Legacy Club at Circa, Photo by Black Raven Films

Designing Woman

ALICE O’KEEFE MAKES HISTORY WITH CIRCA DESIGN DEBUT

BY STACEY GUALANDI

Interior designer Alice O’Keefe says her love of Las Vegas from a bygone era began as a young child.

“Vintage Las Vegas has always been near and dear to me,” says O’Keefe, “I used to travel here a lot with my dad…I remember as young as 6, 7, 8, 9 years old coming downtown in the summers and staying at the Plaza.”

O’Keefe now works right across the street from the Plaza. Her passion for the past—and an impressive design portfolio—made her perfectly suited to be Director of Design & Architecture at Circa, the first downtown hotel and casino built from the ground up in four decades.

The goal for owners Derek and Greg Stevens was to give their new 1.25-million-square-foot resort an innovative twist on an old traditional design. So, they looked no further than O’Keefe, who had successfully renovated the Golden Gate and The D, their other Fremont Street properties.

“It’s so easy to disregard the past and just move forward to the future,” says O’Keefe. “We’re all eager for what’s to come, but I think it’s important to pause and reflect on how we got there.”

Circa Founders Suite Living Area, photo by Black Raven Films

In 2016, with several design teams under her lead, she set out to recreate something old from scratch but make it new again.

“Everything is a nod to the past, but reinterpreted,” says O’Keefe. “Circa means time. It comes down to shapes and forms and the way they feel. We want people to be able to come in and feel like they’ve been there, but they can’t quite pinpoint it. It’s really just that nostalgic feel.”

From the elevator art to the high-tech parking “Garage Mahal,” to the retro wallpaper in all 777 [of course!] rooms and suites; even down to the uniforms, there was very little inside the property O’Keefe didn’t touch.

“I think it’s every designer’s dream to be able to work on a project from start to finish and really have their hands in everything. So, I’m honored to be a part of it more than anything,” says O’Keefe.

CHIC COMPASS caught up with Circa’s designer-in-chief for a quick tour of the resort’s brand-new look and feel, reflected in her artistic touches. It definitely is a blast to the past.

Wall coverings designed by Jelaine Faunce, a local Las Vegas designer.

CHIC COMPASS: Let’s start with the “Garage Mahal” and that beautiful chandelier, which is not something you typically see in a parking garage.

ALICE O’KEEFE: We created this amazing light fixture sculpture with Circa’s tagline: “Time of Your Life.” Sixteenfifty Creative Intelligence, the branding agency that we worked with, came up with that concept, as well as the name Circa.

CHIC: Have you ever designed a parking garage before?

ALICE: I have done some renovations and design work within parking garages, but nothing like the Garage Mahal! I visited almost every parking garage in Las Vegas to assess how things work; what’s good, what’s bad. It was Derek [Stevens] who wanted to create a destination parking garage—a place that people feel safe and make them want to park the car and then have an enjoyable experience going from their car to our casino.

CHIC: The murals featured inside are by Eric Vozzola. How important was it to showcase the work of local Las Vegas artists?

ALICE: Ninety percent of the art that we have throughout the property is from local artists. That was really important for me—and I think as a property in general—that we highlight the people who are in our own backyard.

CHIC: What was the concept behind the different photo backdrops in the hotel tower elevators?

ALICE: We wanted to create an experience where we’re taking fun, casino gaming moments from all the eras—one elevator might have a photo from the 60s; another from the 20s. We did that on purpose to create a new, exciting experience every time you go into the elevator. It was a process. I mean, we went through hundreds, maybe even thousands of photos to really come up with the right vintage images, and then DAC Art Consulting “Circa-ized” them to create those colorful overlays.

CHIC: The Legacy Club rooftop lounge certainly has a vintage vibe.

ALICE: The material palette is very warm and almost like what you would experience from a club or lounge in the past. We wanted to create this kind of exclusive club-like feel but in a modern way. Our goal was to have a space that honors all the people who had a hand in making Las Vegas what it is today. So, we incorporated this idea by taking some of those iconic Las Vegas people, like Howard Hughes, Oscar Goodman, and Jay Sarno, and memorializing them in [bronze] busts that greet you as you first walk in.

CHIC: How difficult was it to give Vegas Vickie, the iconic 40-foot neon kicking cowgirl, a new home?

ALICE: That took about a year and a lot of back and forth, but I’m just so pleased with where we ended up putting her and how she is the center and focal point of our property.

We had looked at putting her outside, or maybe only using one side of her, [but] I was very adamant that a true, full restoration needed to happen…because of her iconic nature and how important it was to honor one of the most prominent downtown Las Vegas icons.
Sometimes there are happy little accidents in design: the wall covering behind Vickie reflects her completely! So, when you take a photo, you get this like double vision of her. It’s really awesome, and we didn’t know that was going to happen.

CHIC: Speaking of wall coverings, I love the “dancing dealers” and the 70s theme on the guest rooms and suites’ walls.

ALICE: The [dancing dealer] wall covering was designed especially for us by Jelaine Faunce, a local designer. The amount of time spent on that particular wall covering is definitely to be noted. It’s unique and special to us, and I hope it’s talked about in photos, and people get to enjoy it. The wall covering on the ceilings of the suites, and also behind Vegas Vickie, was done by local designer Tina Martin. It’s a gold metallic and a very simple kind of art deco pattern that we modernized. The wall coverings, carpet, and flooring throughout are all custom.

Elevator interior

CHIC: What was the idea behind the three-piece rotating mural in the lobby entrance?

ALICE: The reception desk artwork is one of my favorites because it’s all about time, and Circa is time, right? So, we took a vintage articulating sign, and we thought, well, let’s add artwork to this. Now we’re creating this artwork that’s changing every few minutes. Guests will always be experiencing something new, and there’s also an audible element to it that hits all of your senses. We were able to work with two amazing artists: Jelaine Faunce, who did a lot of work for us, and Reza Torabi, from Atlanta.

Fully-restored, iconic Vegas Vickie neon sign

CHIC: But no trip is complete without a selfie in front of the mural at Circa’s Fremont Street entrance that says, “Make History, Leave a Legacy.”

ALICE: This is also one of my favorite pieces. The artist who created that piece is Allison Eden, a truly amazing tile artist out of New York. We also worked with [Detroit-based] Pewabic Pottery, where we created these custom “Circa” ceramic tiles that are inset. It’s just one of those pieces I think a lot of guests probably come in and see it and kind of walk along, but I encourage everyone who comes by to go up to it, look at it and take photos because there’s a lot of detail in that. It fades from a light cream tone down to dark bronze, and it’s emulating the sun and the Las Vegas energy that we have here.

Circa Suite Living Room, photo by Black Raven Films

For more about Circa, please visit the Chic Compass blog article about Derek Stevens – The Face of Fremont Street.

For more information, please visit Circa’s website, circalasvegas.com