It’s a Saturday night, and my friend and I are on a bar crawl in Boulder City. You heard me—a bar crawl, filled with booze, live bands and burlesque. That bears repeating, especially for Las Vegans who tend to think of their southeasterly neighbor as a sleepy community meant solely for raising families, retiring or gassing up the boat before a visit to Lake Mead.

Our evening begins on Arizona Street with bites, beers and billiards at Cornish Pasty. Beckoned by the old-fashioned, colonial revival architecture of the Boulder Dam Hotel across the street, we wander in and are lured into the basement lounge, Cleveland’s, by a live band performing the Commodores’ “Easy.” We stay for a drink, watching couples dance to tunes by Josev Castaño and the Upfront Band.

Next we head to Skinny Bar, where yet another musician is plugging in. We watch skilled mixologists light fire to sticks of cinnamon and inject smoke into glasses, among other impressive preparations for the craft cocktails served there. While we admire the stained glass near the entryway and the ornate carvings in the antique bar, we notice a door toward the back of the long room. The portal leads upstairs to a rooftop tiki-themed speakeasy complete with its own drink menu and inviting fire pit. 

At a burlesque show at the Club Room speakeasy, we hoot, holler and throw dollar bills for the sultry dancers. We run into friends and, after the show, join forces for karaoke at Big T’s Cantina. 

In a small city that prohibits gambling and observes the sabbath, who would’ve guessed you could have such a fun night on the town?

The development is rather recent and marks a shift in the city’s openness to these kinds of establishments. Skinny Bar owner Grant Turner says he was “fighting uphill” with Boulder City around the time he opened his first restaurant, The Dillinger, on Arizona Street.

“It felt like the Boulder City governing body was against me. I had so much friction. They were just resistant to change,” Turner says. “Then, the leadership changed. In the last few years, they have been like, ‘Hey, what can we do to help you make this happen?’ It’s so cool that people are opening up coffee shops and bars and cantinas.”

HOME OF HOOVER DAM

Boulder City was created in 1931 as a federal company town to house the workers at Hoover Dam (then Boulder Dam). It wasn’t until 1960 that it became an incorporated municipality. With the largest employers being the Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, school district and the city, Boulder City is very much still a government town, and a conservative one compared to Las Vegas.

In reaction to rapid population growth in the ’70s, a controlled growth ordinance passed in 1979, and was later amended in the ’90s to cap the number of new residential units each year at 120. Since 2000, Boulder City’s population has stayed around 15,000.

“There’s a sense of making sure that there are protections and reminders that we want to be good stewards of the environment, and having open space—not having the sprawl of what was happening in the Vegas Valley,” says Jill Rowland-Lagan, CEO of the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce.

Boulder City’s historic district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The 541 homes and buildings in the area are well-maintained and range from Spanish Revival to modern architecture, creating a fun landscape of unique businesses, parks and neighborhoods to explore. 

Longtime residents started noticing a resurgence in the historic district in the ’90s when the late restaurateur Milo Hurst opened Milo’s Cellar on Nevada Way. Rowland-Lagan recalls it having a “domino effect” down the major thoroughfare and setting off a series of private and public investments in the area over the course of three decades.

Rowland-Lagan also cites the creation of a redevelopment agency program in which business owners in the historic district can apply for a grant for 30% of the total cost of preservation and rehabilitation projects. 

Turner was approved for the grant program several times. He used it to update the 1947 building where he opened The Dillinger. His event venue Forge Social House opened in 2014, another conversion of a historic building. In 2023, Skinny Bar opened inside a 1932 building on Nevada Way. 

“I like working with historic buildings that have good bones, and honoring them ... as opposed to, here’s a piece of land and here’s my brand-new construction that has no context in Boulder City,” Turner says. 

Business owners in the historic district have a common respect for history and heritage. Take Boulder City Co. Store, which opened in 2019 in a building originally from 1931. 

“I’m a history buff, and I knew that the [Six Companies] Store existed when Hoover Dam was being built. It was the largest department store in Nevada from 1931 to 1936. I wanted to do a revival of the store that was authentic,” says owner Tara Bertoli. 

“I got a preservation grant. I stripped the whole building down to its original studs, original floors with the Hoover Dam concrete that made our whole town.” 

While preservation is a priority in the historic district, business owners also are pushing cultural boundaries. In a city that was dry until 1969, Turner (see page 24) and Bertoli have opened speakeasies that pay tribute to the city’s storied past. 

The Club Room at the back of Boulder City Co. Store is based on a real place that existed when the dam was being built, where executives of the Six Companies could partake in alcohol, Bertoli says. Today, it seats about 20 people and provides burlesque entertainment on Saturday nights. 

“I had to get my liquor license in Boulder City, which is not easy,” Bertoli says, adding that city regulations prohibit her dancers from stripping down to anything less than what a swimsuit would cover.

Only in Boulder City. 

LIVE, WORK, PLAY 

Boulder City offers nightlife steeped in history and a fun escape from Las Vegas. But it’s not all just play. To some Las Vegans, Boulder City has become a place to live and work, too. 

Twenty-eight-year-old Niko Thomas was born and raised in Las Vegas. He first moved to Boulder City in 2021 for a restaurant manager job in the historic district. After briefly returning to Las Vegas and deciding to pursue a career in pipefitting, Thomas and his girlfriend found a house to rent in Boulder City’s historic district. 

“As soon as we could find a spot back out here, we got it again. Because, at the end of the day, it’s peaceful here. If you forget to lock your car door or your front door, it’s not the end of the world,” he says. “You can always go back into [Vegas]. But you’re away from all the commotion and smog. And you can see a little more of the stars and mountains.” 

The peaceful pace, natural surroundings and dark night sky that can be found in Boulder City are intentional on the part of the local government and chamber. Through a 2023 federal grant, the city began retrofitting all municipal lights with light pollution-reducing fixtures and is working toward a certification with the International Dark Skies Association.

Kimberly and John Bender, who own and operate Cornish Pasty locations in Downtown Las Vegas and in Boulder City’s historic district, live close to their Las Vegas location. They don’t mind the commute to Boulder City. 

“You’re still so close. You get the small town feel, but you’re 30 to 40 minutes from the Strip for concerts or if you want to get a nice high-end dinner,” says John. “You can get what you get out of a big city. But you can also have the things you get from a small town.” 

The couple describes Boulder City as a “smaller market,” and one that has blossomed since they opened their restaurant on Arizona Street in 2022. They credit the city and chamber for cultural programming—like the monthly Best Dam Wine Walk—that draws foot traffic. 

“The city itself puts on a lot of events, and they incorporate the businesses in all of it. Throughout fall and spring, almost every weekend, there’s something going on out there where it draws from Art in the Park to spring jamboree. There are car shows all the time. The Dam Short Film Festival. There’s so much,” says Kimberly. 

A “neighborly” and collaborative business atmosphere is refreshing, she adds. Community spirit can be found in Cornish Pasty’s weekly trivia nights. It can also be found around the corner at Iron Rose Plants and Vintage, where owner Melissa Wirthlin collaborates with Beer Zombies to host monthly “plant bingo.”

“I really want to share my business with them and likewise, they can bring their customers to me,” Wirthlin says. 

The longtime Boulder City resident speaks highly of the unique small businesses that make up the historic district, calling them the “backbone” of the community. 

“They’re your friends. They’re your neighbors. They’re the people contributing, sponsoring little league teams and helping out with school donations. They have a vested interest in the community, unlike a franchise or chain restaurant or big box store.” 

SMALL TOWN, BIG ADVENTURE 

Many longtime residents say the small town mentality was reason to leave Boulder City just as much as it was a reason to return. 

“Growing up, I was like, I’ve got to get out of there. There was just nothing happening,” says Skinny Bar’s Turner. “I moved around for a bit, and then I was like, maybe rather than moving to a place that has everything I want, I can make Boulder City a little bit cooler.”

As he and other business owners in the historic district contribute to economic growth, they look forward to the rolling out of publicly funded developments geared toward outdoor recreation. Millions of tourists visit the nearby Lake Mead National Recreation Area every year, and that’s an opportunity to get more foot traffic into Boulder City businesses.

In 2018, a bypass on Interstate 11 was completed, alleviating congestion and making it more convenient to travel between Boulder City and Las Vegas. And in 2022, Nevada received a $3.7 million federal grant to open two new adventure centers in the state—one in Carson City and one in Boulder City. The Boulder City adventure center will be a “one-stop shop for all the outdoor operators,” says Boulder City Chamber’s Rowland-Lagan.

“We’ve contracted with a bus company to pick guests up from the Las Vegas hotels four or five times a day and just drop them in the parking lot where the individual operators will check them in ... and put them in their own shuttle to take them to do the activity,” she explains.

Having a regular bus between Las Vegas hotels and Boulder City attractions will allow tour guests to explore Boulder City more, bringing in more money for small businesses. The adventure center is expected to open this summer and host an official ribbon cutting in fall.

“Between the $35 million investment the state has put into the [Nevada State Railroad Museum] and the amount going into the adventure center, another $3.5 million federal grant managed by the state, and a $5.2 million investment from RTC for a new road … We’ve been calculating the private and public investment. … We’re looking at $75 million invested in a rural community in a period of 20 months,” Rowland-Lagan says.

“Money makes money. … So we expect people to be paying attention to that chunk of change going into a rural community.”

Our favorite discoveries

CS Recordz Encounter rare finds at this charming record store, also a treasure trove for cassette tapes, comics, vintage clothing, sound systems and local art. Dig in, and follow them on Instagram (@csrecordz2022) for updates about live music and other events. 1000 Nevada Way #107.

Tom Devlin’s Monster Museum Enter … if you dare. This stop along the busy “business corridor” on U.S. 93 gets you up close with dozens of unsavory characters and villains from horror movie history including Chucky, Freddy Krueger, Leatherface and Pennywise. 1310 Boulder City Pkwy., tomdevlinsmonstermuseum.com.

Hemenway Park This verdant stop along U.S. 93 has close and long-range views to take in. Watch the mountains turn purple over Lake Mead during sunset. Or allow your eyes to fixate on the bighorn sheep that graze here on a daily basis. 401 Ville Drive.

Bootleg Canyon Go fast on a mountain bike or take it slow on a scenic hike in Bootleg Canyon, which contains more than 36 miles of trails just west of town. If you’re looking for something more developed and kid-friendly, try the Nature Discovery Trail and Rock Garden. Parking off Canyon Road. 

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