Las Vegas and the Strip, March 2004

[xzmattzx]

Back in 2004, I went to Las Vegas for spring break with some friends. It was my first time ever out west. Between pictures of us out drinking and things like that, I took some pictures of the surroundings. With it being 20 years to the week, I figured it would be worth showing these as a bit of a photographic time capsule.

[Doady]

I went there in 1995 but I was 10 years old and it was a the middle of July so I didn't really get to enjoy it. Very interesting city I hope to visit properly some day.

[ColDayMan]

I've been going to Las Vegas since the 80's and while it has changed a lot...a lot of it is still the same (in a good way). Thanks for the photos.

[Murphy de la Sucre]

Good to see the most uptodate LV as I was there back in 2011

[Cirrus]

I spy the monorail!

[DetroitSky]

Are those Siegfried and Roy's tigers?

[MayDay]

Not my first choice of vacation destinations but my husband's lifelong friend lives there so we've made a few trips. Getting off the Strip makes things more bearable and as a graphic designer and unashamed font geek, I lovvvvvved the Neon Museum. Here's a pic from 2013 that clicks with your photos:

[craigs]

Originally Posted by MayDay

Not my first choice of vacation destinations but my husband's lifelong friend lives there so we've made a few trips. Getting off the Strip makes things more bearable and as a graphic designer and unashamed font geek, I lovvvvvved the Neon Museum. Here's a pic from 2013 that clicks with your photos:

Oh, yes--getting away from the Strip is essential to surviving a Vegas trip. The hubs and I usually go outside the city altogether during the daytime, hiking in Red Rock Canyon or along Charleston Peak (which is often 30-40 degrees cooler than the valley floor in the summer).

Anyway, interesting pics. The city in 2004 still looked much like it did in the 1990s, when I made my first truly memorable trip there with friends. It doesn't look that way anymore.

[geomorph]

Originally Posted by DetroitSky

Are those Siegfried and Roy's tigers?

Yes, the Mirage had an entry walkway that passed an exhibit of Siegfried and Roy's white tigers, which was a way of luring passersby into the casino. These photos are from that exhibit. I am not sure if the tigers on display were ever the same ones used in their stage show but they were certainly related.

[DetroitSky]

Originally Posted by geomorph

Yes, the Mirage had an entry walkway that passed an exhibit of Siegfried and Roy's white tigers, which was a way of luring passersby into the casino. These photos are from that exhibit. I am not sure if the tigers on display were ever the same ones used in their stage show but they were certainly related.

Pretty cool. I googled them and they're currently in a wildlife refuge in Oregon.

[Murphy de la Sucre]

I have a question, i know it can be googled, but

are those suburban trees by natural growth or hand planting? seems way too flourishing in a desert area

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by MayDay

Not my first choice of vacation destinations but my husband's lifelong friend lives there so we've made a few trips. Getting off the Strip makes things more bearable and as a graphic designer and unashamed font geek, I lovvvvvved the Neon Museum. Here's a pic from 2013 that clicks with your photos:

this winter i went to see a restoration of one from the heart, a terrifically stylish and eye poppingly colorful coppola movie about vegas --
and it has a big scene set there --
a highly recommended movie for any vegas fans --

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by Murphy de la Sucre

I have a question, i know it can be googled, but

are those suburban trees by natural growth or hand planting? seems way too flourishing in a desert area

They are pretty much all planted. The neighborhoods from the hotel room were built in the 1960s, if I remember correctly, so the trees are mature, but outside of the area around the natural spring that existed, the valley floor was just dirt and some scrub bushes.