Thats why it never should have existed. It was never land meant to be lived on. It doesnt support greenery and human life. To keep it pretty and the people alive sooo much water needs to be wasted.
You can thank the nearby Hoover Dam for that. The construction project not only caused the population of Vegas to quadruple virtually overnight, but when it was completed the dam provided both an abundance of fresh water and cheap electricity to the area. But thanks to the ongoing drought in the area that might not be a viable source for either of those eventually.
Air conditioning becoming more widely available was probably another major factor.
I remember years ago seeing some data discussing people moving west and south more, partly in conjunction with the invention of air conditioning, as well as certain roads.
I think this was one of the maps showing this.
The boom caused by the construction of Hoover Dam occurred in the 1930’s. Residential air conditioning didn’t really become a thing until well after WWII, closer to 1950.
Yes, that’s pretty much the point I was making. It was another major factor in Las Vegas being almost completely undeveloped in 1947 as per the photo. Same with the current major cities in Arizona, etc.
Apparently they’re really good at recirculating it. But yes there’s still loss.
Back when it was all bat country.
Watched some episodes of detective show Vega$ last year. The P.I.'s office/home was in a former storage building right behind Circus Circus, and I noticed that, even in 1978, right behind his office it was still open desert.
Dan Tana! Great show. Or so my foggy memory recalls.
Yup. With Tony Curtis as his landlord/biggest client!
I guess it wasn’t always a massive shit hole.
La Vega
So it was a hotel for people driving to California?
That appears to be one or two resorts of some kind, any idea what they were?
Per a post on reddit from 5 year ago.
This was a place called “The Last Frontier” it changed its name to the “New Frontier” in the 60’s and closed in 1997. Its here. 3120 South Las Vegas Boulevard you can google maps it, but its just an open dirt lot now.
Featuring Authentic Frontier Gibberish