The Strip: Las Vegas and the Architecture of the American Dream is a non-fiction book about the Las Vegas Strip's architectural history by Stefan Al. The book was published in 2017 by MIT Press. Al visited Las Vegas for the first time in 2005 to do research on a course assignment. Captivated by what he saw, he decided to write his thesis on Las Vegas architecture and turned it into a book after recognizing the subject matter's appeal to a large demographic. Al reviewed many journals, books, newspapers, and magazines, and visited University of Pennsylvania's Architectural Archives and archives from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the Las Vegas News Bureau.

Al identifies seven phases of Las Vegas architecture: Wild West (1941–1946), Sunbelt Modern (1946–1958), Pop City (1958–1969), Corporate Modern (1969–1985), Disneyland (1985–1995), Sim City (1995–2001), and Starchitecture (2001–present). The book explores the economy of the United States, demographic shifts, urbanization, gaming laws, and the resorts' designers and owners. During the Wild West era, the Strip took shape outside the Clark County limits and featured gangster-owned resorts modeled after the 19th-century Old West aesthetic to normalize gambling among the general American public. In the Sunbelt Modern period as suburbanization took hold after World War II, resorts imitated the suburban environments—such as bungalows, extensive parking, large lawn—that were familiar to the growing suburban populace. The Pop City era inaugurated the city's pop culture hotel, featuring neon signs and inexpensive, impersonal hotels.

The Corporate Modern period explores how with as the first companies began to own Strip hotels, the buildings began resembling their nondescript counterparts in other cities. During the Disneyland era, developers imitated Disneyland to attract families to visit. Builders in the Sim City era created resorts that simulated cities like New York City, Paris, and Venice. In the Starchitecture period, casino tycoons enlisted famous architects to create trendy tower casinos in the hope that their name recognition would draw tourists to visit. The book received mostly positive reviews from critics. They praised the book for being well-illustrated, well-written, and entertaining. Reviewers liked the book's cover design for giving readers a good reference point throughout the eras of the buildings' progression.

Background and publication The book's author, Stefan Al, was born in the Netherlands and is based in New York. An urban designer and an architect, he is a University of Pennsylvania instructor. Al, whose family did not live in the United States, had recently relocated to California. During Thanksgiving week in 2005, he elected to make his inaugural trip to Las Vegas, driving from Berkeley, to Las Vegas to do research on an assignment for professor Ananya Roy's course. Al was captivated by what he saw, saying in an interview, "The large buildings, the lights, the smells, the sounds—everything seemed designed to overstimulate you." Many features piqued his curiosity as a designer such as the Fountains of Bellagio and his hotel room's high-tech features. He decided to write his thesis on Las Vegas architecture before turning it into a book after recognizing the subject matter's appeal to a large demographic.

While writing The Strip, Al consulted numerous journals, books, newspapers, and magazines. He visited archives where he reviewed the floor plans of the 42 huge casinos constructed during the 70 years covered by the book. He visited the University of Pennsylvania's Architectural Archives and archives from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the Las Vegas News Bureau. Al in 2016 became scholar-in-residence at the Neon Museum, a significant source for the book and where he learned about Las Vegas's neon signs. The Strip was published by MIT Press in April 2017. It has 63 drawings and photographs. Al devised the book's cover which features drawings of the Strip's properties.

Style

According to the University of Vermont history professor Chester H. Liebs, the book is filled with numerous interesting tidbits and stories. He cited Al's discussion of Warren "Doc" Bayley, who owned the Hacienda casino. Aiming to lure more gamblers, Bayley in 1956 started to purchase aircraft for offering bundled packages containing economical flights. By 1962, he had 30 airplanes which prompted his airline's closure after drawing the attention of the Civil Aeronautics Board which said it had been operating without a license. Another example Liebs cited was the Caesars Palace sign in 1966 which featured at its bottom centurions with a height of . Costing 25 cents, a variety store's centurion figurines was their inspiration. A third example Liebs cited was The Venetian casino where to maintain the water's azure hue, the Grand Canal replica was dyed every month.

Keith Miller of The Times Literary Supplement said the book has "a wealth of incidental human detail on show". He cited Al's chronicling of the Baptist preacher Old Bill Williams, who chose Las Vegas as the base for his crew of Native American horse bandits. Al writes of Williams, who was known to be a cannibal, "In starving times, don't walk ahead of Bill." Another example Miller cited was the gangster Meyer Lansky, who when visiting the Riveria casino resort would walk his Shih Tzu near the pool. A third example Miller cited was Frank Sinatra, who of one his initial performances at the Desert Inn and said, "For six bucks, you got a filet mignon dinner, and me." The Las Vegas Sun reviewer Ric Anderson said the book is filled with "anecdotes and insights" that might astonish readers. He cited how when Bugsy Siegel was constructing the Flamingo, the resort cost much more than expected partially because he devised an escape tunnel for his residence there. Anderson cited Al's discussion of institutionalized racism in Las Vegas, causing it to be branded "the Mississippi of the West". Al chronicled Paul R. Williams, an African-American architect, who was not permitted to enter the Royal Nevada despite being its designer.

To showcase the architectural aspects being analyzed, photographs—spanning historical and modern periods and presented in color and black-and-white—are featured. Spacing book reviewer Jeremy Senko praised the book's design. Calling Las Vegas "a highly visual experience", Senko said he liked the sizable 8x10 pages, which enabled the rendering of large-scale historical images and replications of building designs and posters. He liked how every chapter had subheadings that separate the topics well so that readers can navigate to a particular section. Senko further praised how the "quirkiness" of the subheading names provided "wonderful pause[s]", citing "Casino Suburbanism", "American Babylon", and "Disney À La Vegas".

The Journal of Planning Education and Research book reviewer Stephen Mulherin enjoyed the "period-specific maps" on the book's front and rear covers, noting they depict the positions and outlines of the structures discussed in each chapter. According to Mulherin, the approach gives people "a great spatial reference point" for tracing the buildings' progression. He further praised the images embedded throughout the book for enriching the text by being "well placed and judicially used" and not inundating with visuals. Regarding how the author repeatedly contextualizes the Strip's evolution alongside modern urban development, Mulherin said "[the] placement is logical and flows smoothly with the narrative, without feeling forced into the text".

Content The Strip is about the history of architecture in Las Vegas. The book, which begins in the 1940s, explores how architectural trends have shaped the Las Vegas Strip over 70 years. It covers the numerous structures and architects that have impacted the Strip. The book delves into the economy of the United States, demographic shifts, urbanization, gaming laws, and the resorts' designers and owners. In seven chapters of the book, Al covers seven phases of Las Vegas architecture: Wild West (1941–1946), Sunbelt Modern (1946–1958), Pop City (1958–1969), Corporate Modern (1969–1985), Disneyland (1985–1995), Sim City (1995–2001), and Starchitecture (2001–present). Consistent architectural designs and land utilization marked every phase. Al demonstrates that evolutions in popular culture, daily routines, and construction techniques shaped the seven phases. To accommodate the next generation of design, solidly constructed edifices were demolished during each phase as part of the "creative destructive" method. Their aim always was to attract people to patronize their properties.

Las Vegas as America and Wild West (1941–1946)

Titled "Las Vegas as America", The Strip introduction finishes with the sentence, "Las Vegas is a microcosm of America." The book's first chapter is titled "Wild West (1941–1946)" and recounts how the Las Vegas Strip took shape right outside the city limits of Las Vegas after the first casinos started being built in the 1930s and beginning of the 1940s in the Mojave Desert. They were built in a Clark County unincorporated area to avoid government regulations and to have spacious land to build on. The design of the first Las Vegas casinos was significantly influenced by the 19th-century Old West aesthetic, having drawn inspiration from widely watched Western films and from how the neighboring Las Vegas had once been a mining town. Las Vegas was actively marketing itself to vacationers as "Still a Frontier Town". This was despite Las Vegas's lacking a significant link to the frontier culture since its desert landscape was unsuitable for agriculture and raising cattle. To take on the appeal of the Western entertainment, builders followed the Wild West aesthetic to normalize gambling among the general American public. Vacationers were attracted to the city because during the era, Nevada was the sole state to allow gambling. The builders adopted the Wild West aesthetic to promote the region's lack of regulation. The practice made Las Vegas a frontrunner in marketing.

Constructed by Thomas E. Hull and debuting in 1941, El Rancho was the first casino built on the Strip. Initially conceived as a motel, El Rancho later included a casino in its construction plans. The casino's interior has wagon wheel chandeliers and curtains made of cowhide, evoking a nostalgic ambience. Hotel Last Frontier opened soon after. For one hotel, a designer who could not find actual instances of a false fronted Western saloon relied on classic films' portrayal of them. The book provides an account of Las Vegas's history, highlighting crucial events like the building of the Hoover Dam and how Nevada authorization authorized gambling.

Sunbelt Modern (1946–1958)

Titled "Sunbelt Modern (1946–1958)", the book's second chapter covers the Las Vegas Strip's genesis. In an embodiment of the suburbanization that took place in the aftermath of World War II during the 1940s and 1950s, Las Vegas's core shifted to the suburban Strip from its downtown. Imitating suburban environments, builders tried to lure the United States' quickly growing suburban demographic. They constructed buildings with a low, sprawling profile, typically offering lodgings similar to bungalows. They provided plenty of parking spaces, pools, and extensive lawns. Their casinos had giant signs and parking lots at building entrances which imitated the strip malls arising in those years. All of this provided suburban residents a known and comforting setting.