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Residential Areas: Las Vegas, the principal residential area and trading center, is the county seat of Clark County. The city was incorporated March 16, 1911. Las Vegas covers an area of about 18 square miles and has an estimated population of 41,000. Residences in Las Vegas are of better than average quality, and the majority are of recent construction. North Las Vegas, incorporated June 29, 1946, is primarily a residential suburb of Las Vegas. North Las Vegas has an area of about 2j<j square miles and has an estimated population of 6,000. Henderson, the city built adjacent to the large Basic Management, Inc., industrial area, covers an area of about 2 square miles and has an estimated population of 10,000. The townsite originally consisted of about 1,000 low cost rental units, practically all of which were purchased by B.M.I. and resold to the residents. There are now about 2,000 additional homes built or building. Hender­son was incorporated April 16, 1953. The largest unincorporated residential areas are (a) those surrounding Las Vegas, particularly the area south of Nellis Air Force Base and east of North Las Vegas, and (b) a 175 dwelling unit area on Nellis Air Force Base and a “Wherry A ct” housing area of 400 units near Nellis. (Construction of 400 additional units is scheduled to start April 15, 1954.) In addition, on the highways radiating from Las Vegas there are a great many hotels and motels, including the seven famous luxury hotels of the “Strip,” a two-mile section on U. S. Highway 9 1 — 466 immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits. Population: Year Clark County Las Vegas 1910........................................................................................................... 3,321 800 1920........................................-................................................................. 4,859 2,304 1930......................................................................................-................... 8,532 5,165 1940........................... ....................... ........ ......... ..................................... 16,414 8,422 1950.......??? ....... .............. ........................................ 48,289 24,624 Las Vegas Clark North Valley County Las Vegas Las Vegas Henderson Water District 1950 Census.........=...................... 48,289 24,624 3,838 5,324 40,000 (estimated) Jan., 1954 (estimated)....... 76,000 41,000 6,000 10,000 66,000 In addition to the permanent population it is estimated by the Las Vegas Chamber of Com­merce that there are upwards of 12,000 visitors on the average in Las Vegas daily. Growth: The tremendous growth of Las Vegas and Clark County since 1940 is largely due to : (1) Con­struction of Hoover Dam, with the resultant cheap electric power and water supply; (2) Govern­ment installations; (3) Tourist travel; and (4) The trend toward desert living, made attractive by air-conditioning. 1. Electric power from Hoover Dam, plus the water available from Lake Mead, makes possible the development of large tracts of land for industrial and residential use. The electric power from Hoover Dam is now fully contracted for, but two major improvements to the power supply are the following: (a) A pipe line to bring natural gas from the El Paso Natural Gas Company’s line near Needles to Henderson and Las Vegas was recently completed. This 10-inch line will alleviate the potential power shortage and permit new industrial development, (b) A steam generating plant has been planned for construction in the near future by the Southern Nevada Power Company. The plant will cost $5,500,000 and will have an initial capacity of 30,000 kw, with design for ultimate capacity of 120,000 kw. The plant will use one million gallons of water per day when it is completed in early 1956, and will ultimately use four million gallons per day. It is not expected that the District will serve water to this plant. 2. Government installation of Basic Magnesium, Inc., during the last war resulted in a ready­made industrial area when hostilities ceased. Nellis Air Force Base, a new ammunition dump immediately east of Nellis, and the Atomic Energy Commission’s proving grounds at Frenchman’s /F la t (about 70 miles north of Las Vegas) represent a huge investment. These installations are responsible, directly and indirectly, for a sizable amount of employment in Clark County. 3 3. Las Vegas, the natural stopping point between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, accommo­dates through its hotels, restaurants, service stations and retail stores practically every automobile traveller on this route and most of the annual throngs of visitors to Hoover Dam. (As of January, 1954, a total of 18,361,364 visitors had been counted at Hoover Dam and power station since the opening in 1937.) 4. The trend toward the desert is a phenomenon of many desert areas of the West-Sfor example Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona and Palm Springs, California. The dry climate, hot days, and cool nights attract both permanent residents and vacationers. T ax advantages of living in Nevada, where there is no state income tax, inheritance tax, sales tax or tax on intangibles, has also aided in attracting residents. Practically every building in Las Vegas is air-conditioned. The develop­ment of satisfactory air conditioning units has been an important factor. GROW TH STATISTICS City of Las Vegas Building Permits Year Residential Commercial Total Family Units 1948...................... .................. $ 2,996,850 $2,156,300 $ 5,153,150 478 1949...................... .................. 3,040,800 1,283,213 4,334,013 432 1950...................... ................. 6,533,000 2,284,410 8,817,410 855 1951...................... ................. 5,851,266 2,713,696 8,564,962 816 1952...................... ................. 9,564,962 .5,057,766 14,622,728 1,110 1953...................... ................. 21,125,681 7,407,915 28,533,596 2,650 £ City of Las Vegas Retail Sales 1940........................................................................................................................... $ 9,457,000 1950 ................................................. ........................................... ...................... 75,277,965 1951 ...................................................................... 79,534,755 1952 ............... 87,396,180 1953 .................................................................................... 111,590,040 Motor Vehicles Electric Meter (Clark County) Connections School Enrollment* Bank Deposits 1942........................................ 14,903 5,459 3,467 $11,816,508 1947........................................ 16,481 9,114 4,719 28,743,782 1952 ............. ..................... 32,144 14,662 8,183 58,286,877 1953 ........................ . 36,150 19,031 9,254 67,897,143 * Las Vegas Elementary and High School District; does not include Henderson or private schools. City of Las Vegas Post Office Receipts 1929............ ...,^r .................................. ................................................................. ....... $ 33,496 1940.....................................................................................- 76,627 1942................;4 tt :............ 214,276 1947 ..................................... „............ ............ T .J...................................................... 231,512 1948 ............ .......... ..................................................................................................... 246,492 1949 ....................................................... ............................................-..AT'E'........... . 281,800 1950 ........ .......... 339,405 1951 ........... **------- '............................................436,622 1952 ........... ............................ ........................................................................... 553,127 1953 ............ ....................... ...............-.....'it,......................tt titt ..,,:,-........... ... 674,165 4