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Fort Worth influence on new Vegas performing arts venue


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#1 austlar1

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Posted 09 January 2013 - 05:11 PM

It seems clear to me that David Schwarz used both the Bass Hall in downtown Fort Worth and the Will Rogers complex (the tower is a dead ringer) as primary inspiration for the exterior of the new Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas.  I have not been able to get any kind of link to paste here for unknown reasons, but anybody interested should just google Smith Center for Performing Arts in Las Vegas.  The front elevation is just a blast of Fort Worth dropped down in the center of downtown Las Vegas.  Well, the palm trees might not be very Fort Worth, but as for the rest, you be the judge.



#2 ramjet

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Posted 09 January 2013 - 05:24 PM

You are right.  Looks like Will Rogers Coliseum and the Bass Hall had a one-night-stand - in Vegas.  And remember, what happens in Vegas...

 

 http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-trw-smithcenter-20120304-photos,0,4079511.photogallery



#3 BlueMound

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Posted 09 January 2013 - 09:55 PM

I can also see how the center's lobby was influenced by T&P Station.

 

http://www.nytimes.c...?pagewanted=all

 

 



#4 renamerusk

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Posted 09 January 2013 - 10:39 PM

It seems clear to me that David Schwarz used both the Bass Hall in downtown Fort Worth and the Will Rogers complex (the tower is a dead ringer) as primary inspiration for the exterior of the new Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas. ....the palm trees might not be very Fort Worth, but as for the rest, you be the judge.

 

I noticed that too and posted about it earlier in Commercial/Projects and New Construction: "Sundance Square to add to downtown Fort Worth skyline" - #8.  I recall thinking at the time whether Las Vegas was being shortchanged by something lacking originality.  Of course, almost everything in Las Vegas lacks originality and is a replica from something found elsewhere.  If you can say "New York, New York"; you can also now say "Fort Worth, Fort Worth". :laugh:

 

..... Did find something that DMS (David Schwartz) has in progress in Las Vegas; perhaps it is just me, but the Las Vegas project looks strikingly familiar in a couple of ways – what do you think?

http://www.dmsas.com...ming%20Arts.pdf


"Keep Fort Worth folksy"


#5 austlar1

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Posted 09 January 2013 - 11:48 PM

Yes, I think there should be a Hotel Fort Worth, Fort Worth in Vegas next to the Smith Center. 

 

I guess I missed your earlier post, renamerusk. Fort Worth has been a powerful influence on Mr. Schwarz.  He has certainly come a long way over the years. He has become the go-to guy for traditional concert halls and performing arts centers.  I lived in DC back in the 80s when some of his first projects got built up there.  I even spent an evening in his home in DC being entertained by his houseman, a friend of mine. The houseman, a fellow named Brad Laux who is now deceased, threw a big dinner party in Schwarz's palatial Kalorama town house while the great man was away in Fort Worth working on one of his early Bass commissions. We were given an extensive tour of the house, and I especially remember the huge master bedroom closet that was filled with a variety of men's slippers. We were told that Mr. Schwarz never wore socks and was very particular about his slippers.  I remember feeling that we were invading Schwarz's privacy, but I now delight in telling this tale. 



#6 renamerusk

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Posted 10 January 2013 - 01:05 PM

Yes, I think there should be a Hotel Fort Worth, Fort Worth in Vegas next to the Smith Center. 

 

I guess I missed your earlier post, renamerusk. Fort Worth has been a powerful influence on Mr. Schwarz.  He has certainly come a long way over the years. He has become the go-to guy for traditional concert halls and performing arts centers.  I lived in DC back in the 80s when some of his first projects got built up there.  I even spent an evening in his home in DC being entertained by his houseman, a friend of mine. The houseman, a fellow named Brad Laux who is now deceased, threw a big dinner party in Schwarz's palatial Kalorama town house while the great man was away in Fort Worth working on one of his early Bass commissions. We were given an extensive tour of the house, and I especially remember the huge master bedroom closet that was filled with a variety of men's slippers. We were told that Mr. Schwarz never wore socks and was very particular about his slippers.  I remember feeling that we were invading Schwarz's privacy, but I now delight in telling this tale. 

 

While it is acceptable in my opinion for organizations like the public schools or a university to reuse single design for its buildings as it is both a smart and efficient use of public or charitable funds, I do agree less with that approach for the design of a building that is envisioned and commissioned to be a signature landmark; I would expect originality.  A reproduction of or likeness to buildings that has been demolished seems acceptable.  For me, there will always be a detraction surrounding Smith Hall in Las Vegas because it is in my opinion an awkward collision of two very recognizable buildings in existence here in Fort Worth.

 

As for missing my earlier post, don't worry buddy.  Is Bass Performance Hall an original design or is it a hybrid of some of Mr. Schwarz' prior designs?

 

Keep Fort Worth folksy



#7 austlar1

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Posted 10 January 2013 - 02:17 PM

I think that, more than some architects, just about all of David Schwarz's important buildings are a hybrid based on previous designs. His buildings tend to be easily identifiable. Bass Performance Hall seems to be a building where the David Schwarz "look" solidified.  I don't know the progression of his work, but Bass Performance Hall has jewel box characteristics that he continues to bring to the table in later designs.  Nobody ever accused David Schwarz of being original, but his pseudo historical style has certainly become distinctive. Since his major projects tend to be concert halls, stadiums, and arenas, I suspect that his reputation will endure over time because the buildings are likely to endure.  Will there be a hue and cry somewhere down the line when a "David Schwarz landmark" is threatened with demolition?  Probably so.



#8 RD Milhollin

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Posted 10 January 2013 - 05:48 PM

While it is acceptable in my opinion for organizations like the public schools or a university to reuse single design for its buildings as it is both a smart and efficient use of public or charitable funds, I do agree less with that approach for the design of a building that is envisioned and commissioned to be a signature landmark; I would expect originality.  

 

But this is Vegas you are talking about. Name a significant building there that is "an original", distinct in all ways from anything else anywhere. I haven't been there in a while but what I remember is either just blown-up, inflated versions of standard or generic styles or way-overblown caricatures of well-known buildings or styles. Maybe Fort Worth should be honored for some of its architecture to be set up next to the Pyramid of Cheops, the Manhattan skyline, the tourist icons of Paris, a Roman palace, and a romanticized (and fantasized) treatment of medieval castles.

 

And yes, the school districts that reuse architectural plans save taxpayer money. I have seen a few tricks where those plans are reversed, rotated,  etc. and given different exterior treatments so that the schools don't look like cookie-cutter copies of one another. 



#9 John T Roberts

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Posted 10 January 2013 - 09:32 PM

David Schwarz is not the only architect who has rehashed is own designs (or other architect's for that matter).  Fort Worth's Marshal Sanguinet and Carl Staats modified their own designs.  Look at the Alico Building in Waco, the Rand Building in San Antonio, and the Burk Burnett here in Fort Worth.  They are the same building modified to meet the programs of the client.  Each are a different height and site adapted.  One is a different color scheme from the other two.  Two are nearly identical.



#10 renamerusk

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Posted 10 January 2013 - 09:51 PM

David Schwarz is not the only architect who has rehashed is own designs (or other architect's for that matter).  Fort Worth's Marshal Sanguinet and Carl Staats modified their own designs.  Look at the Alico Building in Waco, the Rand Building in San Antonio, and the Burk Burnett here in Fort Worth.  They are the same building modified to meet the programs of the client.  Each are a different height and site adapted.  One is a different color scheme from the other two.  Two are nearly identical.

 

Yes, but were any of these buildings commissioned to be a "signature" building like an opera house, museum, or of the likes?  My concern is that an important building ought to be original, aka Sydney Opera House, Dallas Symphony Hall, the Kimbell Museum; for that matter, Cowboys Stadium.

Just my opinion.



#11 austlar1

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Posted 11 January 2013 - 01:31 AM

David Schwarz is not the only architect who has rehashed is own designs (or other architect's for that matter).  Fort Worth's Marshal Sanguinet and Carl Staats modified their own designs.  Look at the Alico Building in Waco, the Rand Building in San Antonio, and the Burk Burnett here in Fort Worth.  They are the same building modified to meet the programs of the client.  Each are a different height and site adapted.  One is a different color scheme from the other two.  Two are nearly identical.

 

I just looked at photos of all three buildings you mentioned. I did not know about the Rand Bldg. in San Antonio.  It is very handsome, and it is the only one to utilize the Chicago style fenestration.  The windows in all three buildings are different, which probably masks similarities.  It seems like Schwarz uses the same fenestration in most of his tall buildings which make them rather recognizable at first glance to anybody familiar with his work.  Don't get me wrong. I kind of like Schwarz's work, or at least I like some of it.  I think it would be interesting to see what he might do with a really tall commercial building.  I wonder whether he will ever get that kind of commission.



#12 Nitixope

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Posted 19 August 2021 - 12:35 PM

You can't copyright inspiration.  On Schwarz' Instagram page, he acknowledges "The Helsinki Central Railway Station, Eliel Saarinen’s 1919 Art Nouveau Masterwork and a likely inspiration for Wyatt Hedrick’s Tower."

 

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