The Plaza Hotel, dubbed "The Belle of the Southwest" when it was built in 1882, presides regally over the Old Town Plaza in Las Vegas, New Mexico“ the other Las Vegas. (The original Las Vegas.) Seemingly suspended in time, Las Vegas, New Mexico is about the same size it was when Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders held their first reunion at the Plaza Hotel in 1899. Out the front door of the hotel, the Old Town Plaza's towering maples and elms have donned their full summer greenery and the grass is deep green, reflecting the wettest winter and spring in recent memory. The Old Town Plaza tops Bridge Street where shops supply almost every need, from toys to books to custom jewelry to antiques to original art and much more. As has been said, Las Vegas, New Mexico is not southwestern chic, it's 100% authentic. Las Vegas has more than 900 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Plaza Hotel is the crown jewel of them all. It was lovingly restored in 1982, and has become Las Vegas' premiere place to stay for both travelers and business people, and is a very popular locale for meetings, parties, conventions and other events. And, who knows? You might run into a movie star or two. Las Vegas' exquisite and varied architecture and the surrounding countryside have been sought after by Hollywood since Tom Mix filmed many of his popular Westerns here in the early days of moving pictures. Even during Old West days, the famous, and the infamous, frequented the Plaza Hotel. They included varied characters such as Kit Carson, Billy the Kid, Vicente Silva, Doc Holliday and his girlfriend Big Nose Kate Elder.