CityCenter Las Vegas

The CityCenter development in Las Vegas is HUGE. They say you'll either love it or hate it but I still can't decide.

CityCenter is very grey and the contemporary architecture is very different from the rest of the Strip, but it is sexy. The public art like this eraser by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen (I hope) and Henry Moore's 'Mother and Child" are nice additions. Right between Bellagio and Monte Carlo on the Strip, the location is excellent. Hoards were pouring into Crystals, the mega-mall (correction: "Retail & Entertainment District"). The Mandarin Oriental was having a grand opening celebration which prevented me from snooping.

Pedestrians are justifiably outraged by the design, which forces them to walk the equivalent of three city blocks (complete with huge flight of stairs) to keep their driveway free of human obstructions. Perhaps when construction is completed, they'll implement a better solution.

I admit to loving the molto fabuloso Las Vegas and Caesar's Palace is still my favorite hotel here (best shower ever). So when Vegas goes all urban sophisticate, it feels inappropriate. If CityCenter were in NYC, the piazza-like space would be for people, not cars and there would be a lot more plants to mitigate the grey.

Steve Marcus took way better photos than I did for the Las Vegas Sun, click here for his Slideshow.


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