Historic Westside: How Las Vegas’ Black district was born

In the 1920s, no segregation legislation barred Black citizens from collaborating in neighborhood everyday living, but with tourism on the rise subsequent the legalization of gambling in 1931, casino entrepreneurs commenced restricting their patrons to whites only.

Which is how the Westside District or the Black Strip was born.

“Now that you know you’re coming into the Historic Westside, you know you’re coming to a exclusive spot, since it represents so considerably in the background of our city, not only for the Black men and women who dwell there, but for the town,” Las Vegas City Councilman Cedric Crear said for an interview for the Overview-Journal’s 7@7.

By 1947, 4 Black-owned golf equipment could be located on Jackson Street: the Brown Derby, The Chickadee, the Cotton Club and the Ebony Club.

The region was booming by the 1940s and 1950s, in aspect due to the fact Black entertainers who worked in the clubs on the Strip weren’t allowed to keep there. When they completed their performances, they arrived to the Westside clubs to party, relax or jam.

The Moulin Rouge Lodge, the initial integrated resort-casino in Las Vegas, opened on May possibly 24, 1955. With connoisseur foods, a pool, a casino, a lounge and a showroom, it had all the same facilities as inns on the Strip. It quickly became a Westside landmark, appearing on the June 20, 1955, address of Lifestyle Journal.

But it crashed just as rapidly as it boomed, closing its doors in November 1955. By December its entrepreneurs experienced filed for bankruptcy.

At the time segregation shed its hold on the city, the spot fell into disrepair as the extra affluent Blacks moved to other locations of the neighborhood or selected to operate for the bigger wages available on the Strip.

In 1971, Las Vegas housing codes have been modified to avert redlining, allowing Blacks to transfer out of the Westside.

Contact Renee Summerour at [email protected]. Comply with @SummerourTV on Twitter.