Explore 100 years of movie and television filming in Las Vegas
Sheriff Walt Longmire sits in his office overlooking Durant, Wyoming. Down the street, Max Evans, an alien, kisses Liz Ortecho, a human, outside the Crashdown Cafe. On the other side of the river, Llewelyn Moss and Anton Chigurh exchange gunfire in the streets.
All of these things happened, separately of course, in Las Vegas, New Mexico, all part of the Meadow City’s extensive film history.
Since 1913, filmmakers have been using Las Vegas’ diverse architecture and picturesque landscapes as stand-ins for dozens of locations — everywhere from Ciudad Juárez to New York City.
Filming in Las Vegas began well before motion pictures had synchronized sound. In fact, some 30 silent films were made in and around Las Vegas between 1913 and 1915. And in 1914, filmmaker Romaine Fielding chose Las Vegas to film “The Golden God,” which was the most expensive film ever made in the U.S. — at the time — with a production cost of $50,000.
Fielding even relocated his company, Lubin Film, to Las Vegas and turned the Plaza Hotel into the headquarters for his studio. Upon moving in, he renamed it Hotel Romaine. To this day, you can see the remnants of this name on a faded sign painted on the northwest side of the building, just off Hot Springs Boulevard.
Many years later, filmmakers returned to Las Vegas to shoot films like the 1969 classic biker movie, “Easy Rider,” starring Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson. In 1984, film crews transformed Las Vegas into Calumet, Colorado, to film the Cold War-era drama “Red Dawn,” starring Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen. The Meadow City was also the primary shooting location for the 2007 Best Picture Academy Award-winner “No Country for Old Men,” starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin and Woody Harrelson.
More recently, Las Vegas has doubled as Durant, Wyoming, for all six seasons of the TV series “Longmire,” and as another New Mexican town, Roswell, for the CW series “Roswell, New Mexico,” a reboot of a popular 1999 series. Crews also recently filmed the Epix series “Perpetual Grace, LTD” in Las Vegas. Scheduled to premier June 2019, it stars Jimmi Simpson and Ben Kingsley.
Today, you can visit some of these popular locations, and many others, on a self-guided tour around the area (to view an interactive map of locations, visit bit.ly/FilmLV).
Old Town Plaza
A great place to begin a tour is the Historic Plaza Hotel, situated on Las Vegas’ Old Town Plaza. The Plaza Hotel has been a Vegas landmark since the 1800s, but in 2007, the award-winning film, “No Country for Old Men,” used both the interior and exterior of the hotel.
The hotel’s interior and exterior have also been seen in the TV series “Longmire,” and Absaroka County Sheriff Walt Longmire, portrayed by Robert Taylor, often worked from his office just across the street at 1811 Hot Springs Boulevard. At times, both exterior and interior portions of the building were used as the sheriff’s office, and Walt was often seen strolling through Plaza Park.
The Plaza has been used by many other productions as well, including the 1982 western the “Ballad of Gregorio Cortez,” starring Edward James Olmos, and the 1978 trucker film “Convoy,” starring Kris Kristofferson and Ali McGraw.
On the eastern edge of the Plaza sits Plaza Drug, a local pharmacy that filmmakers transformed into the exterior of the Crashdown Cafe for the CW series “Roswell, New Mexico.” Just across the street, the West Las Vegas Schools administration building was transformed into the sheriff’s office for the series, and Plaza Park can often be seen as well.
Bridge Street
Bridge Street extends from the Plaza to the river; it then becomes National Avenue. This scenic stretch of road was used often in the filming of “Longmire,” as well as “Easy Rider,” where the historic E. Romero Hose & Fire Co. building served as a backdrop for several scenes.
Just down the block, at 119 Bridge St., is the western wear store, Popular Dry Goods, which has been seen in a number of films and TV shows such as “Roswell, New Mexico,” the 2011 sci-fi comedy “Paul” and the pilot for the 2012 TV series “Vegas.” Perhaps the most iconic appearance for the store was in “No Country for Old Men,” when Josh Brolin’s character shops in the store twice — once wearing only a hospital gown and cowboy boots.
Two doors down is the Kiva Theater, which was used for the UFO Emporium in “Roswell, New Mexico,” and both the exterior and interior were used in the 2003 film “Blind Horizon,” starring Val Kilmer.
East Las Vegas and Downtown
The area around Sixth Street and Grand Avenue has been featured in several productions, including the recently-filmed Epix series “Perpetual Grace, LTD.” Crews from “Longmire” used the area several times as well.
The 2006 film “The Astronaut Farmer,” starring Billy Bob Thornton, used the interior of the former First National Bank on Sixth, and crews from “Red Dawn” created the Welcome to Calumet mural, which has been restored and can still be seen.
Douglas Avenue
This stretch of road was featured often in “No Country for Old Men,” most notably when villain Anton Chigurh, portrayed by Javier Bardem, lights a car on fire as he steals medical supplies from the Mike Zoss Pharmacy, a fictitious business located in a real building at 610 Douglas Avenue. The Price’s Ilfeld sign can also be spotted in a few scenes.
The Community First Bank on Douglas and Sixth can be seen in “Longmire,” and in “Red Dawn,” viewers can spot Wells Fargo, the Serf Theater, Dick’s Liquors and other businesses on the 700 block of Douglas.
Grand Avenue
The opening scene of “Red Dawn” features a shot of Grand Avenue and the Dairy Queen was used in “The Astronaut Farmer.”
In “No Country for Old Men,” Tommy Lee Jones’ character has coffee inside a cafe on the 1100 block, and the Regal Motel at 1809 N. Grand Avenue is where Llewelyn stays as he hides from Anton.
Las Vegas Carnegie Public Library
The interior of this building, an original Andrew Carnegie Library first opened in 1903, can be seen in the “Longmire” episode Election Day, when Walt casts his vote for sheriff. The surrounding Carnegie Park was used in a handful of episodes as well.
Memorial Middle School
Though the facility is not currently in use as a school, the exterior and interior of the building at the intersection of Old National Road and Legion Drive, were used in “Red Dawn,” most notably in a scene where enemy paratroopers descend from the skies.
Railroad Avenue
In “No Country for Old Men,” the Moonlite Welding building and much of Railroad Avenue can be seen as Anton uses a pay phone to track down Llewelyn, and the final battle scenes in “Red Dawn” were set outside the now-restored Castañeda Hotel. Parts of the pilot episode of “Midnight, Texas” were shot just south of the hotel, at a since-demolished church built by crews specifically for the show. The season three finale of “House of Cards” also used a building on the 400 block of Railroad Ave.
Highway 104
Several film crews have used the intersection of Highway 104 and Grand Avenue as a stand-in for a Mexico-U.S. border crossing, including “No Country for Old Men” and “Due Date,” starring Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis.
The highway has also been used in “Longmire,” and during filming for “Blind Horizon,” crews staged a semi-truck explosion on the road.
