In Vegas time, 30 years is long enough to feel like forever. It’s a monumental chunk of time wherein generations of locals and visitors may have no understanding of what came before.
That’s how long we’ve had the Fremont Street Experience—the historic casino-lined five-block pedestrian promenade Downtown, covered mostly by the 1,375-foot LED-screen canopy flashing Viva Vision shows every night—instead of “Glitter Gulch,” what we called Fremont Street when you could drive your car there.
When the canopy came to life, there was no Stratosphere tower in Las Vegas, no Bellagio fountains, no faux Eiffel Tower. The population was less than one million.
But Las Vegas was already transforming quickly into something more than a gambling mecca, thanks to the arrival of Strip resorts like the Mirage, Excalibur, Luxor and Treasure Island. So Downtown had to take a big step, too, closing Fremont Street to vehicular traffic in September 1994 and breaking ground for FSE that month. It took around 15 months to build the canopy and install its 2.1 million lights, ready in time for a grand opening on December 14, 1995.
It could have happened differently. Another proposal to stimulate Downtown tourism suggested the construction of a life-size USS Enterprise from Star Trek, a spaceship as long as the Empire State Building is tall. But the head of Paramount Studios wouldn’t give the greenlight.
A preliminary idea for the canopy involved a sky parade where people and floats would move above pedestrians down Fremont every night. That plan was scrapped when Mary Kozlowski, who founded the first woman-owned architecture firm in Nevada, came up with the light show concept that would become famous blasting across the biggest single video screen in the world. (Viva Vision got a $32 million tech upgrade in 2019 adding four times the resolution and making the shows seven times brighter with more energy-efficient LED modules.)
In 1996, the Fremont Street Experience was named one of the best themed attractions in the country by the Themed Entertainment Association, winning an Outstanding Achievement award for unique, stand-alone projects. Other winners in the competition that year were the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland and the WaterWorld stunt show at Universal Studios. The canopy turned Downtown Las Vegas itself into an attraction.
“Fremont Street Experience has always been about creating unforgettable moments. For 30 years, we’ve been proud to serve as the heartbeat of Downtown Las Vegas, blending innovation, entertainment and community spirit,” Dana Reynolds, vice president of marketing, said in a statement. “This anniversary is a celebration of the people, performances, and energy that have made Fremont Street Experience such a landmark destination.”
It celebrated 30 years with a proper party on December 14, part of a month-long initiative to mark the anniversary culminating in the annual Countdown Under the Canopy New Year’s Eve celebration. (Tickets are $60 at vegasexperience.com.)
Perhaps because it feels like it’s always been there, the Fremont Street Experience doesn’t always get acknowledged as one of the most significant attractions in Las Vegas, but it’s undeniably one of the most pivotal projects in our history. The development we enjoy today in the Arts District and Symphony Park might never have happened without the canopy. It’s a powerful visual contribution to the destination’s identity, and it’s the single greatest revitalization project in a long line of efforts to boost Downtown.
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