Invisible Themepark

Category: 1960s

Cutaways from the 1960s (1960 to 1969).

  • Sands Hotel and Casino Sign in Las Vegas Was Mid-Century Perfection

    Sands Hotel and Casino Sign in Las Vegas Was Mid-Century Perfection

    When the Sands opened on December 15, 1952, it represented Las Vegas’ introduction to modern casino and hotel design. But the world wasn’t ready for it yet, as 1952 was a tender year for mid-century modern architecture: the Korean War was still being fought, Truman was still U.S. President. Few of the familiar signifiers of the MCM age, such as manned space travel, were present yet.

    Wayne McAllister, the Sands architect, also designed the sign, a rare move in that town, where all signage was designed, fabricated, installed, and maintained by Young Electric Sign Co. (YESCO), which held and still holds an iron, Mafia-like grip on Vegas signage.

    According to Chris Nichols’ fantastic book, The Leisure Architecture of Wayne McAllister,

    “If I let YESCO design a sign,” [McAllister] remembered, “they would be back a couple of years later trying to get you to buy a better one.”

    Still, McAllister had to hire YESCO to fabricate and install the sign. According to Nichols, the sign was fifty-six feet high, asymmetrically cantilevered, and used an “egg carton” design as a background for the script lettering. All of those features are MCM style wrapped into a single package. The only element that would truly make it MCM (and very much a McAllister creation) would be stonework on the support pillar.

    1951: Sign Under Construction

     

    One of the rare photographs from the UNLV collection showing construction of the Sands sign with the detached marquee. It would remain like that for awhile before the marquee was incorporated into the sign itself. It’s interesting to note the Trousdale Construction Co. sign. That company was owned by Paul Trousdale, who also built the legendary Trousdale Estates in Los Angeles.

    1950s: Pre-Marquees

    For much of the 1950s, the Sands sign stood proudly alone, with a separate marquee. The Sands sign’s subtitle, A Place In The Sun, ran on one line across the bottom of “Sands.” But this would eventually change.

    This is probably the finest period of the Sands’ sign because the gridwork background was allowed to cantilever off of the support post on the right. As marquees were added below the gridwork, this graceful cantilever effect–and the view of the mountains–was obliterated.

    1957: Back Side of Sign

    A somewhat rare shot of the Sands sign from the back. While the sign had no true front or back, in most photos, the sign is presented with the support column on the right side.

    1958: I Love Lucy Episode

    While not a great view of Sands’ sign, this picture establishes that the original sign was still intact as of 1958 for this I Love Lucy episode, “Lucy Hunts Uranium.”

    1950s: Sands Hotel Sign with TV Camera Operator

    An unique photo of the Sands Hotel sign showing a TV camera operator on a platform.

    1960: Famous Rat Pack Photo

    Arguably the most famous picture of the Rat Pack, the Sands, and perhaps even Las Vegas itself. By now, two marquees had been incorporated into the sign. This photograph was taken in 1960, during the filming of “Ocean’s 11.”

    1962

    Early 1960s

    In this two-marquee period, the marquees were still kept to one side of the sign.

    Mid 1960s: Rebuilt Sands Hotel Sign

    In this major rebuild of the Sands Hotel and its sign, it’s worth noting that the sign was no longer cantilevered. To accommodate the weight and size of the added marquees, the gridwork extends to grade.

    1965: Sands Hotel and Sign Being Rebuilt

    In the mid 1960s, the Sands Hotel and Casino was rebuilt as a round skyscraper, and the sign was rebuilt along with it.

    Mid 1960s: Two Marquees

    In a later two-marquee period, the larger marquee was enlarged and shifted to the center of the support pillar.

    Mid 1960s: Two Marquees

    Early to Mid 1970s

    The 1970s was the era of the three marquees. More gridwork was added to the casino/hotel side of the sign to either structurally support or visually balance the extra marquees.

    Dave Barry was a popular opening act for Wayne Newton. Not related to the writer/humorist, Barry died in August 2001.

    1970s: Three Marquees

    1981: Sign Dismantled

    After thirty years, the era of the iconic Sands sign had passed. In this back side view, the classic sign was dismantled in 1981 and replaced by a large marquee-style sign from YESCO.

    From the UNLV Collection

  • Midcentury Modern Lovefest with 1961’s “Bachelor in Paradise”

    If you love midcentury modern style and you’re feeling down, few things are better than screening 1961’s Bachelor in Paradise, with Bob Hope and Lana Turner.

    This is not a witty movie; it is not important or classic at all. But it is a film that oozes delightful MCM-ness from every crack and pore. In fact, so powerful is the MCM in this movie that it even has the ability to vaccinate you against Bob Hope.

    Paula Prentiss shines as the neighbor Linda Delavane. At age 40, former sexpot Lana Turner was already being cast in dowdier roles. Here, she plays Hope’s mature love interest. Yes, Turner had been ridden hard and put away wet by this point, partially due to her penchant for bad-boy lovers, including small-time gangster Johnny Stompanato, who had been stabbed by Turner’s daughter only three years prior.

    But she was still a very attractive woman who deserved better than the baggy dresses and unexciting part she was saddled with in this movie. Woodland Hills, CA acts as the movie’s subdivision Paradise Valley.

  • Arthur Tress: Best Photographer You’ve Never Heard Of

    His name doesn’t provoke instant recognition to the photo layperson like Diane Arbus’ name does, but Arthur Tress has been diligently putting out fantastic images for the last half-century-plus that have some of the same nightmare-ish quality. This first photo, Flood Dream, is a part of a series in a book called Dream Collector 1972 book, in which “children shared [with Tress] common nightmare scenarios such as falling, drowning, and being trapped, chased by monsters, or humiliated in the classroom.”

  • Golden Age of the Intercom

    Archer Intercom System

    Remember the great age of home intercoms?  I don’t either!

    That’s because in the 1960s and 1970s, home intercoms were not found in your typical suburban house.  Unless your family were “people of means,” as your Mom or Dad might have referred to your rich neighbors, you didn’t have one–sadly enough.  Those neighbors with the sprawling, picture-perfect mid-century modern house with a pool and shag-covered conversation pit did have an intercom.

    At the heart of it, an intercom is a house phone.  It differs from a phone in that it has no handset.  In many cases, the connection can be opened up without having to activate any controls.  What this means is that Mom, in the kitchen, can can use the intercom to squawk “Time for dinner” to the kids in back of the house, without the kids having to pick up any bothersome handset (because they would ignore it, anyway).

    Military and Industrial Roots

    The term “intercom” first began appearing around World War II, but usually in a military or industrial setting–not the residential intercoms we tend to think of.  Bombers had intercoms so that crew members could communicate across the length of the plane.

    Teletalk billed itself as an “intercommunication system” for offices:

    Intercoms in Homes, 1960s Onward

    Wired and wireless intercoms began appearing in U.S. homes in the mid 1950s.

    By the 1960s, real estate ads began listing intercoms as a house feature, along with pool and shag and other luxuries.  This NuTone intercom from 1963 is fairly typical of a permanent, hard-wired system in that it came fully loaded multi-station functions and an AM/FM radio.

    NuTone Intercom 1963

     

    NuTone 1962

     

  • Planet of the Apes (1968) Set Design

    Depicting a harsh and dystopian world (at least for the humans), “Planet of the Apes” has become an unlikely film franchise spanning over half a century.  The original “Apes” from 1968 has some of the most fantastical, caveman-chic sets of any of the films.  Art Directors William Creber and Jack Martin Smith were charged with the difficult task of building an entire futuristic world while limited by the budget of the first in an unknown, untested yet-to-be movie franchise.

    Forbidden Zone

    Planet of the Apes 1968 Concept Sketch of Forbidden Zone – Mentor Huebner

    Ape Village

    Planet of the Apes Village Set

    As a result of the film’s lower budget, the centerpiece of the film, Ape Village, was filmed at 20th Century Fox’s movie ranch (now Malibu Creek State Park) less than an hour from its Century City studio.  Except for a wide establishing shot (below) that shows just how small the set was, all other shots were kept tight and low by director Franklin J. Schaffner to disguise its tiny stature. Used also for “The Left Hand of God” with Humphrey Bogart the lake was dredged and enlarged by Fox over its early years of ownership.

    Concept Sketch of Ape Village

    Planet of the Apes 1968 Concept Sketch of Ape Village – Mentor Huebner

    Mentor Huebner depicted a Gaudi world of craggy, skull-like buildings carved from stone.

    Buildings Surrounding the Village

    Planet of the Apes Set Surrounding Village

    To give Ape Village a greater sense of size, additional buildings were constructed on the hills surrounding the town.  Forced perspective likely was used to make the buildings look larger and farther away than they really were.

    Stone Sky Bridge

    Planet of the Apes Village Bridge Set

    Amphitheater

    Planet of the Apes Set Amphitheater

    Church and Unique Circular Room Divider

    Planet of the Apes Set Church and Circular Room Divider

    The Apes’ church was enclosed by a semi-circular room divider made of stacked stones.

    Museum of Man

    Planet of the Apes Set Museum Interior

    Hallway

    Planet of the Apes Set Hallway

    Another Hallway

    Planet of the Apes Set Hallway

    Courtroom

    Planet of the Apes Set Courtroom

    Courtroom Room Divider

    Planet of the Apes 1968 Set Courtroom and Divider 1

    Planet of the Apes 1968 Set Courtroom and Divider 2 Close Up

     

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