You’ve got to hand it to the folks in downtown Henderson: They’re nothing if not persistent. To fully explain, I’ll have to give you some background about the city I’ve lived in and worked in for much of the last 27 years. First a brief history, with a little geography thrown in for good measure. (I know – you hated those subjects in school; I did, too. But bear with me.)

Henderson is the city just south of Las Vegas. If you’ve ever driven to Lake Mead, you’ve probably passed right through it. Henderson began as an industrial town. During World War II, its factories processed magnesium and titanium to aid in the war effort. Many of those factories, as well as a variety of chemical plants, are still working facilities near the old downtown area. In fact, if you’ve heard of Henderson at all, it might be because of the explosion of the PEPCON rocket fuel factory in 1988, a cataclysmic event that killed two people and registered over 3 on the Richter scale (not to mention blowing out several windows in my house more than seven miles away).

Despite the blast, Henderson was the fastest-growing city in America during most of the 1980s and ’90s. When my family and I moved there in 1981, the population topped out at just over 25,000. In those days, Las Vegans referred to Henderson as “Hooterville,” an affectionate nod to the fictional “Green Acres” burg. Meanwhile, local Dodge dealer Ben Stepman was helping put the city on the map, at least locally, with his “In Henderson, Of Course” television ad campaign. Even now, long after Stepman’s death, if you say the words “in Henderson” to people of a certain age, they’ll automatically reply, “Of course.” And then they’ll chuckle.

Today, according to the city’s official Web site, more than 269,000 people call Henderson home. In fact, that’s the city’s official slogan: “A Place to Call Home.” It’s more than just fluff. Henderson is, in fact, a wonderful place to live and raise a family. Even with the phenomenal growth, the development of upscale master-planned communities like Seven Hills and Anthem, and the city’s new identity as a major metropolitan hub, Henderson has somehow managed to keep its small-town soul. And I’m not the only one saying that. At various times, Henderson has received national recognition for its parks, its community programs and its overall livability. As baseball legend Casey Stengel once said (about something entirely different), “You could look it up.”

You could look this up, too: Henderson, at 94 square miles, is Nevada’s largest city. And that brings us, in a circuitous way, back to my opening statement. As the population has expanded to fill up those square miles, downtown Henderson has sometimes gotten lost in the shuffle. Many of the newer residents, I’m guessing, don’t even know it exists. Many of these same residents may not even know they live in Henderson (until they need the police or fire department and find out that Green Valley isn’t an actual city).

Fortunately, downtown Henderson has been fighting back, thanks to a loose alliance of shopkeepers, interested residents, civic organizations and the City itself. Recently, my wife and I decided to attend Third Thursday, the city’s signature family-friendly event designed to draw people back to the downtown area, which has been rebranded as the “Water Street District.” During Third Thursday, local stores, art galleries, restaurants and the like stay open until 9 p.m., offering tours, information, music, goodies and other incentives to stop by and stick around.

First stop: Book Boutique, a used-book store on Pacific Avenue, just off the main drag. Owner Shereen Hale met us with a cheerful “Hello” and motioned for us to grab some chocolate chip cookies and punch. As a local author, I’ve know Shereen ever since she opened the shop a few years ago. She’s done a great job with the place, creating a quaint, well-stocked book-lovers’ haven lacking the musty, dusty atmosphere usually associated with stores of that ilk.

“Crowds have been a little off lately, mainly because of the heat,” Shereen told me. “But Third Thursday is growing overall. The word is definitely getting out. The person you really need to talk to is Susanne Reese. She owns the Plaza Gallery and was instrumental in getting this event off the ground back in 2002. From what I understand, at first it was just for the galleries, but then all the other merchants got involved.”

After picking up a Third Thursday program and thanking Shereen for her hospitality, we found ourselves back on the street, pulled in the direction of cool jazz emanating from a tenor sax. Turning the corner onto Market Street, we discovered the source of the music: Tony Wells, a middle-aged musician sporting a kofia and ZZ Top beard. Wells, who plays a combination of standards and his own compositions with an assured touch, participates in Third Thursday pretty much every month. “That’s art,” he said. “That’s part of life.” He credits Susanne Reese with getting him involved in the first place.

As I dropped a dollar in his case, I turned to see a group of roughly 30 children heading our way, led by a no-nonsense woman keeping the kids in some semblance of order. The woman, as luck would have it, was Susanne Reese and she had a few moments to talk about Arts Walk, this particular labor-of-love event.

“This is our 33rd straight month,” she said with justifiable pride. “We meet at the Gibson Library on Water Street and take the kids into more than 30 stops along the way. It helps them appreciate and enjoy art, plus it teaches them how to behave in a gallery environment. It’s really a children’s art outreach program.”

We followed her group into a compact, free-standing building called Professional Design Associates, which serves as an electrical and mechanical engineering firm by day and an art gallery by night. Business partners Frank Beardsley and Tom Foster have plastered the lobby walls with photographs, paintings, woodworking and other objets d’art representing their own talents and those of their employees. “This is a great way for us to participate in all of the Third Thursday excitement,” Beardsley said. “And it’s a big morale-builder for our employees.” Even the kids seemed impressed. And well-behaved.

Continuing our stroll onto the brick pavement of Water Street, we popped into several galleries, checked out a reggae band in the Events Plaza near the convention center and city hall, and enjoyed authentic southern Italian fare and Old World charm at Mama Italia’s Ristorante. We’ve paid twice as much for dinners on the Strip that weren’t half as good.

By foot, downtown Henderson is a mixed bag, as you’d expect from a town in transition. Within a few short blocks, you’ll pass modern office buildings, upscale art galleries, floral boutiques, coffeehouses and cafes. But you’ll also pass local bars and casinos, a bail bonds place, World War II-era offices, vacant storefronts and the occasional private residence in need of serious repair.

For me, the juxtaposition of old and new keeps things interesting. But it might not work for everyone. On this particular evening, despite banners and signs urging participants to “Tell Everyone,” attendance was light. Even after six years, there’s still a “ground floor” feel to the proceedings but, overall, Third Thursday is definitely worth a visit.

Take a look at these Web sites and plan out your itinerary.

WaterStreetDistrict.com
VisitHenderson.com
HendersonMeansBusiness.com