second layer of the atmosphere of the Earth, located above the troposphere and below the mesosphere. The stratosphere is an atmospheric layer composed of stratified temperature layers, with the warm layers of air ...
and Monte Carlo casinos in business on the Strip. * 1997 ** City website online (approximate date). **
New York-New York Hotel & Casino New York-New York Hotel and Casino is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International, and is designed to evoke New York City in its architectur ...
in business on the Strip. * 1998 ** Bellagio (hotel and casino) in business on the Strip. ** ''
Las Vegas Weekly ''Las Vegas Weekly'' is a free alternative weekly newspaper based in Henderson, Nevada, covering Las Vegas arts, entertainment, culture and news. ''Las Vegas Weekly'' is published by Greenspun Media Group. The paper was founded in 1992 by James P ...
'' newspaper begins publication. **
Las Vegas Philharmonic Orchestra The Las Vegas Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded in 1998
founded. * 1999 ** Mandalay Bay,
Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...
, and Paris casinos in business on the Strip. ** Oscar Goodman becomes mayor. ** A flood strikes on July 8, killing two people, damaging 353 homes, and causing $20 million in public property damage. * 2000 ** Population: 478,434. ** Aladdin Casino rebuilt on the Strip.


21st century

* 2001 ** Omar Haikal Islamic Academy opens. **
Palms Casino Palms Casino Resort is a hotel and casino located near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned and operated by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. It includes 703 rooms and a casino. It was originally owned by th ...
in business near the Strip. * 2004 ** Las Vegas Urban League established. * 2005 **
World Market Center World Market Center Las Vegas, located at 495 Grand Central Parkway in Las Vegas, Nevada, is a showcase for the home and hospitality contract furnishings industry in downtown Las Vegas. It is the largest showroom complex in the world for the home ...
built. ** Wynn casino in business on the Strip. * 2006 ** Miss Exotic World Pageant and Burlesque Hall of Fame relocated to Las Vegas. * 2007 ** Palazzo casino in business on the Strip. * 2008 **
Encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pres ...
casino in business on the Strip. * 2009 ** CityCenter opens. The City Center includes: Aria Resort and Casino, Vdara,
Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas The Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas, formerly the Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas, is a 47-story luxury hotel and condominium building in the CityCenter complex on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is managed by Hilton Worldwide as part of the W ...
, and The Shops at Crystals. * 2010 ** Syn Shop hackerspace opens. ** Population: 583,756;
metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
1,951,269. **
Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...
casino in business on the Strip. * 2011 ** Sahara Hotel closes for business. **
Carolyn Goodman Carolyn Goodman (née ''Goldmark'') is an American politician who has served as mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada, since 2011. She is the second female mayor of Las Vegas and is married to former mayor and attorney Oscar Goodman. She is the founder, pr ...
becomes mayor. ** Population: 589,317; metro 1,969,975. * 2012 ** The Mob Museum opens. ** Smith Center for the Performing Arts opens. **
Las Vegas City Hall Las Vegas City Hall is the center of municipal government for the City of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is located downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultura ...
rebuilt. * 2013 ** Sahara Hotel reopens as SLS Las Vegas. **
Zappos.com Zappos.com is an American online shoe and clothing retailer based in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. The company was founded in 1999 by Nick Swinmurn and launched under the domain name Shoesite.com. In July 2009, Amazon acquired Zappos in an ...
headquartered in city. **
Steven Horsford Steven Alexzander Horsford (born April 29, 1973) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative for Nevada's 4th congressional district since 2019, previously holding the position from 2013 to 2015. A member of the ...
becomes
U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
for
Nevada's 4th congressional district Nevada's 4th congressional district is a congressional district that was created as a result of the 2010 United States Census. Located in the central portion of the state, it includes most of northern Clark County, southern Lyon County and all ...
. * 2014 ** 8 June:
2014 Las Vegas shootings The 2014 Las Vegas shootings occurred on June 8, 2014, when a married couple, Jerad and Amanda Miller, committed a shooting in northeastern Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada. Five people died, including the two shooters. The couple, who espou ...
occur. **
Downtown Summerlin Downtown Summerlin is a commercial and residential neighborhood located in Summerlin South, a suburban area on the western outskirts of Las Vegas, Nevada. The Downtown Summerlin neighborhood includes: * The Downtown Summerlin shopping center * ...
opens. Downtown Project continues expanding the Fremont East district. * 2015 ** May 2: Mayweather-Pacquiao boxing match takes place. ** Riviera Hotel and Casino closes for business. *2016 ** T-Mobile Arena opens. ** Plans announced to spend $450 Million on a remodel of Monte Carlo Resort and Casino and rename to Park MGM. In addition to add the NoMad Las Vegas Hotel within the resort on upper floors. ** Riviera Hotel and Casino imploded. * 2017 ** Celebrity Chumlee grand opening, a
candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language an ...
store from an icon at '' Pawn Stars'' Pawn Plaza. ** June 20: A heat wave grounded more than 40 airline flights of small aircraft, with American Airlines reducing sales on certain flights to prevent the vehicles from being over the maximum weight permitted for safe takeoff and Las Vegas tying its record high at 117 degrees Fahrenheit. ** October 1: A mass shooting left 60 dead and 867 injured when a 64-year-old man, Stephen Paddock, fired from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay casino and hotel into the
Route 91 Harvest Route 91 Harvest was a country music festival in the United States that was held annually in Paradise, Nevada from 2014 to 2017 in the Las Vegas Village, a lot on Las Vegas Boulevard (former U.S. Route 91), directly across from the Luxor Las V ...
country music festival. Paddock subsequently committed suicide. ** October 9: The Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League, Nevada's first major professional sports team, plays its first home game at T-Mobile Arena, defeating the Arizona Coyotes 5–2. * 2018 ** Park MGM opened in April. ** NoMad Hotel scheduled to open in Fall. ** Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas replaces Mandarin Oriental Hotel in September. * 2019 ** SLS renamed Sahara. **
Alpine Motel Apartments fire The Alpine Motel Apartments fire occurred in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 21, 2019. The three-story building, constructed in 1972, had failed several fire inspections and received numerous code enforcement complaints in the years prior t ...
occurs in downtown Las Vegas, killing six people in the deadliest fire to occur within city limits. * 2020 **
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and ro ...
closes for business. ** COVID-19 arrives at the city, impacting the economy ** The
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
of the National Football League relocates to Las Vegas and becomes the Las Vegas Raiders. **
Circa Resort & Casino Circa Resort & Casino is a casino and hotel resort in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, on the Fremont Street Experience. The property was previously occupied by the Las Vegas Club hotel-casino, the Mermaids Casino, and the Glitter Gulch strip club. Ci ...
opens as the first new downtown resort in 40 years. * 2021 ** Hard Rock Hotel reopens as Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. **
Resorts World Las Vegas Resorts World Las Vegas is a resort, mall, and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada, United States. The property had been the site of the Stardust Resort and Casino until 2007, when Boyd Gaming demolished the resort to develop its ...
opens on the former site of the
Stardust Stardust may refer to: * A type of cosmic dust, composed of particles in space Entertainment Songs * “Stardust” (1927 song), by Hoagy Carmichael * “Stardust” (David Essex song), 1974 * “Stardust” (Lena Meyer-Landrut song), 2012 * ...
.


See also

* History of Las Vegas *
List of mayors of Las Vegas The following is a list of people who have served as mayors of the city of Las Vegas in the U.S state of Nevada . List of mayors of Las Vegas See also * Las Vegas history and timeline References {{Reflist External links City of Las Vegas Off ...
* Timeline of Reno, Nevada


References


Bibliography

* * * * * (fulltext via OpenLibrary) * (fulltext via Open Library) * (series of articles)


External links

* * (includes Vegas) * * Digital Public Library of America
Items related to Las Vegas
various dates {{coord, 36.175, -115.136389, type:city, display=title Timeline Las Vegas Years in Nevada