see, when i first went to las vegas i assumed it would somehow resemble the ye olde las vegas as depicted in pictures of dean martin in 1958. which, without judging, it didn’t.
i mean, new las vegas is big and bright and kind of fascinating in it’s own brobdingnagian way. (oh, and ‘brobdingnagian’ is a real word, i didn’t just make it up. jonathan swift made it up. along with lilliputian).
but when i go to las vegas i still go searching for the last remaining vestiges of the old las vegas. which is today’s building.
a hotel on the strip, cowering in the shadow of the mandalay bay. it’s kind of a sweet little mid-century hotel, with a few little mid-century details, and i’m working under the assumption that it has about 30 seconds until it is eaten by something new and brobdingnagian (again: that’s a real word). and again, i’m not maligning the giant new buildings in las vegas. i mean, they are a product of the ethos of las vegas, so it would be absurd to criticize them (plus the disco dancing fountains at the bellagio are pretty cool, and whenever/wherever there’s a rollercoaster in the middle of a city it’s probably a good thing).
so, here are some pictures of a tiny little mid-century hotel, 30 seconds away from disappearing under the tsunami of new, brobdingnagian (i figure if i use this word enough it’ll creep into common usage) modern las vegas:
-moby