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 Forklift Masts Paradise - Paradise (population 223,167) is an unincorporated town within the Las Vegas metropolitan area in the state of Nevada. The city of Paradise is governed by the Clark County Commission together with the Paradise Town Advisory Board.
Tourists going to the Las Vegas region are frequently unaware that they are actually within the city of Paradise most of the time, rather than in the City of Las Vegas itself. That's because Paradise contains nearly all of the Las Vegas Strip, with its world-famous hotels like for example Caesars Palace and the Palms. Paradise is likewise where McCarran International Airport, University of Nevada and the MGM Grand are situated. The city of Paradise remains relatively unknown as the Postal Service of the United States has assigned "Las Vegas, NV" as the place name for ZIP codes in Paradise. "Paradise, NV" does not appear in postal addresses. If the city of Paradise were a city which was incorporated, it would be among the biggest within the state.
The Clark County commission voted to create the unincorporated town of Paradise in 1950, after Ernie Cragin, the mayor then, tried unsuccessfully to expand the tax base of the city by pushing for annexation of the Las Vegas Strip. Ernie Cragin required capital to pay down the city's rising debt and finance a development plan. A group of Strip casino executives effectively lobbied the county for township status to prevent the city of Las Vegas from annexing the land. Ever since then the county commission has continued to preserve its authority by limiting the Las Vegas expansion.
Approximately three quarters of the population of Nevada live within Clark County. The county supports practically 2 million inhabitants. The Nevada Legislature formed the county during the year 1909. The Las Vegas Valley, a 1,600 km2 basin, consists of the city of Las Vegas and the unincorporated community of Paradise. Before Nevada became a state, much of the area was part of Pah-Ute County, Arizona Territory. Clark County was named for U.S. Senator William Andrews Clark, who was mostly responsible for routing the Salt Lake and Los Angeles Railroad through the area. The railroad considerably boosted growth in the region.
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