november 2012 november QANTAS 96 In Vegas In What Happens by the vision ofanew wave ofentrepreneurs. more rising from the desert, re-energised styled entertainment capital ofthe USA is once The GFC hitLas Vegas hard, but now the self- … Words bre n d an s h anah an

mid-mod home, jack levine, chief court photography: Bill hughes; : image courtesy neon museum inc (copyright held by neon museum inc) sign; “mid-mod” “mid-mod” Palms Paradise sign; LeVine; Chief Hotel Court neon neon Court Hotel Chief LeVine; Opposite page: Neon Museum Museum Neon page: Opposite home (1962); 1950s Andersens Andersens 1950s (1962); home Museum Neon at sign Dairy Clockwise: “Uncle” Jack Jack “Uncle” Clockwise:

retro

Downtown Las Vegas

s a symbol of the rise and fall of Las Vegas, it is perhaps The familiar to many is, for the most part, a fairly unfair to single out , but it’s almost impossible recent invention. Amid the pirate ships and fake Venetian canals not to. An elliptical blue-glass skyscraper shining in the classic , such as the Flamingo and Tropicana, remain, but most desert heat, The Harmon was designed by Sir Norman Foster, who were destroyed to make way for the mega resorts of the 1990s and is arguably the world’s most famous architect. It was to be the sig- 2000s. Further to the north, around the intersection of Las Vegas nature tower of the CityCenter project, the largest privately funded Boulevard and , hints of still linger. construction project in US history, featuring buildings by top-flight This is Downtown, where the city’s gambling industry was born architects adorned with $US40m ($38.4m) of contemporary art. and casinos such as The Golden Nugget, Binion’s, and The Then came the GFC. First, The Harmon was cut from 47 stories Plaza recall the days of the Rat Pack, mafia boss Bugsy Siegel and to 27. Later, defects were found in the building. Now it is slated for reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes. Today, commercial and demolition; exactly when, nobody is sure. In the meantime, it sits in residential developments are creating an urban bar and restaurant the middle of the Las Vegas strip, empty and wrapped in advertising, scene while the nearby Arts District has galleries and artists’ spaces. a reminder that until the fickle forces of international capitalism Vintage clothing and furniture stores cater to a new, sophisticated killed the party, Las Vegas was the fastest growing region in the US class of resident and tourist looking for an alternative to the Strip’s and, as Time magazine called it, “the new all-American city”. frenetic commercialism or the blandness of the suburbs. Since the bust, Vegas has fallen on hard times. Unemployment is “When I became mayor, Downtown was really in a state of up, tourism is down and 70 per cent of homes are worth less than depression,” says local politician Oscar Goodman. “I decided that if what was paid for them, giving the city a worse rate of foreclosure I was going to have a cause it was to revive Downtown.” than Detroit. It seems a bleak picture of the so-called Entertainment As a three-term mayor of Las Vegas (1999-2011, now replaced by Capital of the World, home to about 590,000 people. his wife, Carolyn), Goodman is one of the most recognisable figures Recently, however, Las Vegas has begun to experience an unlikely in the city. A criminal lawyer, Goodman represented some of the revival. A coalition of big business, local enthusiasts and state gov- biggest names in Vegas organised crime. His flamboyant antics are ernment has responded to the challenges of the city’s present by legendary: he brags about drinking a bottle of gin a day, has his own drawing on its past, reinvigorating Downtown Vegas, the true heart set of collectable figurines and played himself in Martin Scorsese’s of the city, and turning this long-neglected area into one of the most Casino. He is also the face of an excellent new steakhouse in the

photography: Bill hughes promising post-recession developments in America. revamped Plaza Hotel: Oscar’s, offering “Beef *Booze *Broads”. 

november 2012 QANTAS 99 The : on display, toys used in a government marketing plan to dissuade children from becoming criminals

“I was sitting with a casino executive,” says Goodman, recalling “The mid-’90s was the peak of the flight out of Downtown,” says the day of the market crash. “He said, ‘Oscar, we’re going to the bank LeVine. “At that time, the only people who were buying were gay today to get a loan to develop part of the casino.’ He got a phone call. guys. But then interest started to grow. We got the artists and the Comes back. He’s ashen. I thought somebody had died. He said, musicians moving in. People wanted these houses because they ‘They cut off our credit. There are no loans.’ It happened that fast.” realised the art had gone out of architecture.” Despite economic uncertainty, and much opposition, Goodman Although the bottom fell out of the housing market, and prices pushed on with his program for Downtown, overseeing projects remain stagnant, LeVine says the interest in “mid-mod” homes including the Smith Center, a concert hall and theatre venue that increased during the crisis as bargain hunters jumped on underval- has given Vegas a dose of high culture to complement its low. ued historic neighbourhoods such as the architect-designed Paradise Perhaps Goodman’s greatest legacy, however, is The Mob Museum. Palms. It was helped along by a sudden pop-cultural shift, evidenced Housed in the ex-Downtown courthouse, the National Museum by the TV series Mad Men and the soul revival led by Amy Wine- of Organized Crime & Law Enforcement (its official name) ranks house and Bruno Mars. Nostalgia for America’s golden period is now beside the fountains and dancing white tigers as Las Vegas’ found everywhere, from fashion to interior design to food. new must-see. It’s a superb look not only at the “colourful identities” “These forces continued to grow during the downturn. My who founded Las Vegas, but at the growth of organised crime across business got bigger and bigger. I used to have to explain to people America. Exhibits include the wall from Chicago’s Saint Valentine’s what ‘mid-century modern’ meant. I don’t have to any more.” Day Massacre in 1929, complete with bullet holes and bloodstains. Seth Schorr is one of the new Vegas-bred entrepreneurs investing “I had to fight people,” says Goodman on the foundation of the in Downtown. Their vision differs from previous developers who museum. “They didn’t want to admit that our history was unique. built huge, self-contained resorts on the Strip. Schorr sees in Down- Many of our founding fathers in Las Vegas were involved in criminal town the potential for a true city centre, where locals and tourists activity. That was tough for a lot of people to swallow.” mingle with mutual benefits. “This is about authenticity, whereas The opposition to The Mob Museum is, perhaps, symptomatic of the Strip is about fantasyland,” says Schorr. “ a town notorious for neglecting its history. Little in Las Vegas is safe is unique [in] how much business owners cooperate. Everyone knows from the wrecker’s ball – classic hotels such as the Stardust and the that for Downtown to succeed it’s got to be a collaborative effort.” Sands were imploded with relatively little opposition, their memory Schorr is developing The on the site of the old preserved only in the Neon Museum, a haunting collection of classic Lady Luck, a Vegas icon fallen into disrepair. It will re-use older signs now preserved as a record of city history. buildings on the site, preserving their vintage character. “It’s a Not all locals are indifferent to Vegas’ past. “Uncle” Jack LeVine perfectly good building. Knocking it down wouldn’t make sense in is a blogger, Vegas history enthusiast and the only real estate agent any other city. People say, ‘Oh, you’re just rebranding the Lady Luck.’ in town specialising in classic homes of the mid-century modern And I say, ‘No, it’s a totally new hotel.’ Only in Las Vegas do people period. Most of his business is done within the older urban areas [say]: ‘If you don’t knock it down, how is it a new hotel?’” around Downtown, areas that fell into disrepair in recent decades The Downtown Grand is just one of many hotel projects giving a

but which are now being transformed by young professionals. new twist on old Vegas. is a slick revamp of  photography: jeff green

100 QANTAS november 2012 STAY Downtown Cocktail Room El Cortez 111 . South 600 East Fremont Street. Las Vegas. thedowntownlv.com www.elcortezhotelcasino.com The swankiest of the new Homely and hip, shabby and Downtown bars, dark and inviting chic. From $US30 ($29). with art-bedecked walls and perhaps the best cocktails in town. The Golden Nugget 129 East Fremont Street. Artifice goldennugget.com 1025 First Street. artificebar.com The refit has scrubbed away A gaming-free club in the Arts a little of the charm, but it’s still District, with reasonable drinks the premium option Downtown. and a flirty atmosphere. Old-school glamour with all mod cons. From $US49 ($47). Downtown The Lady Silvia Las Vegas 140 Hoover Avenue. Plaza Las Vegas www.theladysilvia.com Neon Museum 1 South Main Street. No phone number and no sign. www.plazahotelcasino.com Knock and the door shall open. Evokes vintage Vegas, but fresh Inside it’s modern with an eclectic, Fitzgerald’s casino, complete with old-school, coin-operated slot and modern. From $US29 ($28). retro twist. DJs spin unobtrusive machines. The city’s oldest hotel, The Golden Gate, has been tunes while locals sip martinis. expanded, and the much-loved El Cortez – whose Cabana Suites EAT offer superb Vegas retro glam that sets the benchmark for Downtown Oscar’s Steakhouse SEE accommodation – is undergoing a slow-but-steady refit. 1 South Main Street. The Mob Museum Of all the movers and shakers in the new Vegas, it can be said that plazahotelcasino.com/dining/oscars 300 Stewart Avenue. there is one whose influence is supreme. Tony Hsieh is the CEO of Oscar Goodman makes regular themobmuseum.org , an online retailer that grosses more than $US2b per annum. appearances at this excellent A must-see, integrating In 2004 Hsieh moved Zappos from San Francisco to Las Vegas. This Italian steakhouse at The Plaza traditional exhibits and new year, in a deal brokered by Oscar Goodman before he left office, it hotel. Take in the best view in media to tell a fascinating story. will move again, this time from its suburban headquarters into the Vegas or chat over a cocktail old Downtown City Hall building. with one of Oscar’s “broads”. Fremont Street Experience “Our aim is to make this the most community-focused big city in 425 Fremont Street. the world, in the place you’d probably least expect it,” says Hsieh. Golden Steer vegasexperience.com “Our hope is that if we do that and share what works and what doesn’t 308 West Sahara Avenue. golden A huge LED light canopy and on the Downtown Project website then it will inspire others into steersteak houselasvegas.com stages with free nightly acts. Light revitalising themselves.” It’s been here so long (1958) that shows are on the hour from 8pm. y neon museum inc) The Downtown Project is Hsieh’s $US350m ($336m) personal Sammy Davis Jr is probably buried investment. Over the next few years he will spend $US100m on land under a booth. The eponymous Neon Museum purchases, $US100m on high-density real estate development, ruminant looms over Sahara 810 Las Vegas Boulevard. $US50m investing in new small businesses, $US50 million on a Avenue like a pagan god of meat. (702) 387 6366. neonmuseum.org start-up fund for tech businesses and $US50m in education, arts and Includes the Neon Boneyard, a culture. He aims to make Downtown Vegas the new hot spot of the Sinatra 3131 pop-art graveyard of fallen Vegas creative industries and give Las Vegas a much-needed civic heart. Las Vegas Boulevard, South Las icons. Book ahead online for tours. “Because there’s such a vacuum around it, the people who decide Vegas. www.wynnlasvegas.com to stay here really, really care about community,” says Hsieh. “More The best “old school” restaurant in National Atomic so than any other place I’ve lived, including San Francisco.” Vegas. Sinatra-themed (it has one of Testing Museum Hsieh’s influence will be crucial, but the area has such potential his Oscars) and superb Italian food. 755 East Flamingo Road. you can’t help but feel that with or without him, this will be one of nationalatomictestingmuseum.org the most exciting regions of post-recession America. “The word’s DRINK Located near the University of getting out about Downtown. We have the community feel of a small Mob Bar Nevada, an insight into a little- town, but the infrastructure to support Call Qantas Holidays on 201 North 3rd Street. mobbarlv.com known aspect of Vegas history. 40 million visitors a year. It’s kind of the 1300 735 542 or visit qantas. Fun and classy, with flapper Rotating exhibits cover everything best of both worlds.” c com/holidaysaustralianway waitresses and silent movies. from “atomic” design to UFOs. photography: image courtesy neon museum inc (copyright held b

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