There’s an entire Wikipedia category devoted to Las Vegas’ poor historic preservation record. “Demolished hotels in Clark County, Nevada” features the names of more than two dozen properties, many of which still figure large in Las Vegas legend: The Sands, Riviera, Desert Inn, Stardust, Tropicana. All gone, every one; you won’t even find plaques where they stood. Our city doesn’t really do history: we level it, continually attempt to reshape Vegas bigger and brighter.

Any local entity—be it a restaurant, bar, casino resort or other business—that stands firm against Vegas’ continual efforts to remake and remodel itself deserves recognition for staying off that list. There are dozens of them, much more than you’ll find in that desolated Wikipedia category: Caesars Palace, Battista’s Hole in the Wall, the Golden Steer, the Double Down Saloon, Jerry’s Nugget and many others. They’re not just longtime Valley businesses, but city institutions. Places that have stood the test of time and woven themselves into the fabric of Vegas’ character.

The Weekly doesn’t have room in its pages to give all of Vegas’ institutions the recognition they deserve. But we picked out 12 of them that have meant a lot to us and offer them here as an antidote to “Vegas just tears things down.” Over the years these places have changed owners, changed their insides and outsides, even changed their location. But they hold true, and we can’t help but hold true to them.

Atomic Liquors - 1954

This Downtown bar has enjoyed something of a charmed life since Stella and Joe Sobchik willed it into being more than 70 years ago. It’s been in movies and on TV: Casino, The Hangover, Drunk History. Anthony Bourdain and Barbra Streisand have sat on its barstools; brave guests once sat on its rooftop to watch atomic bomb tests miles away. And through it all, it’s remained what it is: a good, durable community bar, with a great staff and one of the city’s best pieces of vintage signage. –Geoff Carter

Plaza Hotel & Casino - 1971

The Plaza likes to show off. And it’s good at it. Upon opening in 1971, it had Vegas’ biggest gaming floor and the only Amtrak station in the U.S. located within a casino. It’s tattooed with giant murals by Shepard Fairey, D*Face and FAILE. And it continually pushes boundaries, takes giant swings: It brought us Michael Vakneen’s Pop Up Pizza and Miss Behave’s Mavericks, boasts Downtown’s only equestrian arena, and will soon welcome Hogs & Heifers. Who knows what this Vegas stalwart will show off next? –GC

Peppermill - 1972

A 64-ounce cocktail called the Scorpion—two shots apiece of rum, vodka and cherry brandy—served in a bowl glass. A huge plate of vanilla- and cinnamon-rich French toast piled high with fruit and whipped cream. A low-lit, highly stylized lounge that looks like a cross between a wedding reception and Star Trek: The Next Generation, dominated by a fire pit and attended by servers who sit down to take your order. It’s hard to find an aspect of this stalwart Strip diner and lounge that isn’t iconically Vegas. –GC

Commercial Center/Las Vegas Cue Club - 1963-1964

Before Town Square, the District and Downtown Summerlin—a long, long time before them—there was Commercial Center, a massive outdoor shopping district opened in August 1963. Over the years it’s accommodated everything from celebrated Thai restaurant Lotus of Siam to the Composers Room performance space. But if you’ve been there, it’s probably been to shoot pool at the Las Vegas Cue Club, where Valley residents have happily gotten behind the 8-ball since 1964. –GC

Circus Circus - 1968

For Gen X brats like me, Circus Circus’ midway was a rite of passage. While our parents played on the tables and machines, we won stuffed toys in water-shooting games; played Galaga in the arcade; watched the rotating carousel bar and free trapeze acts with equal fascination. Kids of the generations after us grew up in the Adventuredome with rollercoaster rides and scare nights. Jay Sarno and Stanley Mallin didn’t just make Vegas a circus, they got all of us to run away and join it. –GC

Little Church of the West - 1942

At Little Church of the West, couples have tied the knot for more than 80 years. Built in 1942, the historic wedding chapel (designed to resemble a mining town church with rustic interiors of California redwood) is the oldest building on the Strip. It’s where Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret exchanged vows in Viva Las Vegas; where Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie famously eloped, and where Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford said, “I do.” –Amber Sampson

Cliff’s Barber Corral - 1995

Cliff Wolosin is a proper cowboy. Dresses the part—wide-brimmed hat, big belt buckle, black vest. His shop is a riot of Western and Vegas memorabilia dotted with celebrity endorsements, including Freddie Mercury of Queen. And when you sit in his chair, Wolosin offers a wholly unique Vegas experience—a history lesson, a bottomless well of great stories ... and a truly great haircut, like the kind your dad and granddad used to get, administered with the biggest damn scissors you’ve ever seen. Not just a grooming; it’s a real wild west adventure. –GC

Luv-It Frozen Custard - 1973

If we had a dollar for every time we rolled up to this unassuming Downtown hut and ordered Luv-It’s thick, outrageously creamy frozen custard—served unencumbered or in sundaes like the Western (fudge, caramel and pecans), Scotch Jimmie (caramel, banana and chocolate sprinkles) or Luv-it Special (strawberries and pecans)—we’d perhaps have enough to buy this family-owned, sweet city institution outright. But we wouldn’t, because why mess with perfection? –GC

Ethel M Cactus Garden - 1981

Nevada’s largest botanical cactus garden has been part of the chocolate factory tour from the beginning, but for the past 32 years, it’s risen another level with its holiday display. It’s a desert tradition we’ve gladly upheld, with hundreds of cacti, succulents and shrubs twinkling with Christmas lights and merry decor. Taking a self-guided stroll through the three-acre garden with a cup of hot cocoa and family feels cozy and somehow, classic. –AS

Italian American Club - 1960

Institutions like the Italian American Club on East Sahara mostly don’t exist anymore. It’s a social club, created in a time when places were built exclusively for that purpose without commercial enterprise, and a hub for the Las Vegas Italian American community. It’s also a one-of-a-kind supper club with old-school Vegas entertainment, a style of fun that’s also nearly extinct in the fast-moving entertainment capital of the world. If you’re looking for a living, breathing connection to the Rat Pack era of this city, you’ve found it. –Brock Radke

Gipsy - 1981

A sanctuary to the LGBTQ community for more than 40 years, Gipsy’s legacy as one of the last original gay bars in the Fruit Loop can’t be overstated. The nightclub has anchored the historic district since 1981, and in that time it’s established a profound sense of belonging, especially for the next generation. Everyone from Janet Jackson to Liberace has enjoyed a night out at Gipsy—it’s too iconic not to. –AS

Doña Maria Tamales - 1990

There’s an excellent reason why Doña Maria calls out their tamales on their Las Vegas Boulevard sign. Actually, there are five indelibly great, undeniably delicious reasons: Pork in a mild red sauce, chicken in a spicy green sauce, Monterey Jack cheese with green chilies, beef in a mild red sauce and a sweet variant with pineapple and raisins. Seven dollars each or $33 for a half-dozen, all wrapped in corn husks and served hot and fresh. This cozy restaurant also has a full Mexican menu, but if we’re being honest, we rarely get past the tamales. –GC

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