Security Bypass: Final Glimpses of Las Vegas Club and Mermaids Casino Before Demolition
LasVegasJunkie goes behind curtains, fences, and walls on Fremont Street for construction scoop.
After getting into town just shy of 10:30 pm on Monday, June 26 I decided to hit the Fremont Street and see what has changed under the canopy since my last trip over Memorial weekend. I made it a point to swing by El Portal Indian Arts & Crafts and document part of Downtown Las Vegas history that will most likely become history as it is scheduled to be shuttered and replaced by the Fremont Food Emporium.
El Portal originally opened as the El Portal Theatre in 1928 with an elegant Spanish-style lobby; my wife had gifted me the book “LOST LAS VEGAS” for Father’s Day and inside was a section dedicated to El Portal with awesome classic pictures of the interior in its original state:
After researching all of the noticeable changes to Fremont Street under the canopy I decided to venture back to the shuttered Las Vegas Club and take some final photographs before she meets her eventual demise.
I made my way over to Mermaids Casino to capture some photos of the former dive casino before she too meets her end. It was at this point that I noticed a lapse in security in the area in between the back of Mermaids Casino and Granite Gaming’s executive office building off of North 1st Avenue. I had a split second to decide if I should go for it and sneak in while the lapse in security was still in place or call it a night and head back home to the Downtown Grand….. I think you know which option I went for!
The entire area is scheduled to begin demolition in a couple of weeks to make way for a new mega resort titled “18 Fremont” being developed by Derek Stevens, owner of the Golden Gate and The D casinos. First order of business will be the demolition of the Granite Gaming Executive office building, followed by the Glitter Gulch and Mermaids buildings, then demolition will start on the Las Vegas Club casino, move over to the parking structure, and last but not least will be the demolition of the two hotel towers. Demolition of the entire 1-square block is expected to be completed by the end of 2017.
[Photos: LasVegasJunkie]
Las Vegas Junkie can be reached at LasVegasJunkie1@gmail.com and he tweets (a lot) at twitter.com/LasVegasJunkie
A lifelong Las Vegas Fan and only a short 3-hour drive away; LasVegasJunkie is a regular visitor to the Las Vegas area. When in Las Vegas, you can find him in downtown playing slots, a lot of blackjack, trying out as many new restaurants as possible and never in a club.
Follow LasVegasJunkie on twitter @LasVegasJunkie
2 thoughts on “Security Bypass: Final Glimpses of Las Vegas Club and Mermaids Casino Before Demolition”
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Thanks for taking one for the team and getting back there for these photos. It makes me sad to see this happen. Las Vegas Club especially has some great memories for me.
Me too. LVC and Plaza are where I first learned I was a blackjack addict and slot junkie lol. Hopefully Derek can incorporate some aspects of classic downtown Las Vegas into his new resort.