Historic Fifth Street School050

Opened soon after the Great Depression in 1936, the Historic Fifth Street School served as a much-needed grammar school for Las Vegas children. It closed in 1966 and then sat empty until 1970, when it was converted into Clark County offices. It was acquired by the city of Las Vegas from the county in 1996. The building and its site are listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the city of Las Vegas Historic Property Register.

The Spanish Mission-style school features beautiful green-and-blue mosaic tile work, a decorative fountain in the building's center courtyard, an expansive plaza, 10-foot thick walls, and more than 141 doors and windows.

Following an extensive restoration, the school reopened in September 2008 to house an assortment of local arts and architectural organizations, including the University of Nevada Las Vegas Fine Arts Program, the Downtown Design Center for the School of Architecture, the Nevada School of the Arts (a music education organization), and the city of Las Vegas Cultural Affairs Division.

The school can be rented for public or private functions and is scheduled to be the site for citywide events like the Vegas Valley Book Festival.