Entertainment
coming to fruition. From the 1950s and into the early 1980s, the mob control was a presence that was felt throughout the city. Most of the money that could have gone to government-funded projects was stolen by members of the mob. This hindered growth until the investment potential was realized in the late 1960s. Howard Hughes began to buy up many casinos, hotels, television, and radio stations. The federal government also began to crack down on the mob and soon the government was getting their own source of income from the revenue generated by the booming tourist economy.2
In 1969, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown chose to study Las Vegas because they believed that is exhibited the phenomenon of “Auto-city of Urban Sprawl” in its most pure form. Los Angeles was the first city that coined this term, but because Las Vegas was much smaller and centered around the strip, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown decided Las Vegas was a more appropriate study.4 Highway 91 was a crucial element to Las Vegas because it moved through the city for the “fast cars.” The signage began to change at this point and became more oriented towards the driver as opposed to the pedestrian. These were big signs that one could read as they sped by in their automobile. Las Vegas itself was a fairly open space and in order to deal with this, the scale had to be huge. It is important to note this scale change. In order to deal with the change of speed, the building facades started to become the actual signs. They were highly decorative and oriented towards the automobile user. The signage and the scale were so crucial to Las Vegas in this time. The signs became a form of iconography, which through the Paris Las VegasB years began to incorporate technology into its décor. A warm neon glow immersed Las the Las Vegas metropolitan area population the city of entertainment.”4 As America Vegas throughout its formative years.5 was 1,865,746.6 Robert Venturi and Denise becomes more immersed in the information Scott Brown refer to the present day state age, architecture will have to move into As time has passed, the neon glow has of Las Vegas as the city of “scenography, electronics and signage, which is a concept faded. The signs have been taken down rather than the city of iconography, where that is clearly embraced in Las Vegas. and the Las Vegas strip has become you can circulate as a pedestrian within more like “The Boulevard.” This is due to a stage-set.” The buildings are symbols Currently, Las Vegas is in a “Disneyland” developers such The Boulevard.” This is that represent other buildings. The Las state of being. Las Vegas embraces “surface due to developers such as Steve Wynn, Vegas Strip is a place where the “space and form, graphic signage and sculpture.” who pictures Las Vegas as a destination between the buildings is the stage where The buildings are sculptural and symbolic place that began to copy other realities. The you circulate, whose scale accommodates and also decorated with signs. Buildings city’s population has greatly increased and pedestrian perception from up close, whose and landmarks are re-created to give a extended out into the suburbs.4 As of 2008, technology remains electric… it is now sense of being somewhere when one is not.
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