Unaware of all the situations that transpired, I investigated the different historical events that occurred in my own home town, Las Vegas. Might I add it was very insightful.
Some of the things I stumbled upon were that Jackie Gaughan's Plaza Hotel is the only hotel-casino that was constructed around and on the original Union Pacific Railroad depot. Another interesting tidbit of information was that the Flamingo hotel was originally built by a mobster named Benjamin Siegel. Although this did not come to much of a surprise due to much of the major gambling, drugs and prostitution that was associated with this newly developed Las Vegas. In fact, believe it or not, a majority of the casinos during the 1950's and 1960's were built by mobsters.
The Luxor, constructed in 1993, originally had a river surround it. Their plan was to ferry the guests to the elevators but there were complaints about the wait of the line and soon after, the river was removed.
Thinking about the contrast between now and then, it is hard to imagine certain things or put them into perspective. Who would have ever known that there was a railroad where Fremont Street is. Fremont Street has turned into one of the downtown destinations where there are countless tourist shops, older casinos, as well as zip-lining It has become an "experience" more like, rather than a historic location... yet it does shed light on the true Vegas.
As for attempting to perceive a river around the Luxor and people being ferried across, it is quite impossible. With the parking garages, parking lots, and other casinos galore, I could not envision a waterway at all. If they had kept it, there would have been even more of a delay due to the increase in population and number of tourists that visit every year. It would have been highly inefficient.
Learning all these new things really opens my eyes to trying to envision how Vegas was before all the construction. Although, it can be very difficult to do.
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