The Fremont Street Experience

The Fremont Street Experience (sometimes called just “FSE”) is a venue for free nightly entertainment on Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas, with a spectacular sound and light show. More broadly, the Fremont Street Experience it is a cooperative effort to market downtown Las Vegas and to enhance the experience of people who visit the participating casinos (10), restaurants (60) and countless bars and lounges on five blocks of downtown.

More broadly still, it is a general name given to the renewed and upgraded downtown Las Vegas area, enticing new visitors with upscale shops, hip eateries, and urbane bars.

The partner businesses have arranged for lots of crowd pleasing features including buskin performers in the pedestrian mall and the Viva Vision big screen. During the day, visitors are encouraged to watch the impromptu acts and shows while they visit the retail businesses and restaurants. From twilight to midnight, the FSE becomes an amazing sound and light show.

Viva Vision is the world’s largest big screen, 90 feet in the air and 1,400 feet long. It is comprised of more than 12 million lights, and it produces over half a million watts of audio sound. LED technology gives it amazing resolution for such a large display surface. The music and light show starts just after dusk and is designed to be a high-energy, crowd pleasing event, visible for miles. Viva Vision presents three productions: “The Drop” (an underwater journey), “Area 51” (fantasy alien world), and “American Freedom” (a patriotic tribute).

Below the Viva Vision show in the mall are two performance stages with free concerts during peak hours, and many unusual retail kiosks. New Year’s Eve is a special holiday here. It is estimated that about 18 million people come see the FSE every year. It has become one of the “must do” activities for every visitor to Las Vegas.

Fremont Street was really where Las Vegas began in 1905 with a land auction that led to the first hotel, later named the Fremont. In 1925 it was the first Las Vegas street to be paved. The Northern Club at 15 Fremont Street received Nevada’s first gaming license in 1931. In 1932 the first elevator went in, at the Apache Hotel. The Horseshoe and the Golden Nugget were pioneers in the casino business. The open air mall that became the Fremont Street Experience was constructed in 1995.

Adjoining the mall is Neonopolis, a retail center offering 6 acres of retail space and a 14-screen movie theater. There is a 1,430-car parking structure on the east end of the facility.

Gaming, Lodging and Dining

The partner hotels and casinos each offer a gaming, lodging and dining opportunities to visitors to the Fremont Street Experience. The links to each property are provided here: Fitzgerald’s Casino and Hotel, The Fremont Hotel and Casino, Main Street Station Casino Brewery & Hotel, California Hotel and Casino, Golden Gate Hotel and Casino, Four Queens Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas Club, Binion’s Gambling Hall and Hotel, and Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino.