The Demise of Historic and Kitschy Las Vegas Strip Motels

The history of Las Vegas and the development of the world-renowned Las Vegas Strip began with Las Vegas Strip Motels.  Some of them have been demolished to make way for the extravagant hotels and casinos we see today.  Others have been enlarged over the years and have evolved into hotel/casinos to keep pace with progress.   

Some of the more notable historic Las Vegas Strip Motels that were demolished are described below: 

The historic La Concha Motel was built in 1961 during the Golden Era of Las Vegas, and it was designed by Paul R. Williams, one of the first nationally-known African American architects. The La Concha was featured in movies and hosted Muhammad Ali, Ronald Reagan, and other celebrities over the years. Renowned for its cast concrete conch shell lobby, the La Concha building was demolished in December 2003 although there was a widespread grassroots effort to preserve the building. A local museum has been raising funds to save the unique lobby for use at another site. 

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]The Glass Pool Inn was originally called the Mirage Motel when it opened in 1952.  It became a roadside treasure on the Strip, and was renowned for its specialized swimming pool with glass windows that allowed onlookers to view swimmers underwater.  Sadly, the Glass Pool Inn was demolished to make room for megaresorts that the public has come to demand. 

The El Morocco opened in 1964 with a stunning circular lobby and was torn down soon after the demolition of the La Concha.   

The Klondike was the most recent of the old Las Vegas Strip Motels to be demolished.  It suffered the fate of the wrecking ball in March 2008 to make room for a new 1,800 room hotel/condo combination two-tower resort. 

Although the demise of old, historic Las Vegas Strip Motels is a sign of the times and it is more cost-effective to cram as many revenue-producing rooms onto the same sized lot, there is a lot of nostalgia for the 1950’s and 1960’s heyday of Las Vegas.  Many people have become collectors of Las Vegas memorabilia and the eBay website is full of auctions for old Las Vegas advertising souvenirs from the demolished motels.