Filipino community members celebrate after the Clark County Commission voted to approve the creation of the Filipino Town district along Maryland Parkway.
The newly designated cultural corridor, which was approved by the Commission on Tuesday, April 15, will span a 1.2-mile stretch, along Maryland Parkway, between Flamingo Road and Desert Inn Road.
The area, already a thriving hub of Filipino culture and commerce, is anchored by the popular Seafood City supermarket and several Filipino-owned businesses at the Boulevard Mall.
With the new designation, it will now serve as a formal center for Filipino American life in Las Vegas — encompassing food, business, community services, and celebrations.
“The establishment of this Cultural District will help preserve and celebrate the culture, commerce, food, celebrations, and religion of Filipino people who have made Clark County their home,” the official resolution stated.
This marks the second cultural district in Clark County, following the designation of Little Ethiopia in 2023 near Decatur Boulevard.
The campaign to designate Filipino Town was led by community leader and longtime Las Vegas resident Rozita Lee, a nationally recognized advocate for Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Originally from Hawaii, Lee moved to Las Vegas in 1979 and has spent decades organizing around Filipino civic engagement, cultural pride, and representation.
“Everybody is so joyful, so joyful for this day,” Lee said during the Commission meeting on Tuesday. “The Filipinos make a complete and wonderful contribution to this state … and we will continue to work together to make this Filipino Town, to make Clark County the best ever in the nation.”
Home to an estimated 250,000 Filipinos — the largest Asian American ethnic group in Southern Nevada — the creation of Filipino Town marks a historic milestone.
The district is expected to host cultural festivals, public art installations, and small business initiatives that reflect the rich traditions and economic impact of the Filipino community in the region.
With the unanimous vote, Clark County joins a growing number of cities across the U.S. that have established cultural districts to honor and uplift Filipino American communities.
The creation of Filipino Town in Las Vegas joins a growing list of formalized Filipino enclaves across the United States. Historic Filipinotown in Los Angeles was officially designated in 2002, and has since become a nationally recognized center of Filipino history.
More recently, San Francisco’s SOMA Pilipinas Cultural District was created in 2016 to preserve Filipino history in the South of Market neighborhood, while Jersey City’s Little Manila in New Jersey celebrates the East Coast’s largest Filipino community.
But what sets Las Vegas apart, community leaders say, is the scale of Filipino presence and the deep integration of Filipino culture into the city’s economy. From health care professionals and hospitality workers to small business owners and educators, Filipinos have played a central role in building the Las Vegas valley.
