La Concha Motel

This article is about the former motel now restored in the Las Vegas Neon Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada. For other uses see La Concha (disambiguation).
La Concha Motel
General information
Location 2955 Las Vegas Blvd South, Las Vegas, Nevada 89109
Opening 1961
Closed 2003
Owner Lorenzo Doumani (later Ed Doumani)
Design and construction
Architect Paul Williams
Original La Concha Motel sign
La Concha Motel lobby and motel during removal before restored to Las Vegas Neon Museum

The La Concha Motel was a motel that opened in 1961[1][2][3] and closed in December 2003.[2] It was designed by architect Paul Williams[4] who was one of the first prominent African American architects in the United States and was also the architect who designed the first LAX theme building.[1][2] It was located at 2955 Las Vegas Blvd South Winchester, Nevada[2] and was considered one of the best-preserved examples of 1950's Googie architecture.[5] It was named after the resort community of La Concha Spain.[6] La Concha motel was also neighbors of El Morocco Hotel that opened in 1955 and closed 1983. It was announced in late 2003 that La Concha Motel did not have many more days of this world.[6] It was owned by Lorenzo Doumani who inherited the property from his father Ed Doumani original owner.[6] The motel lobby was a concrete shell lobby.[6] The motel sections of La Concha Motel and the former El Morocco Motel next door were torn down in 2005.[6] In late January 2006, only the standing motel lobby remained, and the owners of La Concha Motel wanted to donate it to the Las Vegas Neon Museum.

The La Concha Motel is now restored in the Las Vegas Neon Museum.[2][4] The museum saved part of the hotel sign designed by the Young Electric Sign Company.[2] The La Concha motel was also neighbors of Riviera Hotel and Casino, Peppermill Restaurant, El Morocco Hotel and Silver City Casino. In the sign of the motel before it was removed it also said "COLOR TV" and some advertisements.[3] The former location of the motel was to be occupied by a new condominium/hotel tower, but those development plans have long since been canceled.[2] The leftover lobby before removal was 1,100 sq ft (100 m2) the size of the hotel lobby.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Las Vegas’s La Concha Motel Finds New Life as a Museum". Architectural Record News. 2007-01-18. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lotta Living: Save La Concha Motel Las Vegas
  3. 1 2 La Concha , Las Vegas (Rip) - Youtube
  4. 1 2 Help!! La Concha Motel, Las Vegas, Nevada | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  5. ↑ Schoenmann, Joe (October 2, 2005). "In Las Vegas, It's Googie vs. Wrecking Ball". New York Times.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Lotta Living: Save La Concha Motel Las Vegas

External links

Coordinates: 36°08′02″N 115°09′43″W / 36.134°N 115.162°W / 36.134; -115.162

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, August 07, 2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.