Fremont St going downhill?

We always make a point of going Downtown at least once each trip but although we aren't prudes in any way, the go-go dancers both inside and outside the Fremont St. casinos, the topless Pirate Woman, topless Nuns and large numbers of pushy fancy dress characters seem to us to be bringing the tone down in an increasingly sleazy fashion!

Okay, the area has always been a mecca for adults but some families still visit to see the lights show with kids in tow and there are a lot of aggressive ticket and timeshare touts, beggars and down and outs around.

When we visited Main St. Station buffet for the first time, we were very impressed by the value and quality of the food but there is a prominent notice on their front door stating " No guns, knives or weapons allowed" and on the walk from Fremont St., there were a lot of sad and desperate individuals lining the route.

Another drawback was the very smoky Fremont casinos and on a personal note, the much publicised looser slots were very mean and tight for us. We really enjoyed the loud rock bands on the stages but overall not a classy area at all and not for the faint- hearted!

Great fun for adults, bur proceed with caution if travelling there with kids or strait- laced friends!

 

We have not stayed downtown at all since Binion's went to Becky (yikes!!). All previous visits were just our style of vacation. Then Boyd got our attention.

I have visited once since then to meet Joe at the Hotel California VP Bar. On the way over I went through Binion's, Golden Nugget, peered into what was left of the LVC, Golden Gate with a quick in and out just to see how things had changed in my absence.

I noticed some vagarants but it was noon and what not so not too bothered. Took the Sam's shuttle after the meet and a bit of craps and really didn't notice much else. Booked the Hotel California Fri./Sat./Sun. in May just to see for myself after the previous three nights at the Orleans. Hoping all the previous posts about the deteriation of DT is just isolated and random. Looking forward to some bands and a bit of the way-back machine with Mr. Peabody.

I am not going with any expectations other than good gambling at the Hotel and some good eats. I would be severely disappointed to have to deal with drama while on vacation trying to relax.....but it won't be a trip killer; just a guide as to whether to venture overnights in the future. (I am highly tolerant of things reportedly present but don't like the thought of walking through the area and being accosted from all points for money, cigarettes, cigars, tiparillos, etc).....sometimes the more things change the more they remain the same.....

 

While I know some love it down there, downtown Vegas has never been for me, other than to go down and gamble a bit.

But your last sentence, "Great fun for adults, but proceed with caution if travelling there with kids or strait- laced friends!", pretty much says it for all of Las Vegas as far as I'm concerned.

 

Not sure if it could ever have been described as "classy"

 

Downtown going downhill? I have visited downtown each of my 20 trips an often several times until about 5 years ago when I decided to stay downtown and loved it! Has it changed ? Yes. For the better? Well, I prefer Bay City Diner to Du Pars, don't care for go go dancers, hate the loud music etc. but these are businesses and they must change to survive. I like Leno and Letterman but the audience is changing and the networks must respond. Most of what I see downtown is positive, whether I like it or not. I'd rather have a few thngs that I don't like than lose downtown.

I was thinking how far Ogden Street has come with the Downtown Grand open, Pizza Rock, Cabana Suites, Gold Spike etc. There will always be people that hate the changes. I think the dress up freaks are cheezy, but even staying downtown I get panhandled and insulted more by the homeless on the Strip than downtown. I don't like the zip lines plugging buth ends of the FSE but whatever works. Container park is not something that excited me but it does draw a crowd, and I like the new restaurants and businesses on Fremont East.

I can make a big list of new things on the Strip that I like and don't like as well, but change is inevitable and it is the overall experience of LV that draws me back again and again. Part of that is the constant state of change so yo have to tolerate the bad with the good.

Jimbo338

 

sigh...another downtown bash.

FYI, ever since they passed the open carry law here in WI, many, many establishments have that same type of sign about weapons being prohibited. It's not just Vegas and it's not just downtown.

 

I agree with Jimbo. With the D and Downtown, El Co seems to be the comeback kid of the decade, and other improvements, Fremont east getting a lift with new bars, Downtown is not going downhill, just the opposite.

 

While I'm normally game to jump in and get a few jabs in any downtown bashing thread, I'm sorry... I must respectfully disagree with the phrase "going downhill". The OP's articulated well why things weren't to their taste, but there's been just too much investment and revitalization downtown to be considered "going downhill."

Jimbo's post above is a good one!

 

I've seen as bad / worse on the Strip than anything encountered downtown. You also do not have to deal with the porn slappers downtown. Downtown has done a great job with room / casino remodels (The D, Golden Gate, Plaza, Downtown Grand, El Cortez, Golden Nugget) and I also enjoy the other properties (The Cal became my favorite Downtown casino / hotel a few years ago). Fremont East has really turned around and they offer barand dining options for people of all ages.

The great thing about Vegas is there are options for anyone - Strip, Downtown or Off-Strip. I make it a point to visit and enjoy all three areas each trip. I don't enjoy all changes, but there is enough options to satisfy most visitors.

 

I've been staying and playing downtown(almost exclusively) for almost 8 years now.
And on almost every trip I take, I make a day-trip to the strip.
And every time, I find myself missing downtown within a few hours.

I hate 'slotzilla'...I'd prefer that there were no bums or costumed freaks... I find the FSE shows tiresome and old.

But other than those few things - which are minor, compared to my laundry-list of complaints about the strip - I still love staying & playing downtown.

PS - and yes, I feel "safer" downtown than I do on the strip, for whatever THAT'S worth.

 

Going downhill is a subjective assessment of course. It's certainly changed. The best thing that happened was closing it to traffic in the early 90's. The canopy was very cool when it first opened. But other than updating the lights it's pretty much the same thing over and over. Fun to see once but certainly nothing that would make one want to make a trip downtown to see it again. Casinos - The 'Shoe is a shell of it's former self. LVC is not close to what it was when Jackie and Mel owned it. Pioneer is closed and sells tshirts. The D... some really like it, I preferred Fitzeralds. MSS is still nice and the Cal continues to have it's niche. The new Grand hasn't really had an impact, if anything it's been a disappointment. Slotzilla.... don't get me started

If Binions and LVC could return to what they used to be that would be a big step in the right direction. It would be great if someone could renovate and reopen the Pioneer but after 20 years that's doubtful. And get rid of the canopy. But again it's all subjective.

 

Don't get rid of the canopy. It provides shade during the day. Maybe update the shows more often.

 

Not having seen Fremont St. prior to the canopy, I can't make a comparison of the two eras. And in comparing the early incarnation of FSE versus today, my downtown memories are a bit thin... didn't go downtown much back in the day. Sure wish I wrote trip reports back then.

I vaguely remember being downtown on a Saturday afternoon during my first trip. It was Jan. 4, 1997. It was quiet, because the fancy new light show hadn't started. There didn't seem to be much to see or do outside of the casinos, despite the mall. There wasn't a hustle and bustle. It wasn't hot, but it wasn't frigid either. Regardless, I doubt there were any outdoor bars to sell you drink as you walked up and down Fremont. Nobody to sell you $10 strands of "happy birthday" beads, either, I'm certain.

I don't know what kind of crowd turned up on a Saturday night in 1997, but I don't recall there being concert stages. No doubt people came to see the amazing light show, but I'll bet downtown still relied upon the gambler as its draw back then. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe there were other entertainment options, and money makers, than I recall.

Today's FSE: It's a victim of its own success. (Well, not exactly.)

Free concerts, some by bands people want to see, and a party atmosphere is all it takes to draw people out. If you can sell drinks to those folks, and make a nice profit at the end of the night on the opportunity cost of serving those drinks, you take it, even if it's a drop in the bucket. If some of those folks come in and drop cash in the machines or at the tables, all the better. If there are a few problems outside the casino as a result of the FSE success, that's just another opportunity cost.

 

Is fremont going downhill? Yea, a little, but the whole country is going downhill, they're no exception, go to walmart and you'll know what I mean.

I like the characters, I like the wierdo's and I dont mind the bums, I have no problem ignoring them or telling them no if they are aggressive, I had one guy sitting on the ground at a crosswalk ask me if I had a dollar, I didn't answer and then he said "do you have $20", I turned and said "yea, but I'm not gonna give it to you", he kind of smirked and looked away. You got to get into the spirit of things folks.

 

The Strip

More costumed characters - Check
Not an ideal place for kids at night - Check
Slots that take all of your money - Check

Clearly the strip is going downhill.


My guess is you come from a state that doesn't have concealed carry laws. This is extremely common in Texas. I don't view it as it is a bad neighborhood. These signs are actually for the law abiding citizens rather than to politely tell criminals to leave their guns at home.





I'm all for opinions good or bad about a place, but you have said it got worse with no context in how it got worse. Every aspect you mentioned could be applied to every area of Vegas. While there are some new things about downtown that I am not a fan, the area in general is getting significant improvements and it would be very hard to argue that downtown in general is worse off than it was 5 years ago or 10 years ago.

 

It started going downhill when the Gold Spike raised the price of it's breakfast special from .99 to 1.99.

 

I like the fact that people are investing in the Downtown. The D and Downtown Grand are breathing some life into the area. The stand alone and outdoor casino bars are a fun development as well. I like many of the stand alone restaurants too.

That said, we were just down there a few weeks ago. To put it gently, I used to like it a lot more than I do now. There is WAY to much clutter and ....yuck everywhere.

To answer the OPs question, yes I believe downtown has gone downhill.

I don't think it would be impossible to clean it up quickly. It would be easy actually. Get rid of those costume characters and half of the kiosks. It's impossible to walk more than 5 feet in a straight line out there. That would be a great start. Literally clean and sweep the street and it would look much better.

 

I'm the OP. The reason we were so surprised at the no weapons warning at MSS is that we live in Scotland, where very few people carry guns! The reason I've been giving so much thought to Fremont/Downtown is that my brother and his wife asked us recently for tips as to where to go on their first ever trip to Vegas last month.

Unfortunately, my sister in law is very snobby and has very high morals, so I knew Fremont St. would be too much for her to cope with and when I considered how many naive UK tourists would find some aspects of Vegas, I realised they'd experience a bit of a culture shock! Over the years we have grown accustomed to seeing armed security guards in hotels, being accosted by the porn slappers and timeshare touts and observing comatose vagrants on the bridges, whereas a lot of foreign tourists come to Vegas expecting glitz, glamour, neon and never consider for one moment that Vegas has a seedy side too! I read online recently that 2 pairs of costumed Showgirls had a catfight over their " territory" and what started out as a fun idea of having your photo taken with Elvis has now become a full blown industry of sometimes unpleasant mercenaries battling for space to relieve tourists of cash.

I agree the Strip can be just as bad for being hassled and I wasn't running down Downtown for the sake of it, but again just trying to warn first-timers to Vegas that for every fantastic sight such as the Bellagio fountains or gondolas at the Venetian there are less attractive aspects too.

Those of us who are regulars have become cynical and a bit immune to the down sides but it might tarnish some tourists opinions if they experience culture shock!

 

What do u suggest we do?

Kick the homeless and beggars out of their own city/country OR
Doll them up so the tourists and their kids are masked from the harsh realities on their vacation

U don't mention them doing anything illegal..Well, then its a free country..

U r free to make ur point, but hope u see how it can rub others the wrong way..

 

You mean like they do every night around 3 or 4 am?


The things that people take exception with downtown can all be found on the strip. Its just that downtown everything is condensed, and much more visible.