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Book review: The Leisure Architecture of Wayne McAllister
There always seem to be a few lamentations when someone pulls down a Strip icon, but the protests are getting more and more muted. That’s mostly because Las Vegas resort architecture seems to be essentially disposable; it’s built for specific market conditions, and when they change, it is renovated beyond recognition or replaced. It’s just a fact of life.
But there are some people who treasure the “classic” Vegas designs, though classic in this context doesn’t have much meaning. Does it mean buildings dating from the 1940s? 1950s? 1960s? Or is it just a catch-all phrase for any casino old enough to have a really inefficient air handling system? If you walk out reeking of smoke, you’re in Classic Vegas, but if not, you’re in sanitized “corporate” Vegas.
Still, there are a several architects whose work deserves to be remembered, both of its evolutionary significance and its own aesthetic merit. One of these is Wayne McAllister, and, as can be imagined, this book is about him. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in book reviews on 07/17/2008 09:04 am by Dave