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The La Concha was built
in 1961 at 2955 Las Vegas Boulevard South and quickly became an icon on the Las Vegas
strip. The hotel was designed by internationally
renowned African-American architect Paul R. Williams,
Hollywood's 'Architect to the Stars', who designed over
3,000 buildings, including the Los Angeles Int'l Airport
and the Paris UN building. On the rapidly changing strip
it stands as a reminder of the wonderful inventiveness
of Williams and is one of the most significant examples
of Mid-Century Modern architecture remaining in Las
Vegas. La Concha is potentially eligible for the
National Register, on a cultural, architectural and
historical basis. The owners of the property are working
with Preserve Nevada to move the lobby and its historic
neon sign to a new home in downtown. Since the
demolition of the hotel wing behind the lobby in
December of 2003, a national
letter writing campaign has demonstrated the level of
interest in this wonderful little building.
UPDATE: The movement to preserve the La Concha has
generated national support from architects,
preservationists and historians as well as many
individuals and organizations across the country. The
Historic Preservation Commission of the City of Las
Vegas, the Preservation Association of Clark County,
Preserve Nevada and the State Historic Preservation
Office are trying to help. Additionally, the Neon Museum
has received a grant from the National Trust for
Historic Preservation to further help with the
engineering costs associated with re-locating the
structure. Melvyn Green and Associates, a noted
engineering firm from southern California has been
retained by the Neon Museum to over see and guide the
engineering of the LaConcha's move from its current
location to its new home next to the Neon Boneyard on
Las Vegas BLVD, adjacent to Cashman Field. Plans for the
building include using it as a visitors/educational
center for the Neon Museum. Moving the La Concha will
involve taking the structure apart; transporting it
North along the strip to its new home where will be
re-assembled onto a new foundation. The projected costs
associated with this proposal are anticipated to be
around $500,000. The Neon Museum is hoping to raise at
least $300,000 to get the building safely off site; the
rest of the funds will be used to restore the building
so it can be opened to the public. For more information,
please contact the Neon Museum at (702) 387-NEON or
info@neonmuseum.org.
From Architectural Record:
Las Vegas' La Concha Motel Finds New Life as a Museum
January 18, 2007
The La Concha motel’s signature lobby, formed by curling shells
of parabolic concrete, has gone for a drive down the Las Vegas
Strip. Designed by Paul R. Williams, the first African-American
member and Fellow of the AIA, La Concha was a futuristic hotspot
thronged by celebrity visitors when it opened in 1961. But over
time, it was upstaged by towering new casinos and hotels.
The motel’s guestrooms, which were housed in a low slung
box off the back, were demolished years ago, leaving only
the 1,100-square-foot lobby structure intact. When it too
was threatened by a new development, the city’s Neon Museum
saw an opportunity both to preserve the structure, and to
create a visitor’s center for itself. “In Las Vegas, it’s
a landmark,” Neon Museum board member Dorothy Wright says.
“It’s important on so many levels.”
Last month, the building was transported to the Neon Museum’s
“boneyard” on the outskirts of the city, where the organization
keeps its collection of retired signs. The move was overseen
by Mel Green, a structural engineer from California who
specializes in historical buildings. “We couldn’t move
it as a whole because it’s 28 feet high and it had to get
under the freeway, which provides about 17 feet of clearance”
he explains. Instead, contractors shored it up, cut it into
eight sections and moved the individual pieces by truck
under the cover of night. The $500,000 operation was covered
by various city and state grants.
For now, La Concha remains in pieces at its new home, waiting to be reassembled and expanded into an exhibition space, museum store, and offices. Fundraising for reassembly is ongoing, and the museum expects to have the building back together by the end of this year.
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