One of the questions I often get on tour or online is, “Is it safe to walk from the Las Vegas Strip to the Strat (Stratosphere)?” So four years ago, I made a real-time video showing what it is like.
Back then, it was a four-block area littered with old flea-bag hotels, small, outdated gift shops, and curios. Not to mention the homeless and people looking for a handout or offering you a little something special to smoke. Although it was considered safe, it just had the look and feel of a third-world country!
Behind the Strat is an area known as “Naked City.” It was named for the former tenants of the apartment buildings. The Vegas showgirls. Who needed to keep that all over tan, so they sunbathed topless or au naturel. Thus, Naked City was born.
Four years ago, it was the Las Vegas version of the ghetto. Section eight, low-income housing. Drug dealers and hookers. You could find what you couldn’t find on the Strip back there!
Then came the pandemic and some really good deals for investors friendly with our governor. They got some great deals on now-closed businesses and property owners desperate to sell.
Some old hotels were razed, while others were completely renovated and became high-end apartments. The small shops as well. Some were torn down, and new businesses were built in their place. Some are now empty lots waiting for redevelopment.
Even Naked City had a makeover of sorts. The worst of the worst were removed, and the others are in the process of being rehabilitated.
So that little walk from the Strip to the Strat is a new experience. A little more up-to-date, more open, and inviting.
