There was a bit of a Speakeasy era in Vegas as gambling was outlawed from 1909-1931 ( drinking 1920-1933). Fremont Street became home to many other firsts in Vegas over the years including the 1st phone in 1907, the 1st paved road in 1925, later the 1st traffic light, and city’s 1st neon light at the Overland Hotel in 1928. The city’s oldest casino ( the Golden Gate from 1906) still stands on Fremont Street, but many other things have changed. With the railroad arriving in 1905, development along Fremont Street straight out from the train station formed Downtown Las Vegas. Fremont’s mapmaking, the booming California Gold Rush, and the snow-free Western trail through town helped Downtown Las Vegas grow. Fremont not only charted important trails crisscrossing the American West, but also helped reroute the Old Spanish Trail ( established 1829) from Santa Fe to Los Angles near an oasis located in today’s Downtown Las Vegas. There had been Native American tribes in the Las Vegas Valley for thousands of years, but it wasn’t until John Charles Fremont arrived in 1844 that Las Vegas ( Spanish for The Meadows) was officially on the map.
