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Charted Territory

Vegas Map
Tanya Cooper

Where movie scenes were filmed downtown

It's map time here at Desert Companion, so we've handcrafted a batch of charts and graphics to help you see Las Vegas in ways that the GPS lady can't.  Safe travels!

Where movie scenes were filmed Downtown

1. Diamonds Are Forever (1971) Casino Center between Fremont and Carson. James Bond drove a Mustang on two wheels through a narrow passage just off Fremont. Pop culture expert Richard Hooker thinks it was a Four Queens service alley, with the end of the scene fabricated in Hollywood.

2. Starman (1984) Binion’s. Alien Jeff Bridges uses otherworldly
abilities to cheat Binion’s out of a $500,000 jackpot.

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3. The Stand (1994) In front of Plaza. Beelzebub has a devil set aside for Vegas at a giant pep rally of evil, after which everyone gets (atom) bombed.

4. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) East Fremont near Charleston Boulevard. Where Duke and his attorney, driving around, see Lucy, the young girl they’d earlier given drugs to, crossing the street — and freak out.

5. Mars Attacks! (1996) Neon Boneyard. Danny DeVito meets his alien
demise amid the lovely old signs.

6. Con Air (1997) Fremont Street Experience. In this movie’s convoluted
Vegas, the Fremont Street Experience — which Nic Cage and John Cusack weave through on motorcycles — is a short stolen-fire-truck ride from the Sands.

7. Now You See Me (2013) Neon Boneyard. This magic-caper film’s ending was supposed to have been shot at the Neon Boneyard, but the production ran out of time. A few scenes filmed there were included as DVD extras (with CGI magic making the Boneyard appear to be in the middle of nowhere).

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8. Vegas Vacation (1997) Neon Boneyard. Audrey Griswold kicks it at a teen party.

9. Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992) By Four Queens. Giant baby rampages
adorably down pre-canopy Fremont Street; Vegas Vickie can’t believe it!

see all the maps in issue