#slotzilla

[neptunesdaughtr]

The Fremont Street Experience (FSE) is a pedestrian mall and attraction in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The FSE occupies the westernmost five blocks of Fremont Street, including the area known for years as "Glitter Gulch", and portions of some other adjacent streets.

Owner

FSE, LLC

Length

0.8 mi

Location

Las Vegas

East end

Las Vegas Boulevard

West end

Main Street

Construction

Construction start

September 16, 1994

Completion

July 1995

The central attraction is a barrel vault canopy, 90 ft high at the peak and four blocks, or approximately 1,375 ft, in length.

While Las Vegas is known for never turning the outside casino lights off, each show begins by turning off the lights on all of the buildings, including the casinos, under the canopy. Before each show, one bidirectional street that crosses the Experience is blocked off for safety reasons.

Concerts, usually free, are also held on three stages. The venue has become a major tourist attraction for downtown Las Vegas, and is also the location of the SlotZilla zip line attraction and the city's annual New Year's Eve party, complete with fireworks on the display screen.

Fremont Street had Las Vegas' first hotel (the Hotel Nevada in 1906, present day Golden Gate), first telephone (1907),first paved street (1925), first Nevada gaming license — issued to the Northern Club at 15 E. Fremont St, first traffic light, first elevator (the Apache Hotel in 1932), and the first high-rise (the Fremont Hotel in 1956). The Horseshoe was the first casino to install carpeting, while the Golden Nugget was the first structure designed from the ground up to be a casino.

For many years, the western end of Fremont Street was the area most commonly portrayed whenever producers wanted to display the lights of Las Vegas. The large number of neon signs earned the area the nickname "Glitter Gulch".

By 1992, 80 percent of the Las Vegas casino market was on the Las Vegas Strip. Downtown Las Vegas hotels and casinos sought to build an attraction that would lure more visitors to their businesses. After Paramount Pictures head Stanley Jaffe refused to approve a proposal to build a life-sized Starship Enterprise, the Fremont Street Experience was chosen as the project. FSE, LLC is a cooperative venture, owned and operated by a group of downtown hotel/casino companies (comprising eight hotel/casinos) as a separate corporation, responsible for financing, developing, and managing the Fremont Street Experience.

It was the second Las Vegas project of architect Jon Jerde, whose firm was paid approximately $900,000 by the City of Las Vegas to create a show concept for the downtown area. Jerde's design included a floating sky parade which was to be suspended from the canopy. The concept was accepted by the Fremont Street Experience as well as the City of Las Vegas. Ultimately Jerde's sky parade concept was scrapped, but the architectural design for the canopy was carried through.

The local architect of record, Mary Kozlowski Architect Inc., cited the following as problems with Jerde's sky parade concept:

Perspective: The view of the parade from below made the concept unworkable — to properly view the project would require that visitors stand at a raised elevation such as a third or fourth floor vantage point.

Wind: The addition of the canopy over Fremont Street would create a wind tunnel causing a dangerous condition for people on the floats who would be trapped. Also the potential for harmonic motion as the floats swung back and forth in the wind potentially resulting in massive structural failure of the canopy and fatalities.

Sand: The combination of desert sand and the mechanical systems of the sky parade would make the attraction difficult to maintain.

A new concept for the show was necessary quickly as funds were already available and the overall schedule was set. The concept for the show as it now exists was conceived by architect Mary Kozlowski who had grown up in Las Vegas and knew and loved Fremont Street. It was a light show on the underside of the canopy — the world's largest and most spectacular. Peter Smith, executive vice-president of Atlandia Design, recognized the beauty and practicality of the concept. Jerde, FSE and the City of Las Vegas embraced the show concept.

Kozlowski's concept was to use a combination of four colored light bulbs per "light" which allowed a full spectrum of colors. The Young Electric Sign Company assisted in creating the test panels and in the final installation. After the Fremont Street Experience opened, the light bulbs were checked nightly to ensure that all were functioning properly. To accomplish this massive undertaking, the length of the canopy was divided into panels. Each panel was checked by separately turning on each of the four colored light bulbs. A maintenance worker on a lift would then replace any bulbs that were out. The most expensive bulb cost nearly $15 to replace.

The canopy was expected to cost $63 million. Downtown casino owners pledged $18 million to help pay for the project, and they supported a two-percent increase on room tax for most downtown hotels. The Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency also agreed to provide approximately $27.6 million to build a parking garage and pay for street improvements. The city wanted the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to pay a remaining $6 million for the project.

On September 7, 1994, a five-block section of Fremont Street was closed to automobile traffic for good, and groundbreaking was held on September 16. After that, the digging up of the street and the installation of the support poles continued into December. On February 15, 1995, the space frames were brought in and the roof began to take shape. The last piece was installed in July 1995.

The official public preview was held in conjunction with the Nevada Symphony. The light show was opened on December 14, 1995. The first New Year's party was held on December 31, 1995.

In 1996, a horse-and-rider neon sign from the Hacienda hotel-casino was placed at the FSE's east entrance, at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Fremont Street. It was added by the Neon Museum.

Permanent stages were added in the early 2000s, eliminating the need to bring in temporary stages for every event. The sound system was upgraded in June 2001.

On June 14, 2004, a $17 million upgrade was unveiled that would feature a 12.5-million LED display and more color combinations than the original display, which was composed of incandescent lighting.

The initial $70 million investment and the continued improvements have resulted in successful and ongoing downtown redevelopment. The City of Las Vegas and the downtown casinos have benefited as more than 60% of visitors to the downtown area are lured by the overhead light show and stage shows and stay to enjoy the attractions of the nearby casinos.

A $32 million renovation of the video screen began in May 2019 and was scheduled to conclude six months later. New LED lights would make the screen four times the resolution and seven times brighter than before. The upgrade was designed and constructed by the Illinois-based Watchfire Signs. Also in development was a smartphone app that would allow visitors to choose the next song to be played on Fremont Street, and would also allow them to watch the canopy show on their phone. In November 2019, plans were announced for a new LED sign, 27 feet by 14 feet, that would show images of Fremont Street throughout its history. The sign, part of the $32 million renovation, would be built on the east side of Main Street and Fremont Street, and was expected to be operational the following month. Work on the canopy video display was concluded as of December 2019, with the official unveiling scheduled for New Year's Eve.

[weerentheworld]

I’m really glad I made time for this attraction (the neon museum in Vegas), but I am surprised at how small it is- I’m able to EASILY circle the whole walk twice in under 30 min, and that’s with stopping to take pictures!

I am viewing it at my own pace as opposed to doing a tour. 

I’d thought it would have been bigger from other’s reviews.

I also notice that the stardust sign & hard rock guitar are the two BIG instagram spots. If you come here looking for multiple sweeping views expect to taper expectations and instead get 1-2 big views + a bunch of small ones.

Neon Museum: Absolutely worth the price! 

After the Neon museum I return to Fremont for a zipline. specifically: SlotZilla. SlotZilla has a great kitschy card tower look to it.It has two lines, the zip line (sitting) & the zoom line (superman style)

“The Zip-Zilla(Zipline) is 77 feet high, flyers go halfway down the Fremont Street Experience (850 feet), in a seated position. On the upper level (114 feet up), the Super-Hero Zoom (Zoomline), guests ride “superhero-style” all the way down the Fremont Street Experience canopy (1,700 feet).”

Which I must say was one of the worst zip-lines I’ve done.It was quick. REALLY quick. You had maybe 5 sec of flashing lights above and then you were done. It also had a really abrupt/jerky stop which honestly was not fun/uncomfortable. It felt a little unsafe/sketchy there was very little explanation from attendant (they clearly were board with the whole thing), and kinda added to an overall feeling of run-down tiredness which seemed to permeate all of Fremont street :(

Slotzilla: Overall NOT worth the price tag! 

[breaksbcnes]

i'll definitely have to ask your friends, although i already might agree with you .... if you want to test the theory again though i'll be more than happy to offer my hand for you to hold.

you have your first date with me outfit picked out but you don't have our couples costume planned? wow, you have got to catch up franki ... halloween is coming up soon and i plan on saying a lot more charming things towards you. i have always wanted to do that slotzilla zipline and take you out on a date so i call that a win win situation.

[chelseynicoleexclusives]

[douglascarteriii]

Take A Deep Breath & A Leap Of Faith 🧗🏽‍♀️. . . Thank You @SlotZilla For The Amazing Experience & Amazing Pictures .!!! . . #DouglascarterIII #Douglas #DCIII #LasVegas #LV #SlotZilla #slotzillaziplinelasvegas (at Slotzilla Zip Line Las Vegas) https://www.instagram.com/p/B17jDj9pQAI/?igshid=suwf3dwu8lk0

[vegasimages]

Slot Zipline

[mbicca]

This was freaking Rad!!! Thanks for turning 50th @nlimsang !!! It was awesome to be there! #friends #music #slotzilla #grateful #fun #vintagenotold #funhasnoage #flyinghigh (at Slotzilla Zip Line Las Vegas) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0QFXuUA8Z5/?igshid=1qz536xqtnkrc

[nashaliseyes]

[anji-salz]

So in Las Vegas downtown we did the #slotzilla zip line where you hang face down! It was an absolutely epic experience 🔥👌🏻 Have you ever been to Vegas? And would you try something like that? ・ ・ ・ #lasvegas #tgif #zipline #holiday #unitedstates #friends #fun #tiesto #travelblogger #travel #flying #ラスベガス (at Slotzilla Zip Line Las Vegas)

[femperiumbypd]

Conoce nuestros bestseller! https://femperium.com/lakshmi 👙uno de los más hermosos diseños 🥰👙🥰 Meet our bestsellers! https://femperium.com/lakshmi 👙 one of the most beautiful designs #femperium #bestseller #seguidores #seguidos #followers #swimwearforsale #luxuryswimwear #luxurilifestyle #luxurylasvegas #luxurymiami #striplasvegas #fremontstreet #slotzilla #downtownmiami #downtownlasvegas #downtownlosangeles #losangeles #oufits #vacationmode #cancun #acapulco #circa #stratocaster #wynnlasvegas #trumplasvegas #treasure #bikinibaylv (en Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CL-z4c9HJ0e/?igshid=1bjmvysjzo12u

[dancingboidre]

Just finished zip lining through #fremontstreet @slotzilla and it was absolutely amazing. #downtownvegas #fremontstreetexperience #slotzilla #slaythekids #vegas (at Fremont Street Experience)

[paulac26]

When I went on this by myself because my brother will not get on anything up high. 🤣 #slotzilla #freemontstreet #tb finding all kinds of pics in my #memories https://www.instagram.com/p/B5CNBAdDmdH/?igshid=1s2i2ptuvw3k4

[silkysofthair]

Sometimes you just have to face your fears and kick them in the A$$!! #monatvegas #paidvacation #monathelps #silkysofthair #flying #supergirl #kisstheground #vegasstrong #lovinglife #hangingout #sahm #wahm #pinkhair #monathair #onpoint #feelingbrave #slotzilla #zipline #vegas #pink

[benjarriola]

It’s hard to see us in the video though. #slotzilla #zipline #fremontstreet #lasvegas I was the first one that passed, then on the following 3, Tatu is on the left of this video when the next set of 3 passed. (at Slotzilla Zip Line Las Vegas) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0dLSW0pdC7/?igshid=1xmirjzoala6o

[goneadventuring91blog]

Freemont Street-  Slotzilla zipline. Freemont is the street to be for adults it is where vegas originated from it is Old Vegas. I did not get to ride the zipline but it looks like so much fun! Freemont has many bars, casinos and frozen drink stations.

[ionized4091]

Fremont Street, dayside. . . . #fremontstreet #fremont #fremontst #fremontlv #dtlv #downtown #downtownlv #lasvegas #vegas #slotzilla #slots #gaming #zipline #gambling #weather #weathershot #beautiful #color #colorsplash #local #photography #potd #localphotographer #skies #skyporn #skyline #sky #🎰 #vegasbaby #fremontstreetexperience (at Fremont Street Experience) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxt_9YrBe0H/?igshid=1v8j9hpqpgraq