May 11, 2008 - Another Facelift

Canon 5D, 24 - 105 mm f/4L @ 24 mm, f/16, 1/50 sec., ISO 400, polarizer

There are no really old buildings in Las Vegas, and certainly none on the Strip. A casino is considered "old" if it's approaching 2 decades. Most are much younger than that. If you haven't been here in 15 years or so, you might very well not recognize the place - literally. Frankly, I think that that's too bad.

The cities I've enjoyed visiting most are, by American standards anyway, old. My favorite city by far is Charleston, SC and my favorite spot there is the area surrounding what's known as the Battery. I love visiting the old churches with gravestones in their cemeteries dating back to the early 1800's. There's real history there, a history of people who lived and died looking at the same buildings that one can see today. Yes, they've been restored. So what? They still provide an important connection - a bridge between past, present, and future.

Not here in Sin City, though. Buildings here are like aging race horses. When they can no longer "perform" to expectations, they're "put down" and replaced with the next generation. It is, after all, simply about business.