I personally believe that the rebirth of the north end of the Las Vegas Strip will depend on the success of one new and unique casino/hotel that will be constructed within the next three years.

The planned San Francisco themed hotel/casino on the present Frontier hotel/casino site just may prove to be the long awaited savior.

In the past we have left our hearts in San Francisco while we gambled in Las Vegas.

Soon we may be able to spend some time in Las Vegas and leave our heart there too!

Sure as the San Andreas Fault, there will be a San Francisco themed hotel/casino in Las Vegas. And that leaves a lot to ponder!

Will it be a true replica of America's most beautiful city or just a reasonable facsimile thereof?

Here are some thoughts I hope they ponder before the architects start their blue print renderings and "reconstruct" the City by the Bay!

Come on , architectural guys! Please make sure you include the following San Francisco landmarks and curiosities before you open those Golden Gates.

Of course, places like the Golden Gate and Coit Tower and Alcatraz and Fisherman's Wharf and Lombard Street and the Golden Gate Park and the cable cars are all too evident to have to mention to anyone who is planning to build a casino with a San Francisco theme. No one in their right mind would be crazy enough to exclude them.

But how about the little and less known places in the City? Places from the past and places in the present, places within our hearts which have all contributed in their own ways (some wierd, some wackie) to make this City by the Bay America's most beloved.

Maybe I can help you here. Maybe these small suggestions regarding minor but authentic details may help you create a hotel/casino in Las Vegas where we can really leave our hearts and part of our monthly paychecks and still return for more.

If you're not from San Francisco the following may not be too familiar but they are the minor details that made the city what it is today and I offer it for your consideration.

Let's start with Emperor Norton and Herb Cane. I don't have the time to offer a history lesson here but neither should be overlooked.

Don't forget Playland at the Beach and the laughing lady and the mirror maze and giant slide in the Fun House. And Pronto Pups and 35 cent Chicken Pot Pies. And "It's It" not on a stick! And the "Bean Pot". And Salt Water Taffy.

And old those old-time machines in which you inserted a nickel and were rewarded with 20 minutes of twenty mechanical monkies playing Bethoven's Fifth or Sixth or whatever! And a Cliff House restaurant overlooking Seal Rocks with live seals basking in the summer sun or winter shade. And a Camera Obscura which no one today may have even ever heard of. It was a wonderous sight!

And the Fox theater! Please don't forget the Fox theater. The original plans must still be available somewhere and can be reduced to a smaller scale for the main showroom. And make sure you recall all the night life on the Barbery Coast. It was crazy! It was wild! It was lots of fun!

I realize it would be impossible to rebuild Sutro's, but how about an attempt at least.

And don't forget to include the sounds of the city. The booming foghorn voice from beneath the Golden Gate. The clanging bells from baybound bouys. The click and clack of the cable car pullys sliding up the hills. The mocking sounds of the ever present sea-gulls.

And don't forget the fog. Maybe twice a day late in the evening somehow.

And Tony Bennett! He's got to be there opening night!

How about the Girl in the Fishbowl?! You remember her, don't ya!?

And just one major, hair raising ride - 1906, The Big One!!!

I can make this list go on and on, but I think you got the idea by now. There's so much more to consider here. (Just ask and I'll let you know!)

Remenber the little things that made the city what it is today but may have been forgotten by the passage of time.

Here's your opportunity to refresh our memories! Here's you chance to revive the north end of South Las Vegas Blvd.

Build it right and we will come and maybe even return to reclaim our hearts within a month or so.


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will800

Will800,
Sounds great,The Cliff house brings back many good thoughts.Herb Caen<SP>? The great San Francisco chronicler of that city.Lets' not forget Columbus ave.and all of North Beach and the good eats and flavor of that area.Remember Dimaggio's? I know they can't leave out the Embarcadero and Anchor Steam beer!It truly is a wonderful city I love going there and can't wait to get back there.I hope your predictions come to be? Actually I was thinking for my next trip of taking National airlines with the free stopover in SFO and spend a few days there before going on to Las Vegas.I miss that city a lot.Hope to see you in LV one day. Bob NY.

I left my heart at the corner of Haight and Ashbury. I think I left a few brain cells there too.<g>

Anchor Steam Beer! North Beach! Embarcadero!
Height Ashbury!

Heck, yea! Gotta include them all in one way or another.

And let's not forget the guy who sang "When You Come to San Francisco, Make Sure You Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair!". That was a great song and should be included too!

How about Fennochio's (spelling?) with the female impersonators, and Bimbo's 365 Club with the racing rocking horses and the Girl in the Fishbowl, and the ultra classy Top of the Mark!

So many great places to consider! Will they do it?

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will800

JMT, You spent time at Haight-Ashbury?

That explains everything! [img]http://www.talkvegas.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

Dick - So. Calif.

Will, if you're thinking Anchor Steam Beer, let's make sure the new casino has Tommy's Joynt as their deli. For entertainment, I would want the singer named Tony that hung around Ghiradelli Square for at least 20 years.....he could do everything from calypso to opera. We would need a few strolling bagpipers, and some Hare Krishna chanting would bring back memories too.

Put in a Red Garter (to compete with the Times Square Bar at NYNY), and let's not forget Edinburgh Castle. Chinatown and North Beach should only be a short stroll apart, and Coit Tower should share the skyline with St. Peter & Paul. The Fox Theatre is a nice touch, but let's not forget the Orpheum, the Curran or Beach Blanket Babylon.

Dick, the party was over by the time JMT got to Haight Ashbury<g>.

Will, Glad to see you posting again. I like your ideas about what should be included.
Do you know who will own the San Francisco property? If it is a current casino/hotel operator, they should have a web site and an e-mail address. You should send your post to them so they can get some ideas.

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John
Moderator Dining Forum
john@talkvegas.com