I'd say that time frame seemed to be its peak. The Exchange was brand new and a fun/novel concept. Jokers has always been Jokers, but you at least felt comfortable in there. Beer Can Alley was pretty new and hadn't moved upstairs yet. On top of that you had Mickeys, Legends, Johnnys, and the FCP places that were all clean (usually) and in good shape.
But last time the wife and I made it down there at night (admittedly, this was 2 years ago) it had degraded into an area the felt dirty, unsafe, and poorly maintained. Was fairly sad to experience.