Vegas: The Final Chapter!

The final stop on my Las Vegas journal of tales here is the Luxor Hotel, which opened in 1993. I’ve never stayed at this one, but have enjoyed the Titanic exhibit (which appears to still be there) and gone to a convention there.

The exterior and all of its statues look like something out of “The Ten Commandments.”

One expects Yul Brynner and Charlton Heston to appear at any moment in their chariots.

I just happened to catch the sun as it was setting over the mirrored pyramid:

I wonder how authentic these replicas are, or if they just sprung from the imagination of the artists who sculpted them?

Am I in a hurry to go back? Hell no. But…if I did…there is one restaurant I had never noticed before that I definitely want to check out: Battista’s Italian Restaurant. This looks like a place where the Rat Pack would have eaten, although it has only been around since 1970.

Sadly, for reasons I won't go into, I did not get an opportunity to dine here and soak up the interior atmostphere.

See more Las Vegas photos at my main website.

The Garden of Allah remnants

There was once a fabled hotel across the street from the Chateau Marmont called The Garden of Allah. Today’s post features an envelope from the hotel, postmarked 1942.

Sadly, it did not survive and was demolished in 1959. Like the Chateau, it was a haven for artists, actors, and writers; also like its neighbor, there are many legends and tall tales that have outlived its stucco walls. Originally a 2.5-acre private estate/residence, it was purchased by silent-screen actress Alla Nazimova and converted into a hotel by adding 25 villas around the main house. The Garden of Alla Hotel had its grand opening on January 9, 1927.

Strapped for cash, the actress ended up selling it three years later; the new owners added an “h” to the end of “Alla,” which is how it was normally spelled. The actress lived in Villa 24 until her death in 1945. 

Recently, a key from the hotel surfaced on ebay:

The listing states:

Good luck and even if your not bidding you might want to watch how this one ends after all the dust has settled. 

They lost me at “your” instead of “you’re.” Oh yes...and the price: $2,000. That was a deterrent, too. Hard to believe, but an intact matchbook also came up for auction:

One of the most interesting pieces I have seen is the Garden of Allah Guest Informant book:

Interesting to see the businesses listed, most of which no longer exist:

I’m sure the “stars” appreciated having their addresses in print, encouraging all the looky-loos to ring their doorbells.

The final owner, Bart Lytton, owner of Lytton Savings & Loan, demolished the hotel in 1959 and replaced it with his bank's main branch which is now closed and part of a mini-furor by the preservationists who don’t want it replaced by a Frank Gehry monstrosity. Oh the irony. See more Garden of Allah hotel photos at my main website.

Up and Down The Strip, Pt. 2

Crossing Las Vegas Boulevard we begin today’s tour of The Strip at Treasure Island. I think I slept through a Cirque de Soleil show here once. Other than that, not a lot of experience with this hotel.

Between Treasure Island and the Mirage you can see this tribute to Las Vegas legends Siegfried and (the late) Roy:

Moving onto the Mirage hotel:

Still touting the Cirque du Soleil Beatles tribute, “Love”:

The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace are probably the best place in Vegas to spend that extra cash burning a hole in your pocket:

Caesars’ homage to Trevi Fountain in Italy:

You know things are bad when Caesar has to put a mask on:

Before I crossed the boulevard to return to my hotel, I snapped this shot of an art piece outside of Neiman Marcus; I loved the way the shadow reflected on the sidewalk:

That’s enough Vegas for today! See more Las Vegas photos at my main website.

Up and Down The Strip, Part 1

Because of the pandemic, my recent trip to Vegas was even less enjoyable for me than usual. Is that possible? Yes! I rarely left my hotel room except for each morning I went on a run, thinking I could get some fresh air when there weren’t very many people out. Let’s face it…Vegas is not an early morning town, other than the people who haven’t been able to pry their fingers off the slot machines the night before. The “fresh” morning air in Vegas was tinged with the smell of weed. Lovely. Here is my photo tour of The Strip from the Flamingo down and back. I figured it was time to take new photos as it had been over ten years since I last did so. First stop…

Harrah's:

I was tempted to come back at night to get the McDonald’s sign when it was lit, but no…not worth the effort. I was feeling lazy.

The Venetian:

Gondola rides were still being given:

The Grand Canal Shoppes:

The Shoppes still looked well maintained, albeit not very crowded.

Lollipops as art:

The Palazzo:

The Wynn is one hotel I have never gone inside; since it wasn’t really themed, it has never been on my radar. Still, it is a beautiful property.

Next time we’ll hit the other side of Las Vegas Boulevard.

See Las Vegas more photos at my main website.

The Return of Rocky and Bullwinkle!

From 1961 to 2013, the famous rotating statue of Rocky and Bullwinkle resided across the street from my favorite Hollywood haunt the Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard. The statue and the pose was inspired by the short-lived larger-than-life rotating Vegas Showgirl that stood in front of the Marmont.

“Rocky and his Friends/The Bullwinkle Show” aired from 1959 to 1964 and eventually developed into a cult classic (we can ignore the box office disaster live-action version from 2000). The 14-foot, 700-pound came to be when the animated series switched networks in 1961; creator and producer Jay Ward felt that the event should be publicized, so he hired artist Bill Oberlin to create the statue and placed it outside the Jay Ward Productions offices at 8218 Sunset  Boulevard. Bullwinkle wore a Gay Nineties striped swimsuit, which parodied the cowgirl/showgirl statue across the street.

The statue was dedicated on September 24, 1961 by Jayne Mansfield, who unveiled Rocky and Bullwinkle for over 5,000 attendees. The shows' writers and voice actors pressed their elbows into wet cement around the base of the statue; Jay Ward asked for elbow prints instead of the usual hand prints so that no one would spill their martinis. Every time the spinning cowgirl's outfit changed so did Bullwinkle’s. The showgirl was taken down in the early 1970s (to be replaced by the Marlboro Man). By 1990, Jay Ward was dead and the motor for the rotation had ceased to work, but the statue itself remained until July 22, 2013 when it was removed from its Sunset Boulevard home. 

What had happened to the lovable duo? They were being restored by artist Ric Scozzari, with funding by 20th Century-Fox and Dreamworks, and donated by the Jay Ward family for the City of West Hollywood’s Urban Art Collection. After appearances in Beverly Hills at the Paley Center in 2014 and West Hollywood’s City Hall in 2016, the Rocky and Bullwinkle statue disappeared again. Ric and his team of plasterers, welders, fabricators, painters, and finishers continued their work, stripping off layers of paint, gunk, and rust, and studying old photos of the statue to get every original detail correct.

On February 29, 2020, Rocky and Bullwinkle finally returned to Sunset Boulevard, standing in a traffic triangle at Holloway Drive and Sunset Boulevard, about a mile west of their former spot. Ric said that the restored statue looks almost exactly as it did in 1961, down to the number of stripes on Bullwinkle’s suit and the seven hairs on top of his head. The only difference is that Rocky and Bullwinkle stand on a lower pedestal, and Ric lowered the gaze of Rocky and Bullwinkle's eyes so that they can smile at their fans.  

The day I saw it, the statue was not rotating.

Still, it was good to see this goofy piece of pop culture back again after so long.

See more Sunset Boulevard photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: My Little Pony

In the 1935 Shirley Temple film “Curly Top,” our curly-haired girl leaves the orphanage and strikes it rich with her adopted father...who ends up marrying her sister (that’s an entirely separate post topic, folks!). One of the many items he buys for her is a Pony Cart. The above still shows Shirley, her sister (played by Rochelle Hudson), and her ultra-rich adopted father, Edward (John Boles) cavorting around the beach house in the $167.50 Pony Cart. Of course the film shows the bill of sale; how else would the Depression-era audiences know that a fortune was being spent?!?

And to think Shirley started the film rescuing her poor little pony from the rain, sneaking him into the dormitory to dry off.

20th Century-Fox attempted to show some economy in Shirley’s 1935 film, “The Littlest Rebel.” The very same pony cart was featured in an alternate ending scene that wound up on the cutting room floor. The photo below shows Shirley on her way to celebrate the release of her father from the Yankee jail, thanks to President Lincoln. In the finished film, the pony cart is not seen; so much for economy.

Five years later, Shirley and Johnny Russell were arguing over who would get the better pony in “The Blue Bird”:

I’m surprised the Cart wasn’t brought out of the mothballs for another appearance!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.