The La Concha Motel was a motel that opened in 1961 and closed in 2004. It was designed by architect Paul Williams who was one of the first prominent African American architects in the United States and was also the architect who designed the first LAX theme building. It was located at 2955 Las Vegas Blvd South, on the Las Vegas Strip, in Winchester, Nevada, and was considered one of the best-preserved examples of 1950s Googie architecture. It is believed to be named after the Beach of La Concha in Spain. History The La Concha was opened by M.K. Doumani. When it opened, the La Concha was one of the larger properties on the Las Vegas Strip. Various celebrities had stayed at the motel, including Ronald Reagan, Ann-Margret, Flip Wilson, Muhammad Ali, and the Carpenters. The La Concha was featured in the 1995 film Casino. In its later years, the motel was owned by M.K. Doumani's sons: Edward and Fred Doumani. The Doumani family also owned the adjacent El Morocco. In March 2001, Ed Doumani said he was considering options for the La Concha, saying, "Property taxes are huge and power is expensive." Doumani also complained of various costs such as a mandated beautification project of the Las Vegas Strip, in which each property had to help fund a new median with foliage and trees: "I had to pay $295,000 for what amounted to five palm trees. A large place can absorb that, we can't. We're probably going to knock (La Concha) down sometime this year. The land is more valuable than the buildings on it." At that time, the La Concha had been maintaining a high occupancy rate, despite lacking typical amenities such as a restaurant, casino, pool, and room service. Despite the motel's success, Doumani planned to replace it with a boutique hotel that would include condominiums and shopping, which he said would be a better use of the land. Later in 2001, the property was approved for a 520-foot hotel tower, a 645-foot condominium tower, and a shopping mall. In late 2003, it was announced that La Concha would be closed and demolished to make room for a new project, later announced as the Majestic condominium/Conrad hotel resort. On December 11, 2003, a 100-room wing of the motel was demolished. Before being fully demolished, the La Concha was expected to continue operating for another six months, with