La Concha Lobby/Neon Museum, NV
A seashell in the Las Vegas sands, the La Concha Hotel is an iconic instance of googie design from the boundary breaking African American Architect Paul Revere Williams
The La Concha Lobby located at 770 Las Vegas Blvd is a striking sight. With its undulating roof swinging in dramatic arches from the ground to delicate apexes and large parabola shaped window panels underneath, the structure resembles more of an organic entity than something fabricated by human hands. Comprised entirely of glass and thin shell concrete, the La Concha embodies its seashell namesake in both color and form. The interior of the lobby is akin to the inside of a dome or a big top tent. The curves of the roof fly high into dome of the interior space and the arched windows fill the white space with light during the day. Hanging lamps illuminate the lobby that now serves as the entry to Las Vegas’ Neon Museum. The space still contains a circular front desk and behind it sits a large decorative plaque of the motel’s distinctive logo and name rendered in sparkling Formica and glass. Originally, the motel had a dramatic neon sign with the same logo posted out front. The sign’s sparkling colors and dramatic neon shapes were right at home with the once plentiful instances of googie design along the Las Vegas strip. Now a multitude of signs are housed behind the La Concha lobby in Las Vegas’ Neon Museum, an archive of the art of hand-blown neon signs that hum their harmonic tone above Sin City.
Googie architecture is defined by a commitment to futuristic stylism, bright colors, and the highlighting of materials like concrete and neon. Las Vegas became the home of a multitude of googie commercial structures in the mid-century. The famous “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign is a piece of googie design, featuring atomic starbursts rendered in bright neon with modern sans serif fonts. The La Concha is a perfect example of googie with its funky shape, bright interior colors, undulating wave forms, and commitment to eye-catching design.
The man who designed the La Concha Motel was even more remarkable than this striking structure. Paul Revere Williams had been educated at the Los Angeles location of the Beaux Arts Institute and went on to contribute his largest body of work to the American West. He served as architect to the stars of his age, designing houses for Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant, and Desi Arnaz among others. He penned many designs for the Las Vegas cityscape in the mid-century, designing the El Morocco Motel and the Royal Nevada Hotel and Casino, and the Guardian Angel Cathedral. Born in 1894, Williams’ was the first African American man to be admitted into the American Institute of Architects. Its been said that he refined the art of sketching upside down so as to not alienate his white customers by sitting on the same side of the table as them. This speaks to his immense skill as a draftsman and the racial prejudice he lived under. Williams spent his life achieving runaway success in his field while advocating for equality for African Americans.
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