7/20/2022
Discovering The Smith Center
Not only do audiences flock to The Smith Center nearly every night of the year – but the center’s neighborhood in downtown Las Vegas continues to thrive with a magnetic draw all its own.
Symphony Park – the 61-acre parcel in downtown Las Vegas with The Smith Center at its heart – boasts ongoing development, popular events, and a rising number of residents.
“For us locals, it’s a warm feeling to see the development of downtown,” says Las Vegas Councilman Cedric Crear.
He notes how “the list goes on and on” of new restaurants and businesses cropping up in the area, such as the new Expo at World Market Center, the recently built Circa Resort & Casino, Esther’s Kitchen, and the new Auric Symphony Park and Parc Haven apartment complexes adjacent to The Smith Center.
Symphony Park also hosts a variety of community events, such as a recent art festival outside The Smith Center, featuring Las Vegas arts organizations and performers such as headliner Frankie Moreno.
“It sparks others to look at downtown, people who have never thought about developing there, to see what’s going on,” Crear says, adding that as a native, he remembers decades ago when the Symphony Park area offered City Hall, an old railroad and “not much else.”
Crear doesn’t feel surprised that many want to claim Symphony Park as their permanent residence, with more moving into the new apartments by The Smith Center every day.
“People are drawn to inner cities across the country, not just in Las Vegas,” he points out, adding that another apartment complex will start construction soon in Symphony Park. “As the inner cities become more work-life functionality based, and as more entertainment options are based in the core of the city, people are looking to move back into the city.”
New Outdoor Art in Symphony Park
Visitors and residents in Symphony Park can enjoy a feast for the eyes, with new outdoor art recently installed near The Smith Center campus.
This includes four colorful, 10-foot music-note statues created by Las Vegas’ Domsky Glass Studio. With the fabricated-steel pieces ranging from 600 to 850 pounds each, they tie directly into music’s power to unite people.
“We had a lot of ideas (of what to create), but we came back to music because everybody appreciates music and everybody understands music,” says Larry Domsky, who co-owns the studio with his wife Barbara.
Visitors to Symphony Park can also say howdy to the recently installed replica of the famous Vegas Vic cowboy sign at the future site of Vic's Restaurant and Jazz Lounge, planned in the ground-level space of a city parking garage next to The Smith Center.
Using the same paint colors as the original sign – which still hangs on the exterior of The Pioneer Club on Fremont Street – the replica stands at half the size of the original at 20 feet tall. And just like the original, the replica’s friendly cowboy winks and moves his arm.
“We thought that this would be a great concept to put down there, with a great venue with Italian food and a sports bar,” says Chris Lowden, whose family owns the Pioneer Hotel and Gambling Hall, as well as the Vegas Vic trademark. “We’re excited to put him up as an art piece, especially in Symphony Park, which is phenomenal. What a great place to live and hang out.”
Energized by these recent installations, Crear predicts Symphony Park will continue to evolve in exciting ways.
“It’s only going to get better,” he says.