Viva Las Vegas Architecture

A 60s-era motel lobby is getting the star treatment from local preservationists eager to save a piece of the city's former glory.

1 minute read

December 29, 2006, 8:00 AM PST

By Christian Madera @http://www.twitter.com/cpmadera


"New York City has Grand Central Terminal. Boston has Faneuil Hall. Chicago has the Carson Pirie Scott & Co. building. San Francisco has Coit Tower. Las Vegas has . . . the La Concha Motel lobby.

Among such august architectural icons, kitschy La Concha --which most closely resembles a fly-in hamburger stand used by the Jetsons--might seem like a questionable candidate for historic preservation.

But, by year's end, if all goes according to plan, the airy, concrete and glass 1961-vintage lobby, with its three signature 28-foot parabolic arches, will be preserved for posterity at a cost of about $1 million. Preservationists cobbled together the money through state and local grants and donations."

Thursday, December 21, 2006 in The Chicago Tribune

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