A Vintage Vegas Bar Is Going into Fergusons Motel

We already told you about the 50-foot-tall Big Rig Jig sculpture from Los Angeles artist Mike Ross planned to tower over the site, but at its heart, the re-purposing of downtown's shuttered Fergusons Motel is all about local bars and local retailers. And new word indicates one of the joints will celebrate its home city history.

Four taverns are scheduled for the ongoing revamp, with two facing Fremont Street and two tucked at the rear of the 50,768-square-foot retail center. The central, former parking lot will be completely transformed into real grass pathways with the courtyard given to over to a shallow, four-step amphitheater seating surrounding the sculpture. The second floor of motel rooms will be allocated to office space and 13 stores will occupy the ground floor rooms.

Ferguson's Downtown [Rendering: D.i.G design group]

The retro Las Vegas-themed tavern with the option to serve to food will take over the motel's former front desk in the shadow of the neon sign. Currently code-named Tavern 190, as many as 190 can enjoy the outdoor patio with street views. Live music or a deejay will be on hand at least two nights a week.

An important part of the Fergusons project is the resolute commitment to preserve the authentic architecture and design of the original buildings. Built in 1960, the 69-room motel fell into disrepair before being bought by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh and his Downtown Project team for $5 million in December 2012. The mission-style color palate, stucco, masonry and wood accents will be restored to better than new condition. For the retro bar, a wood trellis will provide necessary shade.

Ferguson's Downtown [Rendering: D.i.G design group]

Very early plans for the forthcoming retro bar space pegged it as a coffee shop, as does notations on existing blueprints, but new renderings by the D.i.G design group place the coffee shop over to the left side of the property, carved out of former motel rooms. Whatever its final purpose, that section is also set to be classified as a tavern in order to serve alcohol. It will occupy 2,165 square feet with room for 51 guests seated right by Fremont Street.

Two more hidden taverns sit at the rear of the footprint, filling out rectangular 2,457 and 2,172-square-foot structures and both face an open courtyard. Undetermined dining will also be served by these taverns, although speculative renderings hint at an Asian-themed menu.

One issue not resolved by the new updates is what to officially call the place. Names cited in the past include Ferguson's Motel, Fergusons, The Ferguson and Ferguson's Downtown, with and without the apostrophe. The official predicted opening date is equally vague, with a possible late 2014 completion date for the retailers to be in place.
· All Coverage of Downtown Project [~ELV~]
· All Coverage of Fergusons Motel [~ELV~]
· All Coverage of Downtown [~ELV~]