Hotel Nevada, Las Vegas, Triblend Tee

Venue History

The Hotel Nevada at 235 South Main Street was one of the early post-war hotels that helped define the quieter, working-class edge of Downtown Las Vegas. Operating primarily through the 1950s to the early 1970s, it stood just south of Fremont Street, in a stretch of South Main that mixed small hotels, motels, cafes, and gaming halls serving the constant flow of motorists and railroad travelers entering the city’s core. Unlike the grand resort hotels of the Strip or the storied icons along Fremont, the Hotel Nevada was built for the practical traveler—construction workers, salesmen, and tourists seeking low-cost rooms within walking distance of the casinos. Its architecture reflected that mission: a simple, two-story brick-and-stucco building with a neon blade sign that proudly announced “HOTEL NEVADA” to passing motorists on Main. Beneath the hotel, a small gaming area and bar offered slots and a few tables, functioning more as a local watering hole than a full-scale casino. The location—close to the Union Pacific Depot and later the Greyhound Bus Station—gave the property a steady clientele. For many, Hotel Nevada was their first overnight stop in Las Vegas, an affordable gateway before venturing onto Fremont Street’s brighter lights. Through the 1960s, the hotel fit into the ecosystem of modest, neon-framed properties that characterized Downtown’s periphery—neighbors included the Apache, the California Club, and the Northern. Advertisements from the era pitched “Air-cooled comfort, friendly service, and one-minute walk to casinos,” slogans that spoke to both budget travelers and casual gamblers. By the mid-1970s, redevelopment pressures and new construction pushed out many of these smaller properties. The Hotel Nevada quietly faded from city directories, later absorbed or demolished as South Main transitioned toward parking lots and warehouse conversions. Though long gone, the Hotel Nevada at 235 South Main remains a telling piece of early Las Vegas history, one of the many small, hard-working hostelries that supported the boomtown’s rise, embodying the grit, accessibility, and neon promise that made Downtown hum long before megaresorts defined the skyline. Today the property is owned by the Golden Nugget.