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1. Name:
Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino
2. Owner: Ralph
Engelstad
3. Address: street
address: 3535 S. Las Vegas Blvd. 731-3311
3b. Additional Site
Details: Shadowing Oshea's, the
Imperial palace looms high above the street. The tower for the hotel
is located just east of the strip, but one of the main entrances
is the unique porte-cochere and facade on the east side of the strip.
The main tower resides east, seen behind the Harrah's Carnival Court.
Signage includes Giant channel letters on the tower, five cabinets
of the Imperial Palace logo initials placed along the towers, internally
lit sculpted cabinets on the front tower, as well as the an LED
screen, and a vastly lit porte- cochere, along with cabinets.
4. Condition:
Structure 4
Surface 3
Lighting 4
Notes: The
structure of the Imperial Palace's main tower signs seem to be intact,
while the front towers signage and porte cochere are in great repair.
The surfaces of the main tower are rather dull and pale during the
day, but the light color aids in the luminance at night. The lighting
is in excellent repair.
5. Form: fasica,
porte cochere
6. Specfic Description:
The structure is themed after an
Asian palace, complete with multi tiered swooping tiled Asian style
roof lines, and wooden square beams placed to be representative
of rice paper doors and windows, and symbols of dragons. Between
two gaping square entrances of the front tower, sliding doors almost
cower below a giant color LED message center, flanked by two back-lit
, color, flex-front, two-dimensional dragons. The dragons stand
upright pawing at each side of the central cabinet. The entire array
sits on the lowest swooping Asian design roof level in blue tiles.
As the building rises upwards, the center section repeats in multi
tiered, blue roof lines, finally crowning with a fourth one, peaked
at the top. The bottoms of each ones of these rooflines is bordered
on the bottom with blue tubes of neon. The two main drives into
to covered porte cochere, head east then turn inward, forming a
squared U shape. Obviously one door is for entrance and one an exit.
The ceiling is comprised of polished aluminum square panels, each
one with four large, spherical, incandescent bulbs. The effect is
an engaging field of animated bulbs, interrupted only by the presence
of five large circular cabinets, which hang facing the floor. One
hangs just into the entrance and exit, and one in the center of
the north/south connecting sections of the two flanking tunnels,
and two more set in the corners. The two just into the mouth, and
in the corner of the tunnels, are polished aluminum themselves,
with internally lit plastic fronts. These fronts are blue and white,
pained graphically with an Asian geometric design, which fills the
entire surface. The one cabinet is treated in the same exterior
finish, but the design is created out of blue neon. Above the doors
to the casino, in this cove, polished channel letters with blue
plastic fronts, and borders created with narrow channels, are lined
with incandescent bulbs. The tower set back into the property is
adorned by a set of two story tall, white channel letters, facing
west just below a long blue tiled roof, spell "Imperial Palace"
and are filled with blue neon. Letters can be seen on the East face
of the tower as well. On the same level of the southern end of the
tower, a square, blue, channel edged cabinet, holds the channel
letter initials "I" and "P." Another cabinet
faces north on the north side of the tower. The channels and initials
are lined with blue neon. The same arrangement can be found on the
east side of the tower as well. The I and P can also be seen on
the north and south end of the tower, but without the border. All
of the rooflines on the tower are lined with blue neon as well.
Both towers are ambiently lit with blue spotlights, casting a blue
hue all over the property. At the very top of the front tower, a
spike rises into the air, and is adorned with rings of blue neon.
7. Type of Display:
neon, incandescent, backlit, ambient
8. Media: steel,
plastic
9. Non-neon treatments:
graphics
10. Animation:
oscillation
Notes: The
incandescent bulbs covering the ceiling of the porte cochere, oscillate
vibrantly, creating a shimmering cave of light.
11. Environment:
The Imperial Palace is placed
in an unusual position, with the front tower pushed right up to
the street, with cars and taxis zipping in and out of the large
square entrances. Just to the north is the Harrah's Carnival Court,
which pushes right up to the edge of the north face of the front
tower. Just to the south O Shea's sits in the great blue shadow
of the Imperial palace. |
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