Frommer's Las Vegas 2004

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CHAPTER 7 . WHAT TO SEE & DO IN LAS VEGAS
Auto Collections at Imperial Palace Even if you’re not a car person,
don’t assume you won’t be interested in this premier collection of antique, classic,
and special-interest vehicles. Check out the graceful lines and handsome
sculpture of one of the many Model J Duesenbergs (one of which Elvis Presley
drove in the movie Spinout). The craftsmanship and attention to detail make
these cars, and others here, true works of art.
Note that the vehicles on display change regularly, so there’s no telling what
you may see when you visit. However, the last time we were here we saw a great
deal of history. Down President’s Row we saw JFK’s 1962 “bubbletop” Lincoln
Continental, Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 Cadillac, Eisenhower’s 1952 Chrysler
Imperial 20-foot-long parade car, Truman’s 1950 Lincoln Cosmopolitan with
gold-plated interior, FDR’s unrestored 1936 V-16 Cadillac, and Herbert
Hoover’s 1929 Cadillac. There’s also a 1964 Chaika that belonged to Soviet
leader Nikita Krushchev.
Commercial vehicles of bygone days include antique buses, military transports,
taxis (among them, the 1908 French model that appeared in the movie
version of My Fair Lady), gasoline trucks, fire engines, delivery trucks and vans,
dump trucks, and pickup trucks. Other highlights are the 1959 Cadillac Fleetwood
Special 60 driven by Marilyn Monroe in The Misfits; Al Capone’s 1930
V-16 Cadillac; a 1954 Mercedes-Benz 220 Cabriolet currently owned by Wayne
Newton; the 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback driven by Nicolas Cage in Gone in
60 Seconds; Howard Hughes’s 1954 Chrysler (because of his phobia about germs,
Hughes installed a special air-purification system that cost more than the car
itself!); and a 1933 Pierce Arrow Silver, one of only three still in existence today.
In the Imperial Palace hotel, 3535 Las Vegas Blvd. S. & 702/794-3174. www.autocollections.com. Admission
$6.95 adults, $3 seniors and children under 12, free for children under 4 and AAA members. Check website
for free-admission coupon. Daily 9:30am–9:30pm.
Bellagio Art Gallery Everyone—ourselves not nearly least among them—
scoffed when then-Bellagio owner Steve Wynn opened an art gallery on his fabulous
property. Sure, Wynn’s been a serious and respected fine-art collector for
years, and consequently there was good stuff on display (though there are no
masterpieces, there certainly are serious works by masters), but who would go
see art in Las Vegas? Tons of tourists, as it happens, so many that they had to
almost immediately relocate the gallery to a larger space.
When the MGM MIRAGE company bought Wynn’s empire, the future of
the gallery, which did rely on his collection (he took most of it with him), was
in doubt. Surprise again, you scoffers (and that again includes us). The gallery is
not only open again, it’s getting written up by real art critics, thanks in part to
such well-chosen shows as an exhibit from the collection of none other than
Steve Martin—yes, we mean the stand-up-comedian-turned-actor-turned-playwright/author.
See, he’s a longtime well-respected collector too, and consequently
there were real live reviewers, hushed with happy reverence, who took
the whole show most seriously indeed.
Now, will there be as interesting a show up when you go? Beats us. (When we
wrote this, it was an acclaimed exhibit of European masterpieces, silver, gold, jewelry,
furniture, and rare books on loan from England’s famous Chatsworth manor.)
Then there’s that ticket price: Do let us point out that the Louvre and the Vatican
art collections, both of which are, needless to say, quite a bit larger and both
of which, one can safely say, do have some notable works, cost around $9.
In Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S. & 702/693-7871. Reservations suggested, but walk-ins taken every
15 min. Admission $15 adults, $12 seniors, students with ID, and Nevada residents. Daily 9am–9pm.