|
1. Name:
New Frontier Hotel and Casino
2. Owner: Phil
Ruffin
3. Address: 3120
Las Vegas Blvd. 794-8200
3b. Additional Site
Details: The New Frontier Hotel
and Casino sits south of the Stardust, on the east side of Las Vegas
blvd. The Frontier main pylon still remains at the south end of
the property, a short distance from the southeast, near the porte-cochere.
A rear port e cochere also resides on the east side of the building
. Like so many other properties the Frontier is composed of a low-rise
building accompanied by, another higher rise structure, and a tower
of rooms. A parking lot sits on the north end of the property, denoted
by a small, double-sided pole sign. Two porte-cocheres adorn on
the southeast and west sides of the property, as well as the famous
pylon outside the eastern porte- cochere.
4. Condition:
Structure 4
Surface 4
Lighting 4
Notes: See
description
5. Form: plyon,
porte cochere, fascia
6. Specfic Description:
A parking lot sits on the north
end of the property, denoted by a small, double-sided pole sign.
It is a simple rectangular cabinet, with a small steel circular
cabinet on the top east edge of the sign, and a triangle on the
west edge of the height, pointing west. The two are connected by
a long horizontal section, which runs along the top of the cabinet.
The circle, arrow, and connecting pieces are lined with incandescent
bulbs. The surface if the Frontier is reserved, not holding too
many exterior references to a western theme, besides the actual
script of the logo, and wood paneling of the overhangs, little else
is there to support the theme. Just south of the parking lot and
on the west side of the strip, the Frontier is separated from the
sidewalk with a large section of green lawn, and a guard of tall
palm trees against the east face of the building. Tall windows occupy
most of the wall separated by columns of brick. The structure continues
south and juts east to create an entrance, with a text logo above
the door with brass edges and a wood panel façade. The three
sided entrance is two tiered flat font design, with the lower half
being taller, fit with a backlit message board. The top half is
shorter in height, and plays home to the polished channel letters
spelling "Frontier," and filled with incandescent bulbs.
The surface of the top half of the facade is a rusted brown color,
referencing panels of exposed wooden construction. The bottom edge
of the entire face of the sign is a protruding brass geometric edge,
as well as being the device that separates the two parts of the
sign. The top edge of the top section is brass treatment also, but
is crafted into different forms along its path. Directly in the
center of the front face, there is an arch curving over a set of
vents. The two sides are treated with an pointed triangular shape.
The Porte Cochere is located just south, if you follow the property,
pointed toward the southeast extending off of the building. The
northeast and southwest sides of the porte- cochere are lined on
the top and the bottom with the same protruding, square molding,
rising into a long, low rising arch, peaking in the center of the
sign. The center portions of the sides are the same rusted brown
tone seen on the entrance mentioned earlier. Suggestions of the
paneling are evident at the edges. The "Old west" font,
polished channel letters spell out "Frontier" on the rust
façade. Each is filled with incandescent bulbs, and outlined
in neon. Most impressive about the covered area is the space occupied
by the ceiling. The underside of the port-cochere is separated by
four large, deep, recessed rectangles with mirrored walls. The walls
slope into another smaller recessed rectangle rising straight up
only a sort distance before stopping. Standing directly underneath
the section, it is seen as a smaller rectangle located within a
larger one. Both rectangles are lined on all edges by polished gold
raceways, and incandescent bulbs. The open space is occupied by
multi armed, ornate brass chandelier. Each arm is adorned with faux
gas lanterns. The arms are curved in a quite extreme fashion, making
the piece appear more as an organic shape, or a creature such as
an octopus. The centers are adorned with decorative silver spheres.
Over the doors to the casino a large backlit message center panel,
curves with the radius of the face of the building. The brown and
polished metal edges of the sign combined with the incorporation
of the architecture of the building, gives it a reserved, streamlined
look. South of here the building grows in height and becomes a series
of tall windows that create the wall. Following the property around
to the building's west side, another porte-cochere can be seen.
An eight-sided post serves as a valet station. The facade of the
roof is treated as the entrance on the east side of the building.
Protruding square brass edges form borders for polished channel
letters filled with incandescent bulbs. Text is contained within
the southwest, southeast, and western panels. Frontier is spelled
in the properties font on both the southeast, and western sides.
The southwest side reads "Parking" in the company's font,
but is flanked by "self" and "valet," in smaller
plain white channel letters filled with neon. The western and southeastern
sides are crafted with the top edge of the pediments being an arch
flanked by two triangle shaped rooflines. Elements also seen elsewhere
over the other entrances. Looking up, facing this porte-cochere,
the tower of rooms looms high overhead. Signage is located on all
four sides of the tower. The northeast and southwest sides of the
tower hold giant channel letters that spell "Frontier"
with the interior being a reflective orange material. The façade
is a giant replication of the two sides of the southeast and western
sides of the multisided porte-cochere below. A giant polished metal
framework, with a rounded arch flanked by two A frame roof lines,
as well as the rust colored background hold the letters. The text
is filled with incandescent bulbs. Along the northwest and southeast
sides of the tower "Frontier" is spelled vertically down
the face of the building in the distinctive channel letters. They
too are filled with incandescent bulbs and finished orange on the
inside.
The famed main pylon sign for the frontier still stands in good
repair, as reminder of Las Vegas past. It is located in the south
side of the Frontier property facing north south. The two-sided
sign is essentially pair of close set steel legs joined by an arch
at the top to create one continuous shape. The steel is treated
in a pastel pink coloring lined on both edges with a double row
of incandescent bulbs. The inner portion of the arch contains three
elements. The small cabinet at the top holds the image of the Frontier
"F" logo. The edge of this cabinet is painted yellow,
with a white internally lit face below that a long cabinet runs
the length of the remaining space to the ground. The interior of
the cabinet has been cut away to form a pattern of repeated circular
holes down the length of the cabinet. This portion has been painted
a teal color, with the edges lined with incandescent bulbs. In the
space inside of the circles a continuous string of star shapes,
reminiscent of the Stardust star emblems, are crafted in yellow
painted steel and laden with small incandescent bulbs. The shape
is interrupted twice with the main marquee logo for the establishment
as well as well as a large internally lit message center. Both portions
are not solid, double faced cabinets, but four single faced cabinets.
The design is also seen in the Westward HO pylon. The bottom section
message center can divided into essentially six parts: four individually
denoted sections for vinyl lettering, and two steel panels with
an animated neon silhouette of a cowboy riding a mechanical bull.
The bottom half of the cabinet is one portion of the collection
of section, with a thin, one letter width portion running the length
of the cabinet, separating the sign into two halves. The top half
is another section flanked by the two steel panels containing the
bull rider. The middle portion contains crafted red vinyl logo the
"Gilley's" establishment. A thin, one letter space cabinet,
emerges out of the top of the sign, running a bit shorter than the
length of the cabinet. The panel with the rider is actually three
separate images, crafted with gold neon stacked on top of another
in different positions to allow the three-stage animation process
of the rider to be realized. Fashioned out of red neon text is written
in the same text as the Frontier wall logo's above and below the
rider. The word "Ride" sits above and the phrase "The
Bull" is below the rider. He entire width edge of both the
North and South sides are encrusted with yellow incandescent bulbs.
While the bottom half of the pylon is dominated by the message center,
a bit further up on the structure is the main marquee logo. The
green steel cabinet is a rectangular with added elements of shape
and design. The ends of the plane are slightly curved back into
space, with the actual surface of the shape rising into a small
pointed crest in the center. Across the surface of the cabinet the
word "Frontier" is spelled in the "Western Font"
in channel letters. The letters are outlined in neon and filled
with incandescent bulbs. The surface of the cabinet is striped horizontally
with tubes of red neon.
7. Type of Display:
neon, incandescent, backlit
8. Media: steel,
plastic
9. Non-neon treatments:
graphics, paint
10. Animation:
chasing, flashing, oscillation
Notes: The
text letters on the porte-cochere and entrances hold a three step
animation: The incandescent bulbs all oscillate rapidly inside the
letters, then steady burn on, and finally come to rest in the off
position. The sequence then repeats. The main pylon sign carries
several different sections which all hold different animation patterns.
Inside the middle sculptural piece, the incandescent bulbs, which
encrust the star shapes, oscillate in a twinkling fashion. The bulbs
which border the outlying portion of the middle section chase each
other, with the inner row running downward, and the outer row chasing
upward. The double rows of incandescent bulbs that create the outer
border, also chase each other in a similar fashion. The outer-most
lane, of the double rowed bulbs, animate chasing downward, while
the inner is treated with chasing animation, which chases upward.
The bulbs, which encrust the bottom of the main marquee oscillate,
as well as the bulbs on the widths edge of the main message center.
The incandescent bulbs, which fill the text in the main marquee
of the pylon, oscillate rapidly while the vertical red bars of neon,
animate behind them. They star in the middle and chase out to either
side illuminating all of the bars, then chase back to the center
leaving them dark. They then start all illuminated, and curtain
open to either side, then animates, chasing each other from either
side back to the middle again. Once all illuminated, they flash
off, on, off, on, then off. The marquee seems to be the one with
a set sequence. On the main message board, the golden image of the
cowboy animates in three stages, rocking back and forth, as if riding
the bull. The letters, which adorn the tower of the building, animate
in sequence. The incandescent bulbs in each letter light up individually
one at a time from left to right, then once all are illuminated,
they each oscillate one at a time, from left to right. They then
light up continuously from left to right again one at a time, and
then turn off. The letters, which run vertically on the northwest
side of the tower, also have the same sequence.
11. Environment:
Sitting north of the Fashion
Show Mall and, south of the Stardust, the Frontier seems to create
its own environment upon an expansive property. The expansive sidewalks,
healthy landscaping, and clean, reserved faced, make the Frontier
more akin to the larger corporate establishments such as the Mirage,
or Monte Carlo. It is quite the dominant presence on the west side
of the street, for the east side is the vacant lot where the Desert
Inn used to reside. The Frontier stands clean and strong amongst
the chaos of the Fashion Show construction, and the empty lot across
the street. |
|
