Las Vegas – No topless showgirls, no bottomless slot machines. No high-end baccarat, no low-end buffets. No joking.
A $200 million coming attraction to this Sodom in the sand will have none of the draws that summon millions each year to the city’s glitzy Strip. But the project’s visionaries are willing to throw the dice that visitors want to learn something other than how to stump blackjack dealers.
The Springs Preserve, the story of water in Las Vegas, is under construction on a 180-acre National Register of Historic Places site about 20 minutes west of the Strip. It is intended to create an identity for Las Vegas beyond its gambling mecca image.
“Las Vegas has a great culture, but nobody knows about it. We need to share it,” says project director Francis Beland.
And, while it may seem odd that water will be the focus in a desert locale where rainfall averages 4 inches a year, the site is where liquid gold once gushed from underground springs, sustaining life for inhabitants as far back as 5,000 years ago.
“It is why we are here in one of the most arid deserts, why Las Vegas exists,” Beland says.
From Anasazi to railroad
The Springs Preserve site is where Virgin Anasazi and other nomadic American Indians lived, followed subsequently by explorers, traders, Mormon missionaries and those who settled in the valley when the railroad arrived. Water from the natural springs powered the railroad’s steam locomotives. The springs stopped bubbling to the top in 1962, but 12 wells now pump water from the 20-million-gallon main aquifer to some of the city’s reservoirs.
Beland, a marine biologist originally from Montreal who designed zoos and aquariums, including Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, is passionate about the Springs Preserve.
“This is one of the biggest projects for the city,” he says. “We don’t take the limelight like most of the casino projects do. But for the well-being and for the future of the community, this is probably one of the most important projects in the last five years.”
In addition to residents, the Springs Preserve will appeal to tourists who occasionally want to get away from the Strip.
“We have done our homework,” spokesman Jesse Davis says. “We know there’s a market for this. We know that approximately 5 million of those 37 million tourists who come here seek off-Strip attractions. They want to go sightseeing – they go to Hoover Dam, they go to the Grand Canyon, they go to the Red Rocks and Valley of Fire.
“One of the difficulties is competing with one of the wonders of the world. But when someone asks the concierge on the Strip what’s a neat thing to see not on the Strip, we want to be on that top-five list.”
Competing with the Strip
The Springs Preserve, scheduled to open in spring 2007, will include:
A 50,000-square-foot visitor center with a theater, photo gallery and interactive exhibits detailing the history of the Las Vegas valley and the role the springs have played in shaping the community. An outdoor amphitheater for concerts and events, a cafe and a gift shop will be next to the visitor center.
A 75,000-square-foot Desert Living Center, a cutting-edge facility about sustainability, focusing on how visitors can protect the desert environment for future generations without compromising their quality of life. The center is being built of recycled and sustainable materials and will carry the highest (platinum) rating of the U.S. Green Building Council.
An 8-acre botanical garden with more than 300 species of native plants. It is designed to teach water conservation through landscaping.
Walking trails with historic structures and archaeological sites along the way. Structures include four railroad cottages where the city’s founders once lived.
A desert wetlands area using runoff water, with hundreds of plants, trees and animals. It will re-create what the site looked like hundreds of years ago.
“If you can imagine, the next water source north of here for travelers was 80 miles away,” project historian-archaeologist Greg Seymour says. “If you’re traveling by wagon, that’s three to four days. If you’re coming through here in August and it’s 110 degrees, you got here to these springs, and it was an oasis. It was a strip of green – trees, meadows and a stream that was 8 feet wide that flowed year-round. And that’s why this spot has been the focal point for this area here for thousands of years. You can’t live here without water.”
In addition, the Nevada State Museum and Historical Society will move to the site from its current Las Vegas location in 2008.
The project is being developed by the Las Vegas Valley Water District, which owns the site, and the Springs Preserve Foundation.
And, just so no one forgets this is Las Vegas, an admission fee will be charged, right now set at $12.95 for adults and $3.95 for children.
Developers project 600,000 visitors a year, even though they know they are competing with the Strip.
“It is the best street in the world,” Beland says. “It has the most amazing entertainers, the most amazing hotels, the best food you could ever have. How are we going to get people off the Strip to come here? That is our biggest challenge. But we will conquer it. We have designed something that’s unique.”
Mim Swartz, former travel editor of The Denver Post, writes from her home in Golden.
