Home | Background | Architecture | Paul R. Williams (FAIA) | Developer | Press Links | Petition (links offsite) | Message Board (links offsite) DONATE and MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Save La Concha Motel Las Vegas Nevada La Concha Motel Preservation Background The La Concha Motel in Las Vegas was built to last. We believe it to be named after the resort community of La Concha Spain, hence the unique Euro-Mediterranean details that were on display in the motel up until its demolition. Vanities has ornate leaf scrolled borders, Spanish nobels showed up in the metallic foil wallpaper and gilded lanterns hung in the corridors. It was announced in late 2003 that the La Concha Motel did not have many more days left in this world. Owner Lorenzo Doumani (who inherited the property from his father Ed Doumani) announced that he planned to demolish the motel to make way for a small (compared to the larger casinos nearby) chain hotel. Although this plan did not come to pass right away, the motel sections of both the La Concha and the El Morocco Motel next door were finally torn down to the ground in 2005. Through it all the well known concrete shell lobby of La Concha remained intact. Originally this was due to the fact that a business has a lease on the lobby part of the building. But now that the lease has expired, it is due to the Neon Museum's offer to adopt the building and move it to their property as a new visitor center. Now however, the Neon Museum only has a few precious weeks left to raise the funds to make this dream come true. Due to the unique nature of the concrete shell and the fact that it will not fit through ANY of the underpasses in Las Vegas, the La Concha lobby needs to be sliced up into smaller pieces to get to its final home. Structural engineers have figured out a way how to do this, but of course, it's not cheap. The bad news: The museum needs to raise roughly six hundred thousand dollars to accomplish the goal of moving and restoring the building. And it must be done in the first month or so of 2006. The good news: The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has pledged three hundred thousand dollars in matching funds. Although preservationists from across the country have been aware of this potential demolition for some time, the Las Vegas community outcry has been less than overwhelming. Perhaps this is due to the lack of publicity about the building, or perhaps it is due to the fact that Las Vegans are cynical from the typical practice of tearing down familiar favorite sights. The happy ending to this story is that public awareness is on the rise AND that this is a preservation battle that has an excellent chance of success. The La Concha may be one of the rare Las Vegas landmarks that will outlast every other motel on the strip. Not a bad legacy to leave… Website was produced by HOMECAMP.com | hosted by Itempo.com