LAS VEGAS, N.M., laid claim to its name about 70 years before that upstart neon metropolis sprang out of the sands of Nevada — and it shows. With only about 14,000 people, this Las Vegas has 900 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, four grand old hotels (two still accepting guests), and not one but two period-piece downtowns.
Its Old West credentials are solid. Doc Holliday had a dentist’s office in town, and Billy the Kid hung out there. Teddy Roosevelt recruited some of his Rough Riders in Las Vegas and spent a not-so-rough stay at the local hot-springs castle. And before that, this was a stop on the Santa Fe Trail.
Read more about Las Vegas from The New York Times.