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1. Name:
Barbary Coast Hotel and Casino
2. Owner: Coast
Casinos
3. Address: 3595
Las Vegas Blvd. 737-7111
3b. Additional Site
Details: Just West of the Maxim,
on a strip of property adjacent to the Flamingo, the Barbary Coast
appeared in 1977 dressed in Burgundy and gold with full wrap mansard
canopies and simulated tiffany glass fascias. YESCO's Brian Lemming
drew from 19th century woodblock alphabet styles to create the new
distinctive logo style. It has since earned the nickname Barbary
Coast Block. Lemming's bull nose design paired two opposing drum
elements, which tapered near midpoint and were ringed with traceries
of traveling lamps alternating with decorative panels outlined in
red neon. Other signage includes a pylon sign on Flamingo Rd., textual
wall an logo signs, as well as LED display screens. The screens
are located near walkways, which extend north/south across Flamingo
road, and east/west across Las Vegas Blvd.
4. Condition:
Structure 5
Surface 5
Lighting
5
Notes: See
description
5. Form: plyon,
fasica
6. Specfic Description:
Upon the south elevation of the
building, eight foot tall channel letters spell the "Barbary
Coast" logo. South of the main logo, two square poles support
the Barbary Coast pylon, which is on the north side of Flamingo,
facing east/west. The two legs play Atlas to a double backed, internally
lit, message cabinet, with vinyl lettering. The two legs protrude
through the top of the sign for a short distance before the main
logo cabinet begins. It is about half the size in height of the
internally lit message center and containing more elements of design.
"Barbary Coast" is spelled in white channel letters and
filled with incandescent bulbs, in the Barbary Coast text. The edges
of the letters are actually narrow channels that house tubes of
gold neon. The neon and the channels actually create the designed
curves of the fonts. The centers of the top and bottom edges of
the cabinet, are crafted into protrusions in the rectangular shape.
They are placed cleverly shallow into the surface to almost seem
as if they are resting on the width of the cabinet instead of being
part of it. Being completely treated in a gold paint on its width
edge, which are parallel to the straight portion of the cabinet
edge width, helps with the illusion of the sections being separate
entities. Orange and burgundy scroll works are graphically placed
into the faces of these protrusions in the panel to finish them
off. Headed west at the beginning of the actual property, the first
vestiges of signage hangs above the parking garage. A triangular
back lit cabinet is finished in polished gold aluminum with a raceway
acting as an element, on the edge pointing north, then transforms
into a raceway arrow pointed toward the entrance of the garage.
The famed overhang creates an arch over the garage entrance, which
is recessed all the way back to the main wall of the structure.
Mirrors create the surface of the wall at the back of the tunnel
vault, of the recessed arch. Upon the mirrored surface a channel
logo for the "Drai's" nightclub, hangs quite high above
the pedestrian's head. The logo is bordered with green neon and
filled with incandescent bulbs. The entire sign is a shallow channel
letter design allowing enough room for the depth of the bulb. Another
arch and tunnel, with a mirrored wall, is located just west of the
first arch. It plays host to a brass colored chandelier with spherical
lamps. At ground level underneath the middle section of the famed
structure where the main logo text resides, we have an entrance
to the casino with a cabinet denoting that over the door. The cabinet
is a mirrored face with a gold aluminum polished raceways with incandescent
bulbs. The text spelling "Hotel Casino Entrance" is in
gold polished channel letters and filled incandescent bulbs. Underneath
the canopy, the faux Tiffany glass is separated on its edges by
gold polished raceways with incandescent bulbs. Past the main entrance
another tunnel arch is formed just past the "B" in Barbary
main logo and plays host to a different entrance. It too has a brass
chandelier and a mirrored cabinet of the same design as the afore
mentioned entrance. The only difference is the text. It spells "
Casino Entrance." The rest of the treatments for this sign
are identical to the first entrance. On the northeast corner underneath
the bull nose, a giant brass chandelier hangs in the center, supported
with a multisided, mirrored column. The corner of the building is
also an entrance. The west side of the building boasts two wall
signs. The south side of the building plays host to the main logo
text for the Barbary Coast facility, upon the fascias architecture.
The middle of the sign is a long low rise arch. Giant channel letters
spell Barbary Coast, above the row of faux stained glass squares,
and stand independently away from the wall. They are filled with
incandescent bulbs and bordered with neon. The interiors are painted
red and the exteriors are treated in gold. Rows of red, vertical,
neon tubes line the face of the façade behind the standing
channel letters. Continuing around the corner upon the west face
of the building the façade continues for a short stretch
north after the corner rotunda. The wall of the building itself
is where another Barbary Coast text logo resides It's large, and
occupies a good portion of the area of the wall. The letters are
designed in the same fashion as the letters on the pylon, painted
white on the interior and treated gold on the exterior. Above and
below the text, two cabinets crafted into scrollwork, similar to
those seen on the pylon yet are not attached to the text. The cabinets
are slightly recessed providing room for a border of gold neon.
Below that and above an LED screen another logo for Drai's, as seen
on the south elevation, hangs on the wall. A pair of LED screens
flank the nw corner, on the west and south faces of the building.
The LED screen on the south wall is at the end of an elevated walkway,
that crosses Flamingo. The West wall LED is appropriation to the
elevated walkway crossing Las Vegas Blvd., on the west side of the
building as well. Another Drai's logo sign shares the west wall
also. Along the fascia awning that wraps around the building graphics
adorn the rounded panels, which simulate the Tiffany glass. Vertical
raceways separate these panels. Neon borders each one of these panels
as well as polished raceways along the top and bottom. Incandescent
bulbs line all the raceways, as well as the outer edges of the underside.
On the North wall of the building, just around thew corner from
the signage on the west face of the building, another Barbary coast
logo wall sign is located on the top portion of the building. It
is accompanied by an internally lit, plastic, message board, with
vinyl lettering. The two pieces together sit in a slightly recessed
niche, so that the board and the text are flush with the rest of
the building. The letters are painted yellow on the inside, possess
incandescent yellow incandescent bulbs on the interior. The letters
are also treated with the same gold finish seen throughout the establishment.
7. Type of Display:
neon, incandescent, LCD, LED
8. Media: steel,
plastic
9. Non-neon treatments:
graphics, paint
10. Animation:
flashing, chasing, oscillation
Notes: All
incandescent bulbs on the polished, gold raceways, chase each other
down their entire lengths. The bulbs inside the polished channel
letters oscillate as well.
The incandescent bulbs in the Drai's sign also oscillate.
The pylon sign: The background of vertical red neon bars
chase each other from the outer ends, until the entire background
is illuminated, then the incandescent bulbs inside the letters chase
down and fill the letters, which then oscillate. The text then steady
burns, chases downward, then leaves the letters dark in it's path.
Once the letters are dark then the neon background curtains open
chasing from the center to either end. Once the neon goes dark,
then the empty text chases downward again, oscillating, then chasing
from top to bottom leaving the letters dark in it's path.
The text on the west side of the building lights up one letter at
a time, then oscillates, and then steady burns. The letters then
oscillate again, shut of for a split second. Then each individual
word lights up one at a time. "Barbary" then "Coast,"
"Barbary" then "Coast" again. On the last sequence
of the individual words lighting up they stay lit, and turn off
one letter at a time.
The main marquee: Each letter of the main marquee illuminate
one letter at a time, then oscillate. While they are oscillating
then, the vertical red neon bars chase from either end of the sign
illuminating each bar in it's path. Right before it reaches the
center, the letters shut off briefly then lights up "Barbary"
then "Coast," then they both oscillate. They shut off
briefly lighting up one word at a time again, oscillating once more.
This pattern runs one more time while the red background chases
from the center to the ends leaving the rest dark in it's path.
The letters remain dark until the red bars regenerate, by chasing
outward from two different spots, meeting in the center and extending
to the ends. By the time the background is regenerated then the
text begins to light up again, rapidly from left to right as if
saying "Barbary Coast." It does this a total of three
times. All the while the background is opening and closing from
the two spots a total of three times. Once the background regenerates
one more time, then the letters flash off then on, then alternates
with the background. Letters, then background, letters, then background,
then off. The two are not lit at the same time during this exchange,
but take turns lighting up.
11. Environment:
The Barbary Coast sits in the
unique intersection of Flamingo Rd. and Las Vegas Blvd., once the
main four corners of the Strip. The majority of the surface of the
building is located on Flamingo road, just off the strip, headed
east. Walking underneath the covered awing on the south side of
the building, the constantly pulsating incandescent bulbs and various
sounds of the casino bombard a pedestrian, enveloping one until
you meet the end of the establishment at either end. The large drummed
corner, makes the rest of the adjacent façade hard to miss.
Directly south, across Flamingo the Bally's multimedia pylon behemoth
resides, and the vibrant Flamingo, sits snugly next to the Barbary
Coast's north side. The two establishments of Flamingo and Bally's
are considered akin, due to such close proximity. Once you exit
the Barbary Coast, utilizing the portals on the west side, headed
north, you are almost automatically standing in a small courtyard,
in the grasp of the attractive, bright, pink and orange plumage
of the Flamingo Hilton. The pedestrian traffic flows from one establishment
to the next with ease. |
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