Customer Reviews

Viva Las Vegas: After-Hours Architecture

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I've read other Alan Hess books- Googie come to mind. I really enjoyed Hess's style for this book. Alan Hess writes an occasional column for the San Jose Mercury News concerning architecture. He did not leave me disappointed with this book. It was evident that Alan Hess enjoyed this place as much as I did on my last visit to Sin City!

This book came out in 1993. If you're looking for information on the newer hotels that have sprung up, the ones that came and left during then and now, you won't find it here. You will find details about the ones that were imploded during the 90's, which was a nice resource for those of us that were curious about the Sands, Dunes, Hacienda and the Aladdin. It's also an indication of just how much the strip has evolved from the timeline of the publishing of this book and what is the strip looks today, year 2001. An excellent study of the architecture changes of Vegas and its reflections on the rest of the U.S.

If you buy one book about the colorful history and architecture of the Golden Age of Las Vegas to the present, THIS IS IT!!! This wonderful book is expertly researched with many many old drawings, postcards, photos, and more!

Having read the seminal "Learning From Las Vegas" by Venturi, Scott Brown and Izenour, I couldn't ask for a better sequel than this rich and delicious study of a city that has long been misunderstood. In fact not really a sequel but a very thorough and in depth study of the signs, almost all long gone now, the buildings and their designers. Hess did his homework and captured the history of the city and it's beautiful architecture from it's founding in 1905, all the way to the Mirage(1989) and MGM Grand in 1993. You don't just learn about the casinos and the architects responsible, but also about the linear and not so linear thread of events and key players that helped shape the city of all cities. Hess takes you through the six major chapters in Las Vegas's history from the protostrip in the 1930's to the corporations that continue to shape the strip today. Fifteen years have passed since the release of this book, and one can only hope for a sequel to this sequel. A must must read for anyone who's appreciated and not appreciated the city of lights and sin. Viva Las Vegas!!!...Viva Alan Hess!!!