What used to be there?

Downtown Las Vegas has changed quite a bit in the last few years. So much so, that today I often have to think about what used to be standing only a few years ago. There are many lots that have been flattened or rebuilt. Portions of the landscape have become unfamiliar.

It is an odd feeling when I look at an empty lot or a new development and cannot remember what used to be there. Was what was there before of any worth, or was it simply unremarkable? It feels as if I am losing my memory. Obviously someone thought what is new was certainly of more worth in order to go ahead and finance, assemble, entitle, build, etc. But what I am getting at is a sort of amnesia of place.