A Shipping Container Park? Where else but Downtown Las….

Nobody will ever criticize Las Vegas for its timidness and banality in design and architecture.

Las Vegas, or rather a portion of the City referred to as “The Strip”, is anything but that!

The famous casino hotels and modern resorts of the Vegas Strip are the iconic man made wonders of the modern world and there is no denying that fact. Other cities (and some small nations) have built their national welfare strategy by emulating this illustrious “oasis in the desert” business model.

So it came as a great surprise (and delight) to learn that one of the most enigmatic, creative and non-conformist designs, even for Las Vegas Strip standards, is actually not on The Strip but located inconspicuously in Downtown Las Vegas.

Downtown Container Park
Credit: Emily Wilson for Downtown Container Park

Imagine a regular park. Now imagine used shipping containers stacked up neatly beside each other on that park. Further imagine each container featuring a surprise delight of creative works and wares from artisans and local entrepreneurs. Since you have come this far, continue imagining the space turning in to a hip music scene with performances by notable artists including Sheryl Crow. This Utopian vision of a green space built up from green technologies is probably one of the coolest digs in town (and at present in the world) that you probably don’t know of. Yet.

Container Park Entrance
Credit: Emily Wilson for Downtown Container Park

Downtown Container Park is an open-air shopping center and entertainment venue featuring 39 shops, restaurants, and bars, located in downtown Las Vegas. The center was built from 43 re-purposed shipping containers and 41 locally manufactured Xtreme cubes and recently celebrated its grand opening on December 5, 2013.

Container Park’s shops range from boutiques offering a variety of apparel, jewelry and accessories to art galleries, home décor and fixtures, offices, and a even a barbershop housed in a retired boxcar and caboose.

[For Canadians, the closest counterpart is the Pet Store in a caboose located in Vancouver’s Granville Island]

It is not just all about business. The park is not devoid of the core function expected out of a park. There is an interactive play area, which features The Treehouse, a one-of-a-kind, dynamic environment where both children and adults can have fun and be active while exploring their creativity. Special features of The Treehouse include a 33-foot-tall slide, NEOS play system, over-sized foam building blocks, and much more.

The Container Park Treehouse
Credit: Emily Wilson for Downtown Container Park

The Downtown Container Park is the keynote feature, but one among several projects intended to revitalize Downtown Las Vegas through collaboration of local businesses, tech startups and creative arts. This grand project is spearheaded by Downtown Project –  a collaborative new venture incubator that is involved in nearly 120 businesses with the intention of revitalizing the core and making it a destination of choice for living and working. Downtown Project officially launched in January 2012 with  $350 million (YES, Three-Hundred-Fifty-Thousand Mills) of seed funds and has created 690 jobs as of June 1, 2014.

Downtown Container Park
Credit: Emily Wilson for Downtown Container Park

Container Park Location: 707 Fremont Street, Las Vegas, NV 89101, at the intersection of 7Street and Fremont Street.

Money Saving Tip: Container Park offers free live music every day, and every Thursdaynight there is a free movie in the park. Additionally, families are always welcome to come and play at the Container Park Treehouse, regardless of whether or not they make a purchase at Container Park

Hours of Operation: Container Park’s stores are open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Restaurants and bars are open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.

Insider Tip: There is a notable structure located somewhere in the park that is a subtle reference in homage to the Burning Man Festival. Can you find it on the pictures in this post?

Acknowledgements: The Container Park media tour was arranged in collaboration with Downtown Project through Amy E. S. Maier of Faiss Foley Warren. This story is part of a series of blog posts on Downtown Las Vegas revitalization projects. 

Tags: container park, downtown container park, downtown las vegas, downtown las vegas revitalization, trendy place

Category: Budget Adventure Travel, Las Vegas, USA Jaunts