History of The Mirage: The first Las Vegas Strip megaresort

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — The Mirage is set to close in four weeks.

It opened its doors in 1989 and is regarded as the first megaresort on the Las Vegas Strip.

News 3 talked with Clark County historian Mark Hall Patton about the property's legacy.

"The Mirage set a tone that just started the whole growth spurt of the 90s and into the 2000s. If Steve Wynn hadn't done that, I think somebody else probably would have, but he was the one that brought that vision," said Hall Patton.

He says Wynn thought outside of the box to go bigger and better. Other people saw what he did and followed suit.

The property was originally the site of the Red Rooster before it was purchased by actress Grace Hayes and turned into the Grace Hayes Lodge.

That was demolished, and then a portion of the land was occupied by the Castaways Hotel and Casino before Wynn purchased the property in 1986.

Hall Patton says it was originally going to be called the Golden Nugget, and The Mirage name came late in the process.