Nevadans for Cultural Preservation

Speaker Series Presentation by Sayre Borden-Historic Preservation Specialist II with Nevada Division of State Parks

This virtual architectural walking tour explores the emergence of Googie architecture in Las Vegas during the mid-twentieth century, examining how architecture helped construct the city’s identity as a landscape of futurism, spectacle, and entertainment. Developed during the postwar boom and influenced by automobile culture, atomic-age optimism, and advances in technology, Googie architecture transformed Las Vegas into a visual symbol of modernity and fantasy.

Through a digitally guided exploration of historic casinos, neon signage, entertainment venues, and preserved architectural landmarks, this presentation analyzes defining characteristics of the style, including dramatic geometric forms, neon illumination, exaggerated signage, cantilevered structures, and futuristic imagery.

The presentation also examines the cultural and economic forces that shaped the development of Space Age design in Las Vegas, including tourism, mobility, consumer culture, and Cold War-era fascination with technology and the future. Googie architecture played a critical role in establishing Las Vegas as one of the most recognizable and visually experimental urban landscapes in the United States.

Sayre Borden is a Historic Preservation Specialist II who has been with the Nevada Division of State Parks since June 2024. Prior to that he worked as an Associate Architectural Historian with SWCA Environmental Consultants in Sacramento California. Sayre holds a Master’s Degree of Arts in Public History from California State University, Sacramento and a Bachelor’s Degree of Arts in History from Eastern Nazarene College. He lives in Las Vegas.

Image from UNLV Digital Archives