Meadows resort

Meadows Resort Las Vegas 

Back around 1959-1960 we had occasion to move to Sunrise avenue apartments, Unlike today, at that time they were very exclusive and mostly only fairly well to do folks lived there. It was the end of town and where Fremont met Boulder highway. Eastern stopped at Charleston and what is now North Eastern was 25th St. up to the North Las Vegas City limit. Anyway as seen on this map there is and was an empty lot connecting the "5 points East" intersection. Back then it was even emptier and Eastern hadn't yet cut trough it to connect to 25th. There was a huge Pile of debris from a demolished building there and the kids were always rummaging through it to find souvenirs of a long forgotten hotel. That Hotel called The Meadows Resort, was built in 1931 in hopes of catching the influx of people sure to flock to Vegas during the depression now that gaming had become legal. Mob run by the Connero brothers (Same Connero 25 years later who built the Stardust) It received one of the first of 7 Gambling licenses in 1931 and was considered the first "resort" hotel in Las Vegas. There was nothing at all on the strip yet and Boulder highway at that time was considered the Place to build. With the Dam started a couple of years later the influx of migrants looking for work was bound to make this place a sure winner. Alas it didn't happen that way, and it's a long story of mob rivalry and internal shenanigans, but the place mysteriously caught fire just a year after it was built. It re-built and reopened and stayed open until the early 40's with a reputation as a "Resort Brothel" When the War came and Nellis Gunnery range started bringing in teams of soldiers the City put the kibosh on the brothel and the place mysteriously burned down again, with Connero heading for California to fight another day.

Location Map of Old Meadows Resort