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1. Name:
New York New York Hotel Casino
2. Owner: MGM
Mirage
3. Address: 3790
Las Vegas Blvd. South
3b. Additional Site
Details: Occupying the northwest
corner of Las Vegas Blvd and Tropicana Ave. is the New York New
York Hotel and Casino. The property is a miniature representation
of New York City in a collection of colorful architecture and sculpture.
Colored reflective panels create the facades of high rises and skyscrapers.
An almost cartoon like element is brought to the structures, flowing
seamlessly sometimes throughout a surreal landscape of classical
architectural elements and mock high rises. Distinguishable landmarks,
such as the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, and the
Brooklyn Bridge, can be recognized with ease. A lagoon of water
represents a harbor shooting water out of fountains disguised as
boats.
4. Condition:
Structure 5
Surface 5
Lighting 5
Notes: See
description
5. Form: plyon,
fasica, porte cochere
6. Specfic Description:
The porte cochere is located on
the south side of the property facing Tropicana Ave. The design
cantilevers off of the main structure to the north, and then is
supported by two columns on its far end. The three exposed sides
hold the radiating crown of the New York New York logo sign. The
two on the east and west sides are smaller than the one on the south
side, but are essentially the same design. A half circle cabinet
holds the text New York New York stacked in two lines. The channel
letters are polished metal on the outside with incandescent bulbs
on the interior. Their faces are bordered with red neon. The text
is positioned on the front of the half circle cabinet. Breaking
the surface of the radius edge, elongated triangular pan channels
create a repeating pattern. The result is a crown of points running
all across the top of the cabinet. It is reminiscent of the crown
on the statue of liberty, or the rays of the rising sun. The face
of the cabinet is painted blue, with metallic raceways, filling
the negative spaces with more triangular shapes. The triangular
pans are painted yellow on the interior with a blue finish on the
exterior. The exterior width of the cabinet is also finished in
a golden reflective surface. Three tubes of neon fashioned into
succeedingly smaller triangles are inside each surface. The color
scheme of the neon is yellow being the outer, orange being the second,
and the center being red. The sign on the south side is designed
the same, except being quite a bit larger, and the crowns of the
cabinet angle forward instead of straight up in the air. All the
edges are bordered with incandescent bulbs. The bottom edge below
the signage, actually underlining the signage significantly, is
a gold polished double bull nose that wraps the entire length of
each side. The surface is strewn with small incandescent bulbs.
An entablature runs above the bull nose, filling the spaces between
the sign. The pediment is bordered on the top and the bottom with
gold polished raceways and incandescent bulbs. Two mirrored posts
support the southern end. The ceiling of the porte cochere is treated
much the same as the logo signage on the three sides of the roof.
Long pan channels are placed on the ceilings and shaped to look
like waving banners, confetti, and beams, radiate out of a centerpiece
positioned over the entrance to the casino. Red pans are painted
orange on the interiors and green channels are painted blue on the
interior. Tubes of neon are bent to the contours of the shapes of
each one of these channels. The entire composition is a brilliant
abstract pattern of light and colored steel shooting out toward
Tropicana Ave. Headed east toward the northwest corner a bridge
connects the Excalibur property to the New York New York. At the
end of a bridge an entrance into the NY NY is below a LED message
center and an arched logo cabinet, with the text and the radiating
triangular channels. It is actually the same neon and color scheme,
just fit to sit over the LCD display. The sign faces south. The
sign has the distinct backdrop of a domed rotunda lined with columns.
Rounding the corner another elevated bridge stretches east over
the strip to the MGM property. The same configuration of the arched
signage, along with the illuminated text, and LCD display screen
is on the east side of the building. The corner facade of the harbor
is flanked by these two collections of signs and walkways. Around
the corner, the property extends north up Las Vegas Blvd. continuing
the façade of fake apartment buildings, with storefront windows
at ground level. Here the replica of the Brooklyn Bridge serves
as the main concourse of pedestrian activity.
There are two sections of sign that are of particular interest to
the eastern face of the building. The first is an advertisement
for Panasonic. Panasonic is spelled in silver channel letters with
blue fronts. The blocky font is internally lit. The entire text
sits along the top edge of a matching message center. Further north
on the face of the building, a section of building, finished in
brick, combine graphics and three-dimensional elements for a sign
for Pepsi. Toward the top of the face a logo/wall sign is crafted
out of channel letters and filled with incandescent bulbs and bordered
with blue neon. The entire text reads "Pepsi: Cola" The
capital "P" and "C" are crafted out of one cursive
style channel. The remaining letters are spelled in separate channel
letters. The channel letters are stylized in a fashion reminiscent
of the turn if the century. The colon placed between the "I"
in Pepsi and the "C" in cola is also made out of channel
boxes. Below the logo, a mural is painted on the majority of the
remaining open space on the surface. Two police officers, in the
style of early cartoons from the first few decades of the twentieth
century, are the focus of the mural and are reminiscent of the famed
"keystone" cops. The two figures are shown from about
waist up in a circle, which is broken at the top by the white painted
thought bubbles, bordered in black. The thought bubble on the left
reads "bigger bottle" and the opposite reads, "better
flavor". The two police officers correspond the appropriate
thought bubble, with the one on the left being the larger figure,
and the one on the right being smaller and apparently older. They
are treated with blue paint, with their stripes, buttons and badges,
treated in yellow paint. The skin tones are treated with proper
hues, with facial features distinguished by black contour lines.
The three-dimensional aspects come into play when describing their
action. The officer on the left is pouring a bottle of the cola
into the glass, which the other officer is holding. The one hand
each officer is showing is a three-dimensional, fiberglass, white,
cartoon, gloves. The one on the left is integrated into the tilted
bottle. The bottle is coming off of the wall in a sculpted two-dimensional
cabinet. The bottle is treated with the red white and blue Pepsi
label, and reminiscent of the logo channel text. The tilted bottle
points down toward a glass that the other officer holds. The glass
is also a sculpted cabinet treated with paint on the surface, as
well as the bottle, to appear as glass, utilizing highlights. Neon
for the mural is cleverly designed to accent the mural and compliment
the design. The text in the thought bubbles is overlaid with yellow
neon, which animates back and forth to suggest an interaction of
talking to each other. One half will illuminate, then the other
as the first darkens. The yellow painted buttons, stripes, and badges
of the characters uniforms are all outlined with yellow neon. The
action of the neon in the bottle and glass can be seen through the
semitransparent materials. Horizontal tubes of red neon fill the
bottle, as well as the glass. In the space between the bottle and
the glass waving tubes of neon pass through the apparent opening
at the top of the cabinet, and can be seen behind the translucent
face. When in action, the bottle appears as if it is pouring the
liquid into the cup. (see animation notes) Among the ground level
shops along the east side, marquis signage denotes passage. One
on the southern end of the elevation just before the Brooklyn Bridge
begins, and another, a bit further north, before the ESPN
Zone signage. Two message panels come off the wall at an angle
flattening off with a smaller panel boasting logo channel letters.
Each one of the wings are spanned across the top of the face with
channel letters spelling "entrance," painted in an off
white on the interior. They are filled with incandescent bulbs and
bordered with red neon. The remaining space on the bottom of the
face is an LED message center. A narrow horizontal plane rises off
of the top edge and is lined with three tubes of neon. The cabinet
is made of a polished gold metal. The entire outline of the wing
is lined with a raceway lined with incandescent bulbs. Smaller eastern
face of the overhang is a square cabinet with an arched top. To
either side of the cabinet is crafted into a set of two narrow horizontal
planes. The one closest to the cabinet is taller that the one right
next to it, with rounded corners echoing the curve of the main cabinet.
The resultant effect is a sculpted cabinet with a top edge descending
on either side in a water falling radius. These bookend elements
are bordered with yellow, and three vertical tubes of neon running
the length of the interior. They main cabinet is occupied by the
internally lit double set initials "NY," stacked one set
on top of the other. They too are filled with incandescent bulbs
and bordered with red neon. The face of the middle cabinet is bordered
with incandescent bulbs and finished in a slick blue hue. The underside
of the overhang is covered in the polished gold surface and laden
with incandescent bulbs.
The northern end of the property is dominated by the signage for
the ESPN Zone sports lounge, located inside the NY NY. The exterior
signage is basically a theatre marquee entrance with a long overhang
supporting an electronic message banner that reads from left to
right. The majority of the theatre front is polished aluminum wit
h thin tubes of red neon above and below the electronic reader board.
Above the top edge of the actual front of the sign is a design of
pan channels, crafted and shaped to form a complex background for
the logo text spelling "ESPN." A wavy green crafted channel
creates what looks like a horizon. The space between the marquee
and the green channel is a black field laden with incandescent bulbs.
Above the green channel an array of pan channels crafted into interlocking,
swaying, pointed shapes. They are painted yellow and orange so the
result is a bed of flames. These too are lined in the interior of
the contour in red and orange neon. In the center of the entire
face of the overhand in a black steel cabinet with the logo for
the establishment spelling "ESPN Zone." The First portion
of the two-word phrase is spelled in shallow channel letters lined
with horizontal bars of white neon. The text is outlined in red
neon as well. The second half spells "Zone," and is written
in the same font with the "Z" being the largest letter
in the sign, designed with the bottom horizontal leg underlining
the rest of the letters in the word. The word is oulined with white
neon as well. The latter portion is filled with horizontal bars
of red neon. Situated along the middle of the sign, and against
the vertical plane of the building, a blade sign repeats the design
and colors of the bottom portion of the sign. The vertical cabinet
is double sided spelling the "ESPN Zone" logo vertically
with the same neon treatments for the respective words. The three
toned background of black, green, red and orange on the bottom of
the sign is interpreted on the blade. Running vertically, the black
portion laden with bulbs runs against the wall, with the wavy channel
next to that, disappearing temporarily behind the letters. The flames
hang off of the outer edge of the sign. All of the neon treatments
are seen here as well. Crowning the top of the blade sign two circular
cabinets are arranged touching each other at one end, the faces
pointing out to angled directions. Here the ESPN logo is arranged
inside a circle. The bottom half below the letters is filled with
horizontal bars of green neon, while the flames are present on the
top half. The same cabinets can be seen mounted on the ends of the
bottom overhang.
7. Type of Display:
neon, incandescent, backlit, ambient
8. Media: steel,
plastic, fiberglass
9. Non-neon treatments:
graphics, paint
10. Animation:
chasing, flashing, oscillation
Notes: The
logo cabinets which adorn the entrances on the elevated walkways:
The letters start with both rows of text in the off position. The
top row flashes on, while the bottom row is dark then the bottom
row illuminates, as the top row goes dark. Once the top row flashes
off it flashes back on so that both rows of text are briefly illuminated
simultaneously before they both go dark and the sequence stars over
again. While this is going on the incandescent bulbs which line
all of the raceways are chasing each other from left to right on
the horizontal planes, while the arched sections chase each other
downward. The triangular peaks which radiate around the top of the
logo sign, flash on and off in a sequence which chase each other
downward. First the top center peak flashes on, then the next sequential
triangular channel on both sides illuminate simultaneously, flash
off, then the next two in the series illuminate. The resultant effect
is a chasing pattern starting from the top. The sister animation
is located on almost the exact same design on the porte cochere.
I would think the previous smaller sign would be based on the larger
porte cochere. The other variance besides obvious size difference
is the that the channel letters are filled with incandescent bulbs
instead of neon. The animation is a bit simpler as well. The incandescent
bulbs oscillate continuously while the triangular pan channels which
create the radiating crown, animate. The neon in the channels chase
each other as described in the smaller walk way version, while the
text continues until the entire text flashes off, then on, off,
then begin to animate once again. All of the bulbs, which line the
raceways of the exterior edge of the porte cochere, as well as the
encrustation of bulbs on the brass bull nose portion, animate in
rapid succession. All the raceway bulbs chase each other while the
bulbs on the brass portion continually oscillate.
Animation continues on the east face of the building with the entrances
first. The principle for these two signs is oscillation and chasing.
All bulbs on the underside of the entrance, as well as in the logo,
oscillate rapidly. All bulbs on the raceways chase each other. Further
on the surface of the building as well, the Pepsi cola wall sign
is found displaying a very unique form of animation, seen here on
the strip. The signage for the Pepsi ad is located on the eastern
wall. (Detailed in specific description) The Incandescent bulbs
which fill the inside of the text that spells Pepsi, chase each
other from left to right, leaving all the bulbs in its path illuminated,
as if writing out the word Pepsi. The neon bars located within the
tilted bottle of Pepsi are illuminated, and chase each other downward,
leaving the bars it its path dark. As this sequence in taking place,
the waving tubes of neon illuminate, flashed subtly making the neon
appear as soda pouring out of the bottle. As the tubing flows then
the vertical neon bars in the cup illuminate one at a time making
the cup appear as if it is filling up. The text above each of the
painted fires head, flashes back and forth as if talking to each
other as well.
ESPN ZONE animation: The letters in the vertical blade portion of
the ESPN Zone illuminate one at a time, starting from the top. Once
the entire phrase is lit, in flashes off then on then off, before
restating. The orange and red neon tubing which resides inside the
pan channels that represent flames flash on and off in a relaxed
manner as if to animate the flickering of the flames. The small
incandescent bulbs on the black portions above the main matrix reader
board flash on and off subtly.
11. Environment:
Centering around the theme
of the city of New York, it utilizes the corner to create a wrapping
montage of sales kiosks, paralleled by a miniature replica of the
Brooklyn bridge transforming into a corner bay flanked by the overhead
walkways, and bringing the viewer in to the brightly lit arms of
the porte cochere. The environment of the overhead wall signs and
entrance signs blend in and compliment the theme aspect of being
in a city. Of course they stand out a bit more with the over the
top Vegas garishness, but they also add to the pedestrian interactive
feature that creates the environment in which it sets out to accomplish.
The corner fountain provides a unique experience with the views
of the neighboring casinos but creates a bit more of a surreal nature
with the small scale Statue of Liberty and backing of stylized skyscrapers
and metropolitan architecture. To follow further around the corner
headed south; the blazing neon adorned porte-cochere is backed by
yet more architecture and the sweeping tracks of the resorts roller
coaster. |
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