Love the lines on the building and especially the happy little micro car. LaConcha Motel, just south of the Riviera Hotel Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. I took this photo in 2005, about a week before it was partially leveled.
Below is an actual LaConcha Motel post card dated 1974. Since then, the Riviera Hotel expanded, the landscaping was replaced, and the “78 Lincoln Continental is gone. The old Las Vegas strip & downtown is so different than today.
I Googled “LaConcha” for more info. The following text is from a web site praising the architecture and its’ presence on the strip since 1961.
“La Concha is an historic concrete shell motel from the Golden Era of Las Vegas. It has been a part of the old Las Vegas Strip at 2955 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas Nevada 89109-1930 since 1961.
The two-story motel structure and pool have ALREADY been demolished, but the exquisite front cast concrete conch shell lobby are still standing… for now… The La Concha Motel lobby building will soon be demolished to make way for a condominium development.
La Concha Motel was designed by African American architect Paul Revere Williams, Hollywood’s “Architect to the Stars.” He designed over 3,000 buildings, including the LAX International Airport Theme Building, a space age symbol of Los Angeles.”
Bravo!
Facebook
Twitter
Press
Contact
Allee Willis
There are no worse words in the Kitsch vernacular than “partially leveled”. This is/was one of the all-time great Atomic structures. With those wings rising in a circle and the glass paneled walls not to mention the vehicle parked across the street everything about this slays me. This is about as perfect as it gets in architectural and automotive scenery. So, does any of the Fying Nun collar architecture still exist?
I’m dying that it was designed by Paul Williams, an exceptionally successful architect in Los Angeles and African-American which was rare at the time, Many of his structures still exist in LA, many of them much more conservative than this though.
Mark Blackwell
most of the cool old stuff in las vegas seems to get torn down…
windupkitty
what an incredible building….thanks so much for posting so much info and history…t just breaks my heart that this was torn down…..what is wrong with people!!!!?????
windupkitty
and yeah, forgot to say, paul williams was an amazing architect and designer…he was so varied in his designs, but they were always beautiful, whatever the “style”…i’m glad to hear that some of his buildings are still standing in LA….he was an important architect, and one I admire quite a bit…..