Editing Las Vegas (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Las Vegas}}
{{For timeline|Timeline of Las Vegas}}
{{see also|Las Vegas in the 1940s|Las Vegas in the 1950s}}
[[File:Southern Paiutes.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Southern [[Moapa Band of Paiute Indians|Paiutes]] at [[Moapa River Indian Reservation|Moapa]] wearing traditional Paiute basket hats with Paiute cradleboard and rabbit robe]]

Nomadic [[Paleo-Indians]] traveled to the Las Vegas area 10,000 years ago, leaving behind [[petroglyph]]s. [[Ancient Pueblo peoples|Ancient Puebloan]] and [[Southern Paiute|Paiute]] tribes followed at least 2,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cordell |first=Linda |date=1994 |title=Ancient Pueblo Peoples |publisher=St. Remy Press and Smithsonian Institution |pages=18–19 |isbn=0-89599-038-5 }}</ref>

A young [[Mexican people|Mexican]] scout named [[Raphael Rivera|Rafael Rivera]] is credited as the first non-[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] to encounter the valley, in 1829.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Barbara |last1=Land |first2=Myrick |last2=Land |title=A Short History of Las Vegas |publisher=University of Nevada Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Em2VDwAAQBAJ&q=rivera&pg=PT58 |date=March 1, 2004 |page=4 |isbn=978-0874176438 |access-date=December 18, 2020 }}</ref> Trader [[Antonio Armijo]] led a 60-man party along the [[Old Spanish Trail (trade route)|Spanish Trail]] to [[Los Angeles]], California, in 1829.<ref name="Clark County">{{cite web |url=http://www.accessclarkcounty.com/depts/public_communications/Pages/faqs.aspx |website=Clark County, Nevada |title=FAQs/History |access-date=December 4, 2008 |archive-date=December 1, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201213951/http://www.accessclarkcounty.com/depts/public_communications/Pages/faqs.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="ponce">{{cite web |last=Ponce |first=Victor Miguel |title=Las Vegas, how did Las Vegas get its name, groundwater depletion |url=http://lasvegas.sdsu.edu/ |access-date=September 13, 2014 |website=[[San Diego State University]] |archive-date=July 1, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701120854/http://lasvegas.sdsu.edu/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1844, [[John C. Frémont]] arrived, and his writings helped lure pioneers to the area. Downtown Las Vegas's Fremont Street is named after him.

Eleven years later, members of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] chose Las Vegas as the site to build a fort halfway between [[Salt Lake City]] and Los Angeles, where they would travel to gather supplies. The fort was abandoned several years afterward. The remainder of this [[Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park|Old Mormon Fort]] can still be seen at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Washington Avenue.

Las Vegas was founded as a city in 1905, when {{convert|110|acre}} of land adjacent to the [[Union Pacific Railroad]] tracks were auctioned in what would become the downtown area. In 1911, Las Vegas was incorporated as a city.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://dwgateway.library.unr.edu/keck/histtopoNV/Origin_of_Place_Names_Files/1941NevadaOriginofNames-pt1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409171723/http://dwgateway.library.unr.edu/keck/histtopoNV/Origin_of_Place_Names_Files/1941NevadaOriginofNames-pt1.pdf |archive-date=April 9, 2018 |url-status=live |title=Origin of Place Names: Nevada |publisher=[[Works Progress Administration]] |author=Federal Writers' Project |year=1941 |page=16 }}</ref>

[[File:Fremont Street 1952.JPG|thumb|left|[[Golden Nugget Las Vegas|Golden Nugget]] and [[Pioneer Club Las Vegas|Pioneer Club]] along [[Fremont Street]] in 1952]]
The year 1931 was pivotal for Las Vegas. At that time, Nevada legalized casino gambling<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schwartz |first=David |date=April 9, 2014 |title=My Nevada 5: The Days That Changed the Gaming World |url=https://www.unlv.edu/news/article/my-nevada-5-days-changed-gaming-world |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241204080658/https://www.unlv.edu/news/article/my-nevada-5-days-changed-gaming-world |archive-date=December 4, 2024 |work=[[University of Nevada, Las Vegas|University of Nevada, Las Vegas News Center]]}}</ref> and reduced residency requirements for divorce to six weeks.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nevada Press Association |date=March 31, 2014 |title=From 1931: Divorce, gambling get Nevada governor's signature |url=https://www.rgj.com/story/life/2014/04/01/divorce-gambling-get-governors-signature/7135497/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510013720/https://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/2008/jun/10/1931-law-helped-make-nevada-divorce-capital-of-us/ |archive-date=May 10, 2021 |work=[[Reno Gazette-Journal]]}}</ref> This year also witnessed the beginning of construction of the tunnels of nearby [[Hoover Dam]]. The influx of construction workers and their families helped Las Vegas avoid economic calamity during the [[Great Depression]]. The construction work was completed in 1935.

In late 1941, [[Nellis Air Force Base#History|Las Vegas Army Airfield]] was established. Renamed [[Nellis Air Force Base]] in 1950, it is now home to the [[United States Air Force Thunderbirds]] aerobatic team.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://afthunderbirds.com/site/ |access-date=October 25, 2019 |title=Home |website=United States Air Force Thunderbirds |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020032655/http://afthunderbirds.com/site/ |archive-date=October 20, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Following World War II, lavishly decorated hotels, gambling casinos, and big-name entertainment became synonymous with Las Vegas.

[[File:Atomic test seen from Las Vegas.jpg|thumb|right|This view of downtown Las Vegas shows a [[mushroom cloud]] in the background. Scenes such as this were typical during the 1950s. From 1951 to 1962, the government conducted 100 atmospheric tests at the nearby [[Nevada Test Site]].<ref name=simon>{{cite journal |url=http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/issue.aspx?y=0&content=true&id=982&css=print&page=6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709090729/https://www.americanscientist.org/issues/issue.aspx?y=0&content=true&id=982&css=print&page=6 |archive-date=July 9, 2014 |title=Fallout from Nuclear Weapons Tests and Cancer Risks |last1=Simon |first1=Steven |last2=Bouville |first2=Andre |date=January–February 2006 |volume=94 |issue=1 |journal=[[American Scientist]] |page=48 |doi=10.1511/2006.57.48 |access-date=December 18, 2020 |quote=Exposures 50 years ago still have health implications today that will continue into the future...Deposition...generally decreases with distance from the test site in the direction of the prevailing wind across North America, although isolated locations received significant deposition as a result of rainfall. Trajectories of the fallout debris clouds across the U.S. are shown for four altitudes. Each dot indicates six hours. |issn=0003-0996 }}</ref>]]

In 1951, [[nuclear weapons testing]] began at the [[Nevada Test Site]], {{convert|65|mi}} northwest of Las Vegas. During this time, the city was nicknamed the [[History of Las Vegas#Atomic testing|"Atomic City]]." Residents and visitors were able to witness the mushroom clouds (and were exposed to the fallout) until 1963 when the [[Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty]] required that nuclear tests be moved underground.<ref name=simon/>

In 1955, the [[Moulin Rouge Hotel]] opened and became the first racially integrated casino-hotel in Las Vegas.

[[File:Las vegas late 60s.png|thumb|left|[[Fremont Street]] in the late 1960s]]
During the 1960s, corporations and business tycoons such as [[Howard Hughes]] were building and buying hotel-casino properties. Gambling was referred to as "gaming," which transitioned it into a legitimate business. ''[[Learning from Las Vegas]]'', published during this era, asked architects to take inspiration from the city's highly decorated buildings, helping to start the [[postmodern architecture]] movement.

In 1995, the [[Fremont Street Experience]] opened in Las Vegas's downtown area. This canopied five-block area features 12.5&nbsp;million LED lights and 550,000 watts of sound from dusk until midnight during shows held at the top of each hour.

Due to the realization of many revitalization efforts, 2012 was dubbed "The Year of Downtown." Projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars made their debut at this time, including the [[Smith Center for the Performing Arts]], the [[Discovery Children's Museum]], the [[Mob Museum]], the [[Neon Museum]], a [[Las Vegas City Hall|new City Hall]] complex, and renovations for a new [[Zappos]].com corporate headquarters in the [[Las Vegas City Hall (1973)|old City Hall]] building.<ref name="History">{{cite web |title=History |url=http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/FactsStatistics/history.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701020216/http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/FactsStatistics/history.htm |archive-date=July 1, 2014 |access-date=December 2, 2016 |website=City of Las Vegas}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Zappos' new landlord is a familiar face |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/zappos-new-landlord-is-a-familiar-face-2158031/ |first1=Eli |last1=Segall |author2=Subrina Hudson |newspaper=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=October 22, 2020 |access-date=December 18, 2020 |archive-date=November 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128101315/https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/zappos-new-landlord-is-a-familiar-face-2158031/ |url-status=live }}</ref>