Creating the Cultural Core of Downtown Las Vegas in the Arts District

Las Vegas is known globally for “the Strip.” The economy thrives from the tens of millions of visitors the city hosts each year. A long-forgotten area of the city has been the Arts District and the associated downtown core. While some public buildings have dotted the civic core, much of the immediate downtown land has been surprisingly underdeveloped. In this tour, you will see the tactical measures the city of Las Vegas has made to encourage new development and renovations of existing building stock. The neighborhood was poised to see acceleration prior to the Great Recession. Then development stalled abruptly. Las Vegas is a resilient city that now sees widespread development (both large and small) that will create a momentum that sustains future economic cycles. The hope is that the downtown area can be seen as the heart of local Las Vegas—an area that draws from vibrant history with a keen eye on the future and risk taking. This tour will review the overall context of the Arts District including galleries, breweries, The English Hotel, street art programs, and multifamily residential projects. The tour will cover the variety of influences shaping this expanding neighborhood.