Urban Enthusiasts – May 2015

5/06/15
Richard Hooker and Babs Daitch are owner/operators of Las Vegas Pop Culture Tours, a new home-grown tour company that celebrates Las Vegas as an outdoor museum of popular culture. Hooker and Daitch focus on the city’s unique history, fabled places, iconic people and landscapes of the city’s historic and colorful past.
Hooker came to Las Vegas from Sante Fe, New Mexico and took a job with the Office of Cultural Affairs under Mayor Oscar Goodman. Daitch, originally from New York City, came to Las Vegas in the 60’s after spending time in San Francisco, initially working as social secretary for Frank Sinatra.
The pair conducts walking tours that include a 90-minute stroll through the historic Fremont Street downtown with its new hip persona and a two-hour cultural journey through the emerging 18b Arts District.
What are some of your favorite places downtown?
Hooker: I’m drawn to small entrepreneurialism; I love the newer venues of Fremont East like Writer’s Block, PublicUs, EAT, Park on Fremont. And over on Industrial Rd., eLearningMedia gallery at Downtown Spaces and Sin City Gallery does it for me in 18b.
Daitch: Roulette and Parlor Lounge cocktails at the El Cortez, Pizza Rock & beer, breakfast at the Gold Spike or EAT, affordable suites for yearly celebrations at the Plaza Hotel, the pool at the Downtown Grand, Inspire Theater for Wednesday night movies, fresh fruit and an incredibly delicious grilled cheese sandwich at the Market on Fremont Street, lunch at Park on Fremont, The Mob Museum, Writers Block Book Store, Sin City Gallery at the Arts Factory and the 18b Arts District, Container Park food, shopping and people watching, Happy Hour at the Commonwealth, dinner at Casa Don Juan’s and Burlesque Hall of Fame! Need I say more?
What do you think sets DTLV apart from other neighborhoods in Las Vegas?
Hooker: I see downtown as an interconnected cluster of neighborhoods each with its own character and vitality. We now need more connectivity, enhanced livability with more public art and commerce.
Daitch: Downtown is distinct for its oodles of pop culture eye candy, urban friendly streets, a people watching emporium, small businesses that deliver highly personal service, the entrepreneurial vibe and all the area’s stunning tree-lined streets with historic single family homes.
Anything coming to the neighborhood that you’re excited for?
Hooker: I’ll be excited to see what happens in the Cultural Corridor when the Natural History Museum moves across the street to the Antoine Predock Building once the Las Vegas library moves. Cashman’s next chapter is a big one, too. That cultural neighborhood is the sleeping giant of Downtown.
Daitch: Natalie Young’s Chow, new Jennifer & Michael Cornthwaite projects, Glutton and VegeNation on Carson, Teazled Gift Shop & Cards at the Container Park, and the construction of more urban housing with affordable rents.
Photo: Babs Daitch and Richard Hooker by Lucky Wenzel