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Stardust , (The)

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Artist/Creator (1)	Miller, Jack H. (1914-1999)
Artist/Creator (1).Nationality	American
Artist/Creator (1).Role	architect
Artist/Creator (2)	Wayne, Kermit
Artist/Creator (2).Nationality	American
Artist/Creator (2).Role	designer
Artist/Creator (3)	Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO) (founded 1920)
Artist/Creator (3).Nationality	American
Artist/Creator (3).Role	electric sign company, designer
Title/Caption	Stardust , (The)
Variant Title/Caption	Stardust Resort and Casino
Site/Creative Center	3000 South Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas (Nevada)
Date of Work	Opened 1958. East Tower 1964. Addition 1976. New tower and convention center 1991. Remodel 2000. Closed 2006. Destroyed March 2007.
Description of View	Stardust Hotel high-rise building
Notes	Project Description: One of the first Las Vegas resorts built to attract the middle class. Best known for its glitzy galaxy-theme signs and explosive mid-1960s electro-jag lettering across its facade, the Stardust has been remodeled several times, retaining only part of its cosmic character. The 1964 Roadside sign, considered "one of the great pieces of American art" by Alan Hess, still stands. This elliptical (orbit-shaped) sign with its carpet of glittering stars replaced the original circular roadside sign. Its animated neon and incandescent bulbs still remain, but the original dynamic electro-jag lettering was replaced with Helvetica in 1991. The fourth remodel in 1984 clad the facade in horizontal neon stripes and retained the stylized electric lettering in the sign along the roof. The current porte cochere was inspired by the 1972 MGM Grand. ;Project History: The idea for the Stardust came from Los Angeles gambler Tony Cornero. Originally to be called the Starlight, it was to be the largest hotel in the world and to attract middle class people to play slots and roulette. Cornero died in 1955, with the Starlight not yet complete. Moe Dalitz, Allard Roen and their Desert Inn Associates purchased the project. With no one clearly in command, the initial complex was built as a collection of individual structures. The two-story motel wings (post-tensioned concrete slab structures) dating from this era still exist. In 1958, the Stardust took over the Royal Nevada and was redesigned by architect Jack Miller. The building retained a warehouse quality. (Venturi calls this building style a decorated shed.) YESCO held a competition for the sign. Designer, Kermit Wayne was selected for both the roadside sign and the facade. Using the solar system as his theme, the design included planets, cosmic rays, giant electric lettering, and a globe standing above it. The roadside sign was circular encompassing the name, Stardust, and an advertising board announcing the act. The whole sign was ringed with a cloud of cosmic dust and an orbit ring covered with dancing stars. The building and its sign proclaimed that bigger is better. The sign became a symbol of the populist taste of Las Vegas. Facade dating from 1965 was famous for its explosive electro-jag lettering topped with a globe. In 1977, animated red and blue neon tubing trimmed with mirrored facets replaced the galaxy theme. In 1984, the new porte cochere was encrusted with a thousand small incandescent bulbs and inspired by the 1972 MGM Grand.
Technique/Process	architecture, electric lighting
Century	20th Century
Subject	American architecture American art 20th Century architecture Gambling casinos Hotels (public accommodations) Architectural lighting Exterior lighting Decorative lighting Electric lighting Neon lighting Signs (declatory or advertising artifacts) Neon signs
Publisher	ART on FILE
Publisher.Location	ART on FILE. 1837 East Shelby St. Seattle, Washington 98112 (United States). www.artonfile.com
Set/Project Title	Las Vegas Style: Fantasy Architecture and Signs
Reference Number	Art on File LV-28-05-04
Collection Title	Architecture (Art and Art History Department images)
Collection Information	Collection administered by Visual Resources manager, Architecture Library (402) 472-1193
Copyright Information	http://contentdm.unl.edu/ah_copyright.html

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