Thats why it never should have existed. It was never land meant to be lived on. It doesnt support greenery and human life. To keep it pretty and the people alive sooo much water needs to be wasted.
this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2025
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You can thank the nearby Hoover Dam for that. The construction project not only caused the population of Vegas to quadruple virtually overnight, but when it was completed the dam provided both an abundance of fresh water and cheap electricity to the area. But thanks to the ongoing drought in the area that might not be a viable source for either of those eventually.
Air conditioning becoming more widely available was probably another major factor.
I remember years ago seeing some data discussing people moving west and south more, partly in conjunction with the invention of air conditioning, as well as certain roads.
I think this was one of the maps showing this.
The boom caused by the construction of Hoover Dam occurred in the 1930’s. Residential air conditioning didn’t really become a thing until well after WWII, closer to 1950.
Yes, that's pretty much the point I was making. It was another major factor in Las Vegas being almost completely undeveloped in 1947 as per the photo. Same with the current major cities in Arizona, etc.
Don't understand. This 1947 pic doesn't look booming to me.
Apparently they're really good at recirculating it. But yes there's still loss.
Back when it was all bat country.
First laugh of the day!
Watched some episodes of detective show Vega$ last year. The P.I.'s office/home was in a former storage building right behind Circus Circus, and I noticed that, even in 1978, right behind his office it was still open desert.
How did you wind up recently watching such an old obscure show? Like even if it was a nostalgia watch of a childhood show, how did it even come up in your mind again?
My mother broke her hip and was bedridden during recovery. I bought her a Roku and would watch mainly detective shows / mysteries (her fave) with her.
Before I got Prime & Netflix set up, that meant trawling for free ones on various platforms, and YouTube's recommendation algorithm eventually led us to Vega$. Others we saw on YT:
- The Saint
- Burke's Law
- Honey West
- Barnaby Jones
- Rip Tide
- Jake & the Fat Man
- Perry Mason (inc the 80s revival)
- Streets of San Francisco
- probably a few more I can't remember right now
On other platforms (Fawesome, TheArchive, Roku Channel etc):
- The Commish ( we also watched The Shield: what a contrast!)
- Booker
- Wiseguy
- Peter Gunn
- Mr Lucky
- Colonel March of Scotland Yard
- Decoy
- Danger Man
Might have to pick "English-language detective/crime shows 1955-1995" as my specialist subject on Mastermind :)
I see a couple missing from your list off the top of my head from the 80s:
- Hardcastle and McCormick
- Simon and Simon
Where's the love for "Hawk"?
Cagney and Lacey
And to stretch it a bit,
Remington Steele Scarecrow and Mrs King
Oh, and Moonlighting!
we didn't see those, maybe they have better DMCA takedown people
does anyone else ever get the Simon & Simon theme song stuck in their head for no discernible reason? maybe it's because that show came on just after bedtime, so I had to lay there listening to it, and all the shows my parents would watch as I fell asleep.
which brings me to the best theme song ever: Taxi
I hope that never leaves my head, it's amazing and is like a massive sleeping pill when I hear it
Yep I can still hear Simon and Simon in my head
Jake and the fat man sounds like a fake show
Fatman
Dan Tana! Great show. Or so my foggy memory recalls.
Yup. With Tony Curtis as his landlord/biggest client!
I guess it wasn’t always a massive shit hole.
La Vega
Speaking of sandy casinos with zero fresh water, this was Pensacola (Casino) Beach in the 1930s.
Now you gotta be either rich or have inherited one of the 1950s cinderblock houses. Or, live in the UFO.
That appears to be one or two resorts of some kind, any idea what they were?
Per a post on reddit from 5 year ago.
This was a place called "The Last Frontier" it changed its name to the "New Frontier" in the 60's and closed in 1997. Its here. 3120 South Las Vegas Boulevard you can google maps it, but its just an open dirt lot now.
So it was a hotel for people driving to California?
Featuring Authentic Frontier Gibberish