What's the Story of the St. Louis-Style Arch at the Desert Inn Pool?

I was recently watching the '50s promo film “Recreation Unlimited” on YouTube about the Desert Inn and saw what looked like a St. Louis-style arch in the pool area. This obviously predated the St. Louis arch and I was curious as to its origin and fate.

We suspected that if anyone had information, or at least a comment, on the Desert Inn arch from the long-ago bygone days, it would be VintageLasVegas.com. And we were correct.

On the page called "Arch and cactus garden at the Desert Inn, 1950s," VLV proprietor Jeff writes, "The details of design around the pool are unknown: whether they come from architect Wayne McAllister’s original plan for the hotel in the late '40s, Hugh Taylor’s closer to the hotel opening, or whether the arch was there at the opening of the hotel or added slightly later."

Jeff goes on to explain, "Parabolic arches were a new form in Modern architecture generated by its structural character rather than historic forms. They were used by Eugène Freyssinet in the '20s (Hangar d'Orly) and Le Corbusier in the '30s. The design of the St. Louis Arch was unveiled in the '40s and widely publicized. The first McDonald’s Golden Arches, designed by Wayne McAllister associate Stanley Clark Meston, is from 1953."

So the DI arch is not unusual for that period in architecture. It's definitely dramatic, so it's no surprise that it was used to attract attention when it was erected above the hotel sometime in the 1950s.

As for its fate, we couldn't find any references to its being taken down, but we do know it survived the first expansion of the hotel in 1963, when a nine-story tower was added. In this aerial photo from 1964, you can see the tower in front of the casino; you can also just make out the arch at the back of the pool area.

The next major expansion was in 1977, when the 14-story Augusta Tower was erected, along with the seven-story Wimbledon Suites between the pool and the golf course; at that time, the pool area was also completely remodeled. Here's a good view of the pool and Wimbledon in which the arch appears long gone. So it disappeared some time between the early '60s and late '70s.

Where it went when it was taken down are mysteries, though we wouldn't be surprised if it was sold for scrap metal.

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Kevin Lewis Jan-28-2024

A hundred graceful arches a day

At first reading, this Q and A seemed a bit tangential to present-day Vegas, as the arch in question is long gone. Then I realized that arches are an integral part of modern Vegas, to wit:

Patrick McManus described the aftereffect of the overconsumption of fava beans as "polevault vomiting (performed in a parabola)." And many arches--such as the iconic St. Louis arch, and the DI arch, are parabolic.

So while the cause is probably rarely fava beans, each and every day, Vegas visitors face upwards to the twinkling lights and create a commemorative arch. Performed in a parabola.

Kenneth Mytinger Jan-28-2024

Arches

Stand-alone arches form the mathematical curve called a catenary.  That's so the downward force all along the arch is evenly distributed.

Many refs -- here are a couple:
https://ardetails.home.blog/2020/09/15/catenary-arch-not-a-parabola/
http://makingmathvisible.com/catenary/catenary.html

Kevin Lewis Jan-28-2024

Kenneth

Actually, catenary arches are generally load-bearing rather than decorative, and a parabolic arch is usually stand-alone and decorative because it's a poor load-bearing structure.

Robert Jan-29-2024

Great comments

Can QoD add a like feature in the comments section?

Question of the Day - 28 January 2024

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