When developers announced the creation of Las Vegas' very own Chinatown in the early 1990s, a lot of us thought they were nuts.
We said Chinatowns with any kind of true appeal couldn't be master-planned and built by construction crews. We said it was going to be a themed neighborhood with no authenticity. We said it wouldn't work because it was too forced; neighborhoods like that need to be nurtured.
Boy, were we wrong. Las Vegas can lay claim to having the first master-planned Chinatown in the world, according to Chinatown Plaza officials. But we're getting a head of ourselves a bit.
Before the paint was dry at Chinatown Plaza, the two-story strip center that became a catalyst for a now largely Asian neighborhood just west of the Strip, the county had installed freeway signs and street markers to guide traffic to the center at Spring Mountain and Wynn roads.
The center had two anchors: Sam Woo Barbecue, a restaurant chain that is a mainstay in most Asian enclaves throughout the West; and 99 Ranch Market, one of Las Vegas' best independent grocers that specializes in Asian products and fresh vegetables, along with a butcher shop that carries only the freshest meats and fish. So fresh, in fact, that sometimes the fish are still alive.
Fans of Chinese décor also found handcrafted furniture and home accessories at Marco Polo Furniture, and the Chinatown Florist continues to carry all the lucky bamboo and money plants you could ever want. Look to the Great Wall Bookstore for Chinese literature and periodicals.
Hell, the Las Vegas Chinese News, a daily newspaper, has its offices there, as does the Chinese-American Chamber of Commerce.
Need further proof that this canned Chinatown thing is working? Look at Shiff City, the large development of retail and warehouse space immediately to the east of the plaza. About a year ago, a large aesthetic overhaul was completed to give it a more Asian appeal. Harsch Properties, the city's largest commercial property owner, gave the former Wells-Fargo site at Valley View Boulevard and Spring Mountain Road a complete Chinese overhaul, too.
As you drive further up Spring Mountain, you'll notice another Chinese strip center just west of the plaza with several other Asian businesses cropping up. There's even another two-story plaza west of Decatur Boulevard.
The signs on the freeways and surface streets are now truly meaningful for the thousands of tourists and locals who enjoy a visit to Chinatown. Sure, it's canned, but it worked. Perception is reality in Las Vegas.
Chinatown Plaza, 4255 Spring Mountain Road, 221-8448.
www.lvchinatown.com.
Anne Kellogg is a native Las Vegan with a thing for purchasing stuff. E-mail her at
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