&sq=Google&lang=en&file=File:The_Strip_2017_book_cover.jpg) First edition cover | |
| Author | Stefan Al |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Architectural history of the Las Vegas Strip |
| Publisher | MIT Press |
Publication date | April 2017 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) |
| Pages | 254 pages |
| ISBN | 978-0-262-03574-3 |
| OCLC | 958796563 |
| 725.7609793135 | |
| LC Class | NA735.L3 A4 2017 |
| Text | The Strip: Las Vegas and the Architecture of the American Dream at Internet Archive |
| Website | Official website |
The Strip: Las Vegas and the Architecture of the American Dream is a non-fiction book about the Las Vegas Strip's architectural history by Stefan Al. The book was published in 2017 by MIT Press. Al visited Las Vegas for the first time in 2005 to do research on a course assignment. Captivated by what he saw, he decided to write his thesis on Las Vegas architecture and turned it into a book after recognizing the subject matter's appeal to a large demographic. Al reviewed many journals, books, newspapers, and magazines, and visited University of Pennsylvania's Architectural Archives and archives from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the Las Vegas News Bureau.
Al identifies seven phases of Las Vegas architecture: Wild West (1941–1946), Sunbelt Modern (1946–1958), Pop City (1958–1969), Corporate Modern (1969–1985), Disneyland (1985–1995), Sim City (1995–2001), and Starchitecture (2001–present). The book explores the economy of the United States, demographic shifts, urbanization, gaming laws, and the resorts' designers and owners. During the Wild West era, the Strip took shape outside the Clark County limits and featured gangster-owned resorts modeled after the 19th-century Old West aesthetic to normalize gambling among the general American public. In the Sunbelt Modern period as suburbanization took hold after World War II, resorts imitated the suburban environments—such as bungalows, extensive parking, large lawn—that were familiar to the growing suburban populace. The Pop City era inaugurated the city's pop culture hotel, featuring neon signs and inexpensive, impersonal hotels.
The Corporate Modern period explores how with as the first companies began to own Strip hotels, the buildings began resembling their nondescript counterparts in other cities. During the Disneyland era, developers imitated Disneyland to attract families to visit. Builders in the Sim City era created resorts that simulated cities like New York City, Paris, and Venice. In the Starchitecture period, casino tycoons enlisted famous architects to create trendy tower casinos in the hope that their name recognition would draw tourists to visit. The book received mostly positive reviews from critics. They praised the book for being well-illustrated, well-written, and entertaining. Reviewers liked the book's cover design for giving readers a good reference point throughout the eras of the buildings' progression.