In the early days of Las Vegas, Fremont Street was the center of the action. Casinos straddled the street in an area that came to be known as "Glitter Gulch". Even James Bond couldn't avoid Glitter Gulch, as the famous car chase scene from "Diamonds are Forever" was filmed on Fremont Street. However, as time went on and more and more mega-casinos opened on the Strip, the downtown casinos began to lose attention. In order to prevent classic casinos such as the Golden Nugget and the Four Queens from failing, a $70 million project was launched to draw more people downtown.

Thus Fremont Street, situated between Las Vegas Boulevard and Main Street, was closed off to motorized traffic and a huge pedestrian mall was established. The five-block strip was then covered with a canopy of over 2.1 million lights. Builders then added a fantastic audio system and an air conditioning system that cools the area with mist in the summer, and heats it in the winter. The canopy provides shade but since it is 90 feet in the air, you won't feel claustrophobic.

Several times a night on the hour, all the casinos on Fremont Street turn off their outdoor neon lights in order to draw attention to the overhead canopy. The canopy then comes to life with the "Sky Parade", a fabulous light and sound show. There are four or five different shows, so if you stay in the area it's worth checking out more than once. All the shows are very Vegas in that special way.

The Fremont Street Experience is one of those "must see" events in Las Vegas. The area is clean and regularly patrolled by private security guards. A good place to see the show is from the second floor of Fitzgerald's casino. The best part of all is that it's absolutely free.