VIVA LAS VEGAS: After Hours Architecture
By Alan Hess
This town can be quite particular about its history; it will boast about the mob, Sinatra and Elvis connections as long as it generates a profit. Everything else, like architectural "history"...well, if it gets in the way of the tourist dollar, guess who easily loses that tug-o-war. Sure, the Dunes and the Stardust are historical, but not enough to protect them from the skin sheading that town frequently goes through, and if you think about it, The Landmark got the worse of it by being replaced by a parking lot! OUCH!
To my very limited knowledge, Learning From Las Vegas (1972) was the book that came close to cover this subject for a very long time and I'm not so sure if it's still in print anymore.
Luckily, architectural writer and historian Alan Hess stepped up and filled that void well with this book. He expertly weaves many lines of history, examination and evolution of this towns shape and identity, plus adding some names that have rarely been publicly connected to many of these buildings and business. Pictures? Obviously, there are many!
Though this book came out in 1993, you'll be able to trace all the timelines that Hess has laid out to figure out where this town is going, recession hick-ups and other unpredictable social speed dumps notwithstanding.
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BTW: If this book wets your appetite for more mid-century history and fun, hunt down Palm Springs Weekend as soon as you can! It's a much bigger tome on that other mid-century town of the desert from California. Oh, lest we forget Hess' 1985 book that, IMHO, started this whole revival in the first place, 'Googie: Fifties Coffee Shop Architecture' and the 2003 updated version 'Googie Redux' (cover right).