The Strat: Las Vegas's Tower in the Sky

At over one thousand one hundred feet, the Strat Tower is the tallest freestanding observation tower in the United States. It opened in April nineteen ninety-six as the centerpiece of Bob Stupak's Stratosphere Casino, the culmination of a lifelong obsession. Stupak, a Pittsburgh native and self-made gambler, had operated Vegas World on this same north-Strip block for years before betting everything on a tower that could compete with the Eiffel Tower and Seattle's Space Needle.

The project nearly bankrupted him and finished under new ownership, but the tower survived. Today it anchors the northern end of the Strip with thrill rides perched on its crown, including the Big Shot, the X-Scream, and the SkyJump. Locals call it simply the Strat, and its beacon can be seen from most of the Las Vegas Valley.