La Concha Motel

The La Concha Motel was a motel that opened in 1961[2][3][4] and closed in 2004.[5] It was designed by architect Paul Williams[6] 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.[2][3] It was located at 2955 Las Vegas Blvd South, on the Las Vegas Strip, in Winchester, Nevada,[3] and was considered one of the best-preserved examples of 1950s Googie architecture.[7] It is believed to be named after the Beach of La Concha in Spain.[8]

This article is about the former motel now restored in the Neon Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada. For other uses see La Concha (disambiguation).
La Concha Motel
The motel lobby building
General information
LocationLas Vegas, Nevada 89109
Address2955 Las Vegas Blvd South
Named forBeach of La Concha
Opening1961
Closed2004
OwnerEd Doumani
Lorenzo Doumani
Grounds5.4 acres (2.2 ha)
Design and construction
ArchitectPaul Williams
Other information
Number of rooms350[1]

History

The La Concha was opened by M.K. Doumani.[5] When it opened, the La Concha was one of the larger properties on the Las Vegas Strip.[1] Various celebrities had stayed at the motel, including Ronald Reagan, Ann-Margret, Flip Wilson, Muhammad Ali, and the Carpenters.[5] The La Concha was featured in the 1995 film Casino.[9] In its later years, the motel was owned by M.K. Doumani's son and grandson: Ed and Lorenzo Doumani.[5] The Doumani family also owned the adjacent El Morocco.[10]

In March 2001, Ed Doumani said he was considering options for the La Concha, saying, "Property taxes are huge and power is expensive." Doumani also complained of various costs such as a mandated beautification project of the Las Vegas Strip, in which each property had to help fund a new median with foliage and trees: "I had to pay $295,000 for what amounted to five palm trees. A large place can absorb that, we can't. We're probably going to knock (La Concha) down sometime this year. The land is more valuable than the buildings on it." At that time, the La Concha had been maintaining a high occupancy rate, despite lacking typical amenities such as a restaurant, casino, pool, and room service. Despite the motel's success, Doumani planned to replace it with a boutique hotel that would include condominiums and shopping, which he said would be a better use of the land.[1]

Later in 2001, the property was approved for a 520-foot hotel tower, a 645-foot condominium tower, and a shopping mall.[5] In late 2003, it was announced that La Concha would be closed and demolished to make room for a new project,[8] later announced as the Majestic condominium/Conrad hotel resort.[11] On December 11, 2003, a 100-room wing of the motel was demolished. Before being fully demolished, the La Concha was expected to continue operating for another six months, with a nine-story tower located in the back of the property, and with 139 rooms at the former El Morocco motel.[5] The property was expected to be cleared by July 4, 2004.[11]

The motel lobby was a concrete shell lobby.[8] The motel sections of La Concha Motel and the former El Morocco Motel next door were torn down in 2005.[8] By August 2005, only the lobby was still standing; it served as a sales office for the Majestic condominiums. By that point, Doumani had donated the lobby to the city's Neon Museum, which hoped to raise $600,000 to divide the lobby and reassemble it at the museum.[12] The Doumanis had hoped to integrate the shell-shaped lobby into the Majestic project as the entrance to its shops or to a club. However, the lobby could not be worked into the design.[13] In November 2005, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority agreed to provide $300,000 for the lobby's relocation effort.[14] Later that month, a reception was held to help raise the rest of the money necessary for the lobby's relocation.[15] In January 2006, the full $600,000 was in place.[16]

The La Concha Motel is now restored in the Neon Museum.[3][6] The museum saved part of the hotel sign designed by the Young Electric Sign Company.[3]

The La Concha motel neighbored the now-defunct El Morocco Motel, Riviera Hotel and Casino, and the Silver City Casino. The motel's sign, before it was removed, read "COLOR TV" and included advertisements.[4]

The Majestic/Conrad project was ultimately cancelled,[17] and the land was put up for sale in 2014.[18]

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See also

References
  1. Padgett, Sonya (March 6, 2001). "The Strip: Limited Lodging". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on February 7, 2003.
  2. "Las Vegas's La Concha Motel Finds New Life as a Museum". Architectural Record. 2007-01-18. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
  3. Lotta Living: Save La Concha Motel Las Vegas
  4. La Concha , Las Vegas (Rip) - Youtube
  5. Smith, Hubble (December 12, 2003). "La Concha begins fade-out". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on August 9, 2004.
  6. Help!! La Concha Motel, Las Vegas, Nevada | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  7. Schoenmann, Joe (October 2, 2005). "In Las Vegas, It's Googie vs. Wrecking Ball". New York Times.
  8. Lotta Living: Save La Concha Motel Las Vegas
  9. "Las Vegas is Cinema City". Las Vegas Review-Journal. November 8, 2009. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  10. "Jury clears brothers in casino fraud case". Las Vegas Review-Journal. May 13, 1998. Archived from the original on October 9, 1999.
  11. "Developer unveils plan for $250 million Strip resort". Las Vegas Sun. February 19, 2004. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  12. Morrison, Jane Ann (August 1, 2005). "Shell-shaped landmark worthy of saving from shards of local history". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on November 19, 2005.
  13. Peterson, Kristen (August 18, 2005). "Powerful Lobbyists: Groups determined to save the heart of La Concha hotel". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  14. "Historic Hangout? La Concha motel could hold key to planned neon museum". Las Vegas Review-Journal. November 11, 2005. Archived from the original on January 25, 2006.
  15. Clarke, Norm (November 29, 2005). "Viva La Concha". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on December 2, 2005.
  16. Katsilometes, John (January 24, 2006). "The changes in Las Vegas' favorite Broadway-style production show, 'Mamma Mia!'". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  17. Green, Steve (October 1, 2011). "Businessman continuing battle with Hilton over failed construction project". VegasInc. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  18. Segall, Eli (September 5, 2014). "Half-price sale: Vacant land on north Strip — $16M an acre". VegasInc. Retrieved September 8, 2016.

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