[mstnghu2]

Hi all,

I live in California in the Bay Area and just out of curiousity had some questions about the area around the base of Sunrise Mountain, specifically near the Mormon temple. My grandparents built a custom home on Beverly Glen Ave. in about 1979 and my family used to go visit them in Las Vegas every summer for years before they passed away. They ended up moving from that house in the 80's, but still lived in the neighborhood about two miles away.

My grandma was a bit paranoid and used to tell us stories about bodies being dumped in their area and crazy Satanic rituals that went on at the base of the mountain. As a kid, I always just though "COOL!". Anyways, I checked out their Beverly Glen house on Google street view and checked out the neighborhood. The images are probably a couple of years old, but the neighborhood looks almost completely unchanged. All the houses are pretty much the same exact ones that I remember seeing even as a little kid.

So, what's the story with this area? I always loved going there to visit and thought their neighborhood at the base of the mountain had tons of character. Pretty much every house was custom and unique in some way. I also love that it feels very rustic, with no sidewalks etc. The views of the Strip and the whole valley from up there are amazing and watching the sunrise and sunset from there is pretty stunning as well! I'm just curious why this area still seems somewhat desolate and undeveloped. If this were in the Bay Area, this would be prime real estate and every lot would've been snatched up long ago!

Is this a desirable area? After reading some of the threads here, I see that a lot of Sunrise Manor is not considered too great. Maybe some locals could shed some light for me. My grandparents passed away a few years ago now, and I was just feeling a bit nostalgic.

[lisa99]

isn't nostalgia a wonderful thing?

We're in the process of relocating to Vegas and have found the best way to get a really good feel for Sunrise Manor is to do a search on previous threads. There has been a lot of discussion on the topic. There are iffy areas, but also beautiful gated communities with wonderful houses and low crime.

Good luck in your stroll down memory lane.

Lisa

[Charles Wallace]

Originally Posted by mstnghu2

Hi all,

I live in California in the Bay Area and just out of curiousity had some questions about the area around the base of Sunrise Mountain, specifically near the Mormon temple. My grandparents built a custom home on Beverly Glen Ave. in about 1979 and my family used to go visit them in Las Vegas every summer for years before they passed away. They ended up moving from that house in the 80's, but still lived in the neighborhood about two miles away.

My grandma was a bit paranoid and used to tell us stories about bodies being dumped in their area and crazy Satanic rituals that went on at the base of the mountain. As a kid, I always just though "COOL!". Anyways, I checked out their Beverly Glen house on Google street view and checked out the neighborhood. The images are probably a couple of years old, but the neighborhood looks almost completely unchanged. All the houses are pretty much the same exact ones that I remember seeing even as a little kid.

So, what's the story with this area? I always loved going there to visit and thought their neighborhood at the base of the mountain had tons of character. Pretty much every house was custom and unique in some way. I also love that it feels very rustic, with no sidewalks etc. The views of the Strip and the whole valley from up there are amazing and watching the sunrise and sunset from there is pretty stunning as well! I'm just curious why this area still seems somewhat desolate and undeveloped. If this were in the Bay Area, this would be prime real estate and every lot would've been snatched up long ago!

Is this a desirable area? After reading some of the threads here, I see that a lot of Sunrise Manor is not considered too great. Maybe some locals could shed some light for me. My grandparents passed away a few years ago now, and I was just feeling a bit nostalgic.

I love it, personally. The mountain is stark and wild, and the houses simply end at the edge. The view, as you yourself mentioned, is stunning. I've gone running in that area frequently and have never had any problem -- only waves from friendly, older people.

It's a neighborhood I'd call "spotty" in that it varies from funkadelic hippie Buckyball houses to bright terra-cotta McMansions to places in the process of renovation to places desperately in need of a landscaper. It's got a very anti-HOA feeling to it.

Again, personally, I love that. If a potential resident is looking for more uniformity, he can just hop on Charleston and keep going west until he gets to Summerlin.

[dynimagelv]

I lived 'on the mountain' for about a year [about 15 yrs ago] and I LOVED it....of course I was house sitting for a friend and had a gigantic house with a pool and a housekeeper....but even without that I would have loved it.

[mstnghu2]

Thanks for the responses! I'd have to agree that this area definitely has an "anti-HOA" feel to it and I really like that. My wife and I plan to visit Vegas this year and she's never seen my grandparents old houses, so I wanted to take her around the area.

I'm still a bit confused about why the area is still so "deserted" (no pun intended). My grandparents' first house was at 6864 Beverly Glen Ave. and looking at Google streetview shows that there are still numerous empty lots and it's still desert directly across the street. I "zillowed" the house too and its estimated value is only $288k! That blows my mind! If this were in the Bay Area, it'd easily be worth $900k+, especially with those million dollar views!

I guess my grandparents would be happy to know that their old neighborhood is mostly un-touched and that developers haven't destroyed it yet. I look forward to driving down memory lane when I visit later this year.

[LVinWA]

I grew up in Sunrise Manor, but more towards where Rundle Elementary is. The only spotty areas I remember were the apartment complexes, but that's kind of everywhere. I love that part of town. While Green Valley and Henderson in general tempt me... I can't help but fantasize buying a place of my own near my childhood memories, cheesy as that sounds.

[photobuff42]

Originally Posted by mstnghu2

Hi all,

I live in California in the Bay Area and just out of curiousity had some questions about the area around the base of Sunrise Mountain, specifically near the Mormon temple. My grandparents built a custom home on Beverly Glen Ave. in about 1979 and my family used to go visit them in Las Vegas every summer for years before they passed away. They ended up moving from that house in the 80's, but still lived in the neighborhood about two miles away.

I thought this was Frenchman's Mountain? Sunrise is the smaller one.

[Charles Wallace]

Originally Posted by photobuff42

I thought this was Frenchman's Mountain? Sunrise is the smaller one.

Technically, you are correct. Everyone calls it "Sunrise Mountain," though.

[mstnghu2]

So, I just thought I'd post an update here to follow up with my original post. My wife and I just had a short trip to Vegas this past weekend for a test that she had to take here. Afterward, I took her to explore my grandparents old neighborhood up by the Las Vegas Mormon temple...so what happened to this place?! This used to be a really nice area! I was so disappointed!
My wife never met my grandparents, since they passed away just a few years ago before we met. I really wanted to show off their old neighborhood to her and was really upset! This area seems to really have gone downhill. It's such a shame, since the views of the strip are pretty amazing. You'd think that this area would've gentrified a bit, but instead exactly the opposite has happened.
There's a home in the area on Copper Rd. that's over 10k sq. ft. (in fact I found it listed for sale on the MLS), and I remember when it was first built and was one of the nicest houses in the area. It's abandoned now and has been pretty much destroyed by vandals! The windows are boarded up and there's graffiti all over the walls...and it's right next to other upscale houses! I also saw many walls/fences in the area that had clearly had graffiti painted over and this is a suburban area, not in the middle of the city.
I guess I'm just really shocked by this because despite our own real estate crisis here in CA, I just can't imagine seeing the type of blight in any neighborhood here at home that I found over there.
I'm not in any way trying to knock anybody who may live there, since I really used to love the area. I just can't believe that such a potentially awesome area has pretty much degraded.
I just zillowed my grandparents old house and found that its estimated value is only $216k! I can't even comprehend that! A house here in the Bay Area in CA with that kind of view would be $1 million+! Sorry for all the ranting. I knew the real estate market and economy has crashed a bit in Vegas, but I'm just a bit surprised by what I saw.
I used to go for walks with my parents and grandparents after dark back when they lived here, and honestly I think I'd be pretty hesitant and wouldn't feel very safe in the area based on how things look right now.
Does anybody here happen to have any more info or first-hand knowledge about this area?

[olecapt]

Sorry but go back and look again. Some real nice RE in that area. That whole section south of the Temple is actually very nice.

Note that the beat up fixemup on Copper is listed for a million dollars. Not bad for a large but uninhabitable house.

The neighborhood suffers a bit from the down hill areas. And the schools are a problem. But there are still a nice set of estates up that way.