Much like Pittman, Huntridge is a community in transition. Could it be the next hot neighborhood? Or a working class enclave poised to falter in an uncertain economy? The forecast is anything but predictable.
🧭 So, Where Is Huntridge?
The neighborhood is five blocks east of Las Vegas Boulevard with Charleston as its north border. The first two tracts of homes (“West Huntridge") are just west of Maryland Parkway and the third tract (“Huntridge Park”) is just east of it with Franklin as the south border.
🪖 How Did It Start?
Nellis Air Force Base was a pivotal operation during World War II, increasing local demand for family homes. Stimulated by Federal Housing Administration incentives, Huntridge emerged in the 1940s as one of the first tract subdivisions in Las Vegas with the land and house packaged into one price. The neighborhood was named after businessman Leigh Hunt, whose estate sold off the land for development.
🏡 A Community Identity
The single-story ranch homes offered buyers five layout options with front porches on large-for-the-time lots and tree-lined streets. Following FHA guidelines, the homes were within walking distance of shops, a park, theater, and John S. Park Elementary School, which opened around the same time the first homes were built.
🎭 So … About That Theater
The Huntridge Theater is the neighborhood’s most identifiable landmark, although it’s been closed since 2004. Over 60 years, the first desegregated theater in Vegas went from a movie house to a live concert venue with the likes of No Doubt and the Red Hot Chili Peppers performing on stage. (An infamous roof collapse moved a punk rock show to the parking lot.) Dapper Companies is actively trying to revive the theater, although renovations were delayed, due in part to a legal battle over the placement of a cellphone tower.
🍕 New Food n’ Drink
Dapper already invested in the community by giving the Huntridge Center shopping plaza a fresh new look, replacing the Huntridge Pharmacy with popular fast-casual chains (Wing Stop, Roberto’s, and Capriotti’s) and ambitious upstarts like Yukon Pizza (where wood-fired pies are made with an heirloom starter) and Winnie & Ethel's (a reimagined version of a classic American diner).
Dapper wisely kept the Huntridge Tavern, a historic dive bar with a fondness for karaoke and canned Hamm’s beer. Across the street, Jive Turkey mixes cocktails with casual comfort food, while Best Burger serves drive-thru smash burgers 24/7 with the option to replace the bun with a grilled onion 🤯
🌳 Park Problems
The neighborhood’s centerpiece, the oval-shaped Huntridge Circle Park, which interrupts lanes of Maryland Parkway, remains locked behind a fence due to reports of violence and drug use among the homeless population.
It’s a stark contrast to the ambitious development plans and progressive art community, reflected in street murals, the Nuwu Art Collective, and The Center, a nearby resource for the LGBTQ+ community.
