Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman and Golden Gate CEO Derek Stevens participate in a celebration of the 118th anniversary of the historic hotel at the corner of Main and Fremont streets in downtown Las Vegas on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @KMCannonPhoto
Golden Gate CEO Derek Stevens speaks as Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman and looks on during a celebration of the 118th anniversary of his historic hotel at the corner of Main and Fremont streets in downtown Las Vegas on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @KMCannonPhoto
Golden Gate CEO Derek Stevens gives a tour during a celebration of the 118th anniversary of his historic hotel at the corner of Main and Fremont streets in downtown Las Vegas on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @KMCannonPhoto
Golden Gate CEO Derek Stevens shows a model of the city’s first phone, which was installed at the hotel in 1907, during a celebration of the 118th anniversary of the Golden Gate in downtown Las Vegas on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @KMCannonPhoto
Golden Gate CEO Derek Stevens gives a tour during a celebration of its 118th anniversary in downtown Las Vegas on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @KMCannonPhoto
The guest register for Hotel Nevada, which became the Golden Gate, is shown in the lobby of the historic hotel on the corner of Main and Fremont streets in downtown Las Vegas during a celebration of its 118th anniversary on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @KMCannonPhoto
A historical photo of the Sal Sagev hotel (Las Vegas spelled backwards), which became the Golden Gate, is shown on a screen next to the historic hotel on the corner of Main and Fremont streets in downtown Las Vegas on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @KMCannonPhoto
The lobby of the Golden Gate is shown in downtown Las Vegas during a celebration of its 118th anniversary on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @KMCannonPhoto
Bob Cho of Los Angeles checks out an original hotel wall at the Golden Gate in downtown Las Vegas on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @KMCannonPhoto
Golden Gate CEO Derek Stevens shows one of the original 10 rooms at his hotel during a celebration of its 118th anniversary in downtown Las Vegas on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @KMCannonPhoto
A plaque marking the site of the first phone in Las Vegas is shown outside the Golden Gate on the corner of Main and Fremont streets in downtown Las Vegas on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @KMCannonPhoto
Las Vegas knows how to celebrate newcomers like the Fontainebleau, but it also knows how to honor its pioneers, one of which can be found downtown at the corner of Main and Fremont streets.
The Golden Gate, the city’s first hotel, held a ceremony Thursday to celebrate its 118th anniversary.
“Sometimes it’s important to take a step back and think about where we came from,” said Golden Gate CEO Derek Stevens, who bought the hotel in 2008 with his brother, Greg. “And there’s no better place to think about that than the world famous Golden Gate.”
Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman presented Stevens with a proclamation recognizing January 18 as “Golden Gate Day” to honor the city’s oldest hotel.
“We celebrate this historic landmark in the heart of downtown, where the past meets the future, and where the Las Vegas experience is very much alive and well,” Goodman said.
The hotel opened in 1906 as the Hotel Nevada. It originally had only 10 rooms, which are still in use today. The city’s first telephone was installed at the hotel in 1907.
