Neon Diarrhea
May 15, 2010
Now that it is officially a new decade, I am updating the pictures I have for every property in Las Vegas. I am not exaggerating when I say that I have photographically covered every inch of Las Vegas Boulevard from the North Las Vegas border to the M Resort, but keeping them up to date is a continuous process.
For the last week or so, I have focused my attention on the area between Flamingo Rd. and Harmon Ave., and from my own perspective … I think this area is now the very best that the Las Vegas Strip has to offer. At this point, I might go so far as to say that this half mile stretch of road is the Las Vegas Strip. At least from a visual standpoint.
I think it is fair to say that the Las Vegas Strip is in a rut. In the last decade, The Strip has not grown, but rather it has shrunk, and the remaining properties seem to have little enthusiasm for the gaudy neon that most people typically equate with “The Fabulous Las Vegas Strip”.
With one exception.
Love it or hate it Planet Hollywood is now the most aesthetically interesting property on The Boulevard. At least in my opinion. It’s really the only place left on LVB that still grabs my eyeballs and demands attention.
Planet Hollywood Las Vegas
Planet Hollywood Las Vegas
Planet Hollywood Las Vegas
The person or people who designed the exterior of Planet Hollywood were obviously on copious amounts of mind-altering substances. It’s the motherlode of illuminated attention deficit disorder. In theory, the place is a freaking trainwreck. I mean, what is with the bubble-wrap on the outside shaped to look like a horizontal ocean wave? What in the hell does that have to do with “Hollywood”?
While Planet Hollywood has always been a property that I feel may have been designed by a group of three-year-olds with some finger-paints and a Light Bright, at this point, it is the property which looks most like the goddamn Las Vegas Strip.
My appreciation for Planet Hollywood’s contribution to The Boulevard has really increased while I have scrolled through the thousands of photos that I have taken this year. I have come to realize that most other properties look rather staid and boring in comparison. Especially the newer ones. Of particular note is the striking difference between Planet Hollywood and its neighbor across the street … City Center. City Center is not “ugly” by any stretch of the imagination, it’s just “geographically inappropriate”. It’s too dim from street level. There are no lights on the outside trying to get people to come in, and I think this is part of its failure. I think most tourists want light. I think they want to admire a property from the outside before going inside.
Las Vegas City Center
Las Vegas City Center
If you weren’t aware that there were massive towers a block past the lackluster City Center street facade, you might assume that it was yet another vacant hole. At best, it looks like the frontage to a shopping mall, or maybe the outskirts of an office park after the workers have gone home.
All the new mega-properties of the past 10 years have had more or less the same goal. They have tried to be classy. They have tried to be elegant. To a large extent, they have succeeded … with the exception of the horrible, unfinished tower in front of the Venetian.
That being said, of the two distinct looks offered by the architects of the past decade, I still greatly prefer the busy, gaudy, obnoxious look of Planet Hollywood’s “neon diarrhea”.
While reviewing my images, it has also once again hit me just how important the New Frontier and the Stardust were to the big picture of the Boulevard. They really provided a necessary continuity that bridged the psychological barrier between the Mid-Strip and the North-Strip. Hell, I would go so far as to say that, up until the point that it was demolished, the Stardust may have been the most visually iconic property on The Boulevard.
While picking through photos, and comparing and contrasting with those of just a few years ago, part of me weeps for what has become of the Las Vegas Strip. A “strip” implies an uninterrupted stretch of something. We no longer have one. Las Vegas Boulevard is now punctuated by large neon gaps, vacant lots, dimly-lit billion dollar resorts, and huge moments to failure.
The new properties, while nice in and of themselves, don’t really contribute much to the soul of the Strip. Rather, they seem standoffish and pretentious.
Planet Hollywood was the only property conceptualized in the 21st Century to carry on the neon diarrhea tradition, and for this reason, I have to declare it my personal favorite at this point in time.
I just wish it wasn’t another f***ing Harrah’s establishment.
Written by mike_ch on May 15, 2010 at 10:40 pm
Let’s just be honest:
The Zeroes were a decade of the hotels buying each other and occasionally adding a tower, so the only thing we have to show for it is Planet Aladdin, Wynncore, Palazzo, a couple room towers, and some condo buildings.
CityCenter doesn’t really count, since it barely slipped in and wasn’t really ready yet.
I don’t even really get to see half of Wynn, but it pretty much wins by default, with Palazzo, Bellagio Spa Tower, and THEhotel having to figure out who gets whatever acclaim is left.
Written by hail2skins on May 15, 2010 at 11:32 pm
Spot on, Rex. Brings me back to when I first visited Vegas in ‘92, and I drove in from California. Remember the spectacle of the Stateline (wasn’t yet Primm) casinos appearing out of nowhere, and then of course the Strip. I remember the Dunes sign was the one which caught my eye the most. And back in those early years of my Vegas visits, I stayed a few times in the Hacienda, which was imploded at the end of 1996 to make room for Mandalay. But you’re right…….the exteriors just seem pretty boring now.
Of course, for as much as I’m mirroring the opinions of your columns about how downtown is a good place to hang out these days, I think the big canopy took away some of the heart and soul there as well. That 1992 trip included a night downtown as well, and the neon of the casinos down there against the night sky was simply awesome. I like the fact that the area of Fremont is a pedestrian throughfare, but I’m not sure the canopy with its once per hour show makes up for those early downtown memories.
Written by Tom on May 16, 2010 at 4:57 am
I marvel at
1. what City Center is, and
2. how it is totally wrong as an addition to the Strip.
I also think that the best additions to Vegas in the last decade are the off strip properties; Red Rock, South Point and M Resort. They are attractive, inviting and easily accessible from the outside. To me City Center says, “Don’t come in unless you will occupy one of my hotel rooms or condos and pay my high prices for food, etc.”. While the three mentioned off strip places say,” Come on in, join the fun, all are welcome”. That’s what all strip properties used to say to me.
Written by Steve on May 16, 2010 at 3:09 pm
I’ve just returned to the UK from my 16th trip in as many years. Over that time, I’ve looked forward to seeing every new casino/hotel as they went up. I made a point of going out of my way to see everything from Red Rock to the M Resort. Seeing places such as NYNY, The Luxor, Bellagio etc for the 1st time always produced a wow feeling.
On this last trip, I stayed at MGM Signature. To visit City Center all I had to do was walk out onto E. Harmon from the side entrance of Signature and go up the road a few blocks. I did this one evening and looked up the road and thought WTF, is that it.? A collection of office buildings ?. I didn’t even bother going in.
I can’t quite fully agree that PH is the dogs bollocks, but I can share a preference for it’s brash gaudy styling over the mind numbing blandness that is City Center. The strip doesn’t need office buildings. It needs fun buildings.
Written by ColinFromLasVegas on May 16, 2010 at 3:43 pm
Sorry, Rex, this has nothing to do with this article, but I just saw your photo of the guy wearing the t-shirt with possibly the next Las Vegas Convention Visitors Authority (LVCVA) slogan.
Again, you made me spit coffee this morning laughing. Damn you.
To add to your photo, if that indeed is the case this is a new campaign by LVCVA, I bet Mr. Fucking Randy Fucking Snow thought that up and it’s his brainchild.
Written by huddler on May 16, 2010 at 6:34 pm
I have stayed at P-Ho several times and I stayed at Aria in February for the 1st time. There is no comparison in terms of style, ambiance, service, etc. I’ll take the P-HO every single time over Aria in every category. Aria simply doesnt work.
Written by Whiskydrinker on May 16, 2010 at 9:25 pm
I have to say that seeing the neon of the Stardust in 1992 on my first trip to Vegas was simply the point where I couldn’t get any better.
Written by Dennis on May 16, 2010 at 10:07 pm
Just got back from my yearly visit to Las Vegas this week. I visited City Center for the first time and visited Crystals in the middle of the afternoon and at noon. The place is beautiful but nobody was around. The restaurants were empty. Aria was very nice but the casino was dark and not many people around. I agreed with Tom it just doesn’t fit in with the strip. I think City Center is going to fail and MGM is going to need to sell couple of their other hotels to pay for it. City Center looks like a bunch of office buildings. It was a big disappointment.
Written by james h on May 16, 2010 at 11:23 pm
it is sad to see the lack of neon on the newer properties…the neon has always been part of the magic of vegas. look out any hotel room during the day, the strip is not all that attractive. look out at night, the magic is there, disney land for adults, feel the excitement, the call of the night….its all in the lights, when the neon is all gone the strip will not be the same….neon is friendly, it sets the mood, creates excitement, i bet if you put neon on the bums, porn slappers, and hookers they wouldnt seem so bad. neon taxis, neon public transportation,,,vegas can never have too much neon!
Written by par88 on May 16, 2010 at 11:56 pm
Some of your photos are really nice Rex. If you’re ever inclined to write about it, I’d be interested to know what kind of photo equipment you’re using.
Written by Trey on May 17, 2010 at 10:00 pm
I always thought the purple & pink lighting on the Stardust’ tower was what stood out the most when looking down the strip from the south end. I just hope that if anything is ever built on that lot that they do not screw it up as much as CC.
Written by Mike on May 17, 2010 at 11:29 pm
Agreed. I really miss hotels with themes and bright colorful lights outside. City Center is sad, it reminds me of an office park near my work filled with several BigLaw firm offices combined with a mall. It is a nice complex, but nothing special.
I think the hotels with locations as themes started this bland boring trend. While cartoon versions of Paris and NYNY were ok, the Bellagio and Venetian tried too hard to be real and have “class”. Vegas is not a classy place, and if I wanted to go on a nice vacation I go somewhere real. I go to vegas to drink heavily, gamble with decent odds, look at bright lights, and laugh at the human condition (douche-bags and women with terrible boob jobs).
Written by Aaron on May 18, 2010 at 3:06 pm
City Center = Massive Failure
The best days of LV are behind us.
Written by james on May 19, 2010 at 6:30 pm
The P-HO’s exterior looks like in belong in Idiocracy. I see it and get depressed because I think my vacation could have been spent somewhere more rewarding, like a national park or a museum.