For whatever may be said about former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman–and there are plenty of stories about this attorney who often represented mobsters–he recognized that Las Vegas needed to diversify its economy beyond the casinos and widen its appeal to newcomers.
Among other things he did was to establish the Arts District in an old neighborhood of 1960s apartments near downtown Las Vegas.
Tech companies welcomed to Las Vegas
It began in 1998 and at that time the game developer Electronic Arts was already headquartered in Vegas creating digital games.
Soon afterwards online shoe seller Zappos leaped into life nearby with its wild-and-crazy culture and, even though Amazon purchased the company, it remains in Las Vegas.
Other tech companies followed. And many of their young employees and other creative young people moved into the revitalized Mid-Century apartments found in the Arts District. It even has its own neon sign!
The area has a more urban feel than other parts of Las Vegas, which, by and large, resemble attractive newish suburbs.
For whatever it is worth, Mayor Goodman, and his wife who succeeded him as mayor, actively campaigned to bring professional sports to Las Vegas over what was initially some opposition by the casino owners. The Las Vegas Golden Knights hockey team and the Las Vegas Raiders football team now both call Vegas home.
JUST A NOTE: The Strip is not downtown–in fact, it is not even within the Las Vegas city limits. The streets and buildings surrounding Fremont St. is the actual original downtown Las Vegas. The Arts District is just to the north of downtown.
