Thursday, May 12, 2005 | 8:58 a.m.
There was nothing particularly exceptional about Las Vegas' birth, but what grew from ordinary roots was something quite special, one local historian says.
"For Western towns, Las Vegas' birth was normal -- a railroad-stop not unlike many others across the nation," said David Millman of the Nevada State Museum and Historical Society.
"And while Las Vegas is not exceptional in its founding, within its structure were the seeds of great potential -- its location in proximity to where the Hoover Dam would be built, its ties to the large Southern California market and legalized gambling -- that played a role in the city's exceptional growth."
That began on May 15, 1905, when Los Angeles auctioneer Ben Rhoades banged his gavel to sell land then-owned by the San Pedro-Los Angeles-Salt Lake Railroad to create what now is downtown Las Vegas.
"It certainly was a well-attended event with some crowd estimates being as high as 3,000, though the more accepted count is between 1,000 and 1,500 people," Millman said. "The auction had been well-publicized in the Los Angeles and Utah newspapers."
The railroad's owner, William Clark -- the man for whom Clark County is named -- began using Las Vegas as a water stop in the 1890s, at a time when there were a few area ranches, most notably that of pioneer Helen J. Stewart, who sold her property to the railroad in 1902.
At the time of the auction, most of the activity in the area was in Ragtown, just west of the railroad tracks. Officially called the McWilliams Townsite, it today is known as West Las Vegas.
While some wood-frame structures had been built on the McWilliams Townsite, it was mostly a tent city, thus earning the nickname "Ragtown."
There, C.P. "Pop" Squires, who eventually became the editor and publisher of the city's first newspaper, the Las Vegas Age, owned a tent hotel, where a number of potential auction-goers stayed during the two-day sale.
Two of those would-be bidders were Ed Von Tobel Sr., a California lumberyard worker; and his business partner, Jake Beckley, a California barber. They had come to town with a combined $200 hoping to win a lot or two.
"They had no vision of starting a lumberyard or any other business here," said Ed Von Tobel Jr., who at age 92 still runs the family investment business and goes to work every day at his Maryland Parkway office. "They had seen a full-page ad about the auction and, like most others, thought they could get in on the ground floor, pick up land cheap and sell it."
Von Tobel Sr. and Beckley got a rude awakening on the day of the auction.
"People originally thought the lots would sell for $100 or $200, but because so much interest had been generated, they wound up selling for a lot more," Von Tobel Jr. said. "My father and Jake could not afford anything that first day."
Starting bids ranged from $750 to $850 for lots that were 25 by 140 feet on 40 blocks from Stewart Avenue to Garces Avenue to Main Street to Fifth Street, which today is Las Vegas Boulevard, Millman said.
"You could buy a lot for $25 down and pay the balance in 60 days," he said.
Lots closest to the railroad depot, where the Plaza now stands, figured to bring in the highest bids for hotels to be built on them, while lots further out were expected to fetch much less. That, Millman said, is what happened.
"The lots along Fremont Street were the most expensive, as were those on Block 16, because that area on First Street between Stewart and Ogden avenues was zoned for liquor, and areas where liquor can be sold are desirable," he said.
Block 16 became infamous as the town's red-light district.
By the end of Day 1 of the railroad land sale -- cut short after lunch because temperatures were estimated at 110 degrees -- 176 lots had sold for $79,566.
Among the big first-day winners was California rancher John F. Miller, who bought three lots on Main and Fremont streets for $1,750, upon which he built the Hotel Nevada, which today is the Golden Gate, Millman said.
John Wisner got lots on Main and Fremont for $1,750 and built the Overland Hotel, while W.R. Thomas paid $2,000 for property at Fremont and First, where he built the Thomas Building, an early office complex, Millman said, noting Squires also had a few winning bids.
Things did not go so well for John S. Park, who represented a group of First State Bank investors.
They lost a bidding war for property at First and Fremont to a group of Arizona bankers. Weeks later, the Arizona bankers sold Park the land at a profit and First State Bank was built on the site, Millman said.
"The lumber that was used to build the auction stand was sold for a bid of $7," Millman said.
On Day 2, May 16, 1905, fixed prices were set on the remaining lots, Millman said, noting that the second-day sale brought in $265,000.
On the second day, Von Tobel Sr. and Beckley each bought two lots, Von Tobel Jr. said.
"They had to get back to their jobs on Monday, but my dad was a day late getting to the lumberyard, where for several years he had worked six-day weeks and nine-hour days for $15 a week," Von Tobel Jr. said. "They fired him."
Without a job, Von Tobel Sr. approached Beckley about borrowing money from their families, returning to Las Vegas and starting a lumber business at their property at First Street and Bridger Avenue.
"They built a cabin and were in business," Von Tobel Jr. said. "There were six lumber companies in town at that time. The other five eventually went out of business."
In the months following the land sale, successful bidders who had owned wood-framed buildings in Ragtown transported them across the tracks to their new properties on Clark Town-site, Millman said.
"The irony is that the creation of the Clark Townsite set the stage for the neglect of West Las Vegas that began practically from Day 1 and continued for decades to come," Millman said.
Clark Townsite blossomed with the building of a Mission-style railroad depot in 1905 and Hotel Nevada in 1906. Some buildings, such as First State Bank, were constructed of stone and concrete, Millman said.
Von Tobel Sr. eventually bought out Beckley, who then went into business with his brother, Will Beckley, operating Beckley's clothing store at First and Fremont streets.
The lumberyard eventually grew into the town's premier hardware store, Von Tobel's, which operated in Las Vegas into the 1980s. Von Tobel Sr., who also served as one of the original Las Vegas City councilmen, died in 1967 at age 94.
Von Tobel Jr. says he misses the quiet, cleaner Las Vegas of his father's prime.
"As an old-timer, I liked the town much better when it was smaller," Von Tobel Jr. said. "I don't like the clutter, dirty air, the traffic and the shootings that I guess come along with the prosperity. We had a great little town."
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