Before the Strip became a popular tourist destination, Fremont Street was the destination for tourists. Although many years have passed and downtown has changed, Fremont Street has been and always will be a significant part of Las Vegas and its history. The Fremont Street Experience of today differs greatly than that of today. In the past, downtown Las Vegas was the main attraction of the city. Downtown provided tourists and residents alike with a variety of entertainment choices such as movie theaters, gambling halls, shopping malls and restaurants. Visitors and residents could get around by driving down the long stretch of road or using the train depot.

Fremont Street was the place where they city of Las Vegas experienced many of its firsts. The city's first hotel, telephone, paved streets, gambling license, traffic lights and elevators all occurred here. One of the most notable firsts is the train depot. Before Union Plaza was built in the 1970s, visitors and residents entered and exited downtown Las Vegas and Fremont Street through the train depot. In addition, the neon signs placed on store fronts and gambling halls have entranced many people. These lights helped downtown Las Vegas earn the nickname the Glitter Gulch. The Glitter Gulch attracted many tourists, including move producers who would use the neon lights as backdrops for productions that needed to display the vibrancy of Las Vegas. However, the development of the Strip and declining downtown tourism prompted developers to create new ways to enhance the Fremont Street Experience.

In the 1990s, a group of casinos and hotels banded to together to create a new Fremont Street Experience to attract more tourists. Architect Mary Kozlowski came up with the concept of creating the world's largest and extravagant light shows displayed on the base of a canopy. This concept is still used on Fremont Street today. In addition, other attractions were incorporated into the area such as the Neon Museum and the Fremont Street Gallery.

The Fremont Street Experience is still evolving with additions such as VivaVision. Although Fremont Street is still evolving and growing, it is an excellent place to experience vintage Las Vegas. Despite the changes, it is still full of many historical sites. The Glitter Gulch, The Neon Museum, Union Plaza and the Gold Nugget are reminders of how splendid the city was before the downtown area was transformed into a magnificent light show.