Las Vegas. (Architecture 94) (Cover Story)

Ever since Buggy Siegel started into the empty desert and saw a gambler's mecca, Las Vegas has lodged itself in the American imagination like a gangster's bullet. Other cities are known for commerce, architectures, politics, and culture. But Las Vegas stands apart as a monument to our collective id; if Hollywood is the place where dreams are realized. Vegas is where needs are gratified.

Like to gamble? The casinos are open 24 hours. Love celebrities? The showrooms are filled with rising and falling stars. Crave food (and plenty of it)? Welcome to the home of the 99-cent chicken dinner and the $3.79 buffet. Searching for companionship, however transitory? The Yellow Pages features dozens of listings under the not-very-precise euphemism "Entertainers." In the endless glare of the Strip, and dense …