Breakfast was at the groovy Jerry's Casino, north of downtown. Since 1964, this has been a family owned place and we were promised that our meal would be wonderful.
The recommendation was extremely accurate. Great service and quite possibly the best Belgian Waffle we have ever eaten. We are now fans of Jerry's Nugget!
Wanting to venture beyond the neon, and even though we have been here a few times before, we headed to the Hoover Dam. This concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada, was constructed between 1931 and 1936. Its construction was the result of a massive effort involving thousands of workers and cost over one hundred lives.
On the way back into town, I saw this building from the freeway and knew instantly who the architect was and that I needed to see it up close. The Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, opened in 2010, and was designed by world-renowned architect, Frank Gehry. Another one of those cool Vegas discoveries that continue to impress.
We ended our day on Fremont Street at the Fremont Street Experience (FSE), the second most famous street after the Las Vegas Strip. Prior to the construction of the FSE, the western end of Fremont Street was the picture of Las Vegas that was included in virtually every television show and movie that wanted to display the lights of Las Vegas. The abundance of neon signs earned the street the nickname of Glitter Gulch.
How perfect that we saw an 'Elvis' at the Experience since the 1964 Elvis Presley film Viva Las Vegas featured nighttime footage of Fremont Street during the opening credits.
The most incredible attraction of the FSE is its barrel vault canopy (90 ft high and four blocks in length) that has enveloped this historic street. The underside of the canopy projects a light show— the world's largest and most spectacular. We stumbled upon the pageant and it was pretty mind-blowing. Interestingly, Las Vegas is known for never turning the outside casino lights off. Each show begins by turning off the lights on all of the buildings, including the casinos, under the canopy. This was something we had never seen before. Wow. The venue has become a major tourist attraction for downtown Las Vegas and we're so glad we discovered it. ¡Viva Las Vegas!
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3 comments:
Wow so many amazing sights. I love the funky building! Looks like another excellent adventure.
ROAD TRIP!! :)
Super fun.
The Gehry building is absolutely incredible.
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Excellent travelogue.
Different destinations and great Elvis reference!
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