Good timing for this question; the Fremont East District dedication celebration will take place tomorrow night, August 24 at 7:45, in the heart of "Fremont East" on Fremont Street between Las Vegas Boulevard and Seventh.
Fremont East is a sort of extension of the Fremont Street Experience, located adjacent to the crooning canopy. The city and downtown property owners spent $5.5 million on "streetscaping" the three-block section of Fremont Street between Las Vegas Boulevard and Eighth. The project created wider sidewalks and narrower streets; unlike the pedestrian mall on Fremont Street from Main to Las Vegas Boulevard, Fremont East will remain open to car traffic, closing only during peak business times, such as weekend nights and New Year's Eve.
In addition, landscaping, lighted gateways, commemorative historical sidewalk medallions, and 40-foot-tall retro neon signs have been installed: a red stiletto-heeled shoe rotates 360 degrees; there's also a buxom beauty in a neon bikini and a colossal martini with an olive and swizzle stick.
Construction began in January and took seven months to complete.
The press release says, "Through this streetscaping effort, the city is capitalizing on popular nostalgia by reviving the old glamour of vintage Las Vegas."
The Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency also contributed to the urban renewal of the area in an effort to attract nightclubs, cocktail lounges, and entertainment hotspots to the area, in an effort to transform the down-on-the-heels neighborhood into a place like Bourbon Street in New Orleans and Beale Street in Memphis.
According to city officials, up to 20 commercial projects are in various stages of development for the entertainment district.
The El Cortez, at Sixth and Fremont, anchors Fremont East; only a new "tavern-limited license" is available to start-up businesses in Fremont East. Gambling is banned at clubs with the special license.
In return, liquor licenses only cost $20,000 (regularly $60,000), as long as some form of entertainment is put on four nights a week or more.
Several bars/clubs -- including the Griffin, the Beauty Bar, the downtown cocktail room, and Take 1 nightclub, all of which can be found in our "Nightlife section -- are already operating in Fremont East, with more in the pipeline, and the El Cortez has undergone some renovations. Although the new lights had yet to be lit on our most recent visit, the landscaping and streetscaping had all been completed and we have to say it bears a remarkable resemblance to the original artist's renditions, reproduced below.
