When one thinks about all that was glamorous in Las Vegas, one must give tribute to the Stardust Hotel. The Stardust Hotel was a nod back to the times when the Las Vegas strip wasn’t advertised as a great family destination, but rather was crowded with smoky casinos, intimate lounges, and the gaudiest of décor.
Today’s Las Vegas is thrilling. Where else in the world can you visit different cultures, cities and even times by simply walking from building to building. The amusement park air of the strip invites visitors from all over the world to partake of the fun the city offers. Back in the day of the Stardust Hotel, Vegas was the place you came to only after dropping the kids off at Grandma’s house for the weekend.
What Made The Stardust Hotel So Special?
The Stardust Hotel was built in the fifties. At the time it was built, it was the only high rise hotel that could be found on the strip and the impressive sight of the Stardust Hotel rising out of the desert awed most visitors. The hotel boasted the largest casino and the largest swimming pool in the entire state of Nevada. The hotel’s 85,000 square foot casino offered a vast array of gambling opportunities and drinks and food flowed freely for the guests as they spent time at the card tables and slot machines. The pool at the Stardust Hotel was a work of art. There were actually two pools and a large spa that separated them. The Tropical décor surrounding the pools made one forget they were in the desert.
In the 1950’s America was booming. Money was good and most people could afford to buy a house and a car for their growing families. Las Vegas was also booming. As it grew up in the desert, it drew people in hordes to partake of its glamour. The Stardust Hotel was a part of this glamour and even though it had the biggest and the best of everything, it was surprisingly affordable. Perhaps some of its success as a Las Vegas Icon is due to the fact that the average person could afford to stay there. Most people that visited Las Vegas in its early years have fond memories of the Stardust Hotel.
As the old Vegas was demolished to make way for the newer, flashier Vegas, most of the old hotels and casinos were destroyed. The Stardust Hotel managed to hang on longer than most, but it succumbed to progress in 2007, when it was imploded to make way for a new hotel and casino to be built on its land.
The Stardust Hotel: The Icon Of An Era
