VivaVision upgrade coming soon?

Early this week I noticed a small crew of people hoisting panels to the FSE canopy in the area between Fremont and The D. There were about 5 different panels running various test patterns. Obviously the new panels run at a much higher resolution than the current panels. Two things that I noticed, the backgrounds were black on all of the examples being tested (as opposed to the white background on the current panels) and some examples tested seemed to block most if not all of the natural daylight from coming through the canopy. Considering that there have been no major upgrades since 2004, 2017 could be the year of VivaVision HD.

 

I came into this thread hoping that "upgrade" meant "dismantle completely".

I am dissappoint.

 

Hope so. My relatives commented they were more impressed with the LED sign at SLS than they were with VivaVision. I would rather have the neon back into the open but some modern display tech would be a strong second.

 

I guess the one potential upside here is the black background that OP describes. That would certainly allow the neon to shine a bit brighter compared to the all white background of the current display. I guess I'll take it if that's the best they can do.

I'd also take the demolition of Slotzilla and the Kiosks as an acceptable alternative.

Bring back this view:

 

I agree that slotzilla should be taken down, but I have no problem with the canopy. The shade is nice during the day.

 

Get rid of the canopy and light show. Tear down the zip line. Keep Fremont closed to traffic. Then downtown would be so much better.

 

Absolutely. The shade is awesome. It could be 110 out but under the canopy it's comfortable.

I don't get the hate for the light show. Sure, if you've seen it once you've seen it a million times, but it's better than having nothing at all.


TFK

 

That canopy is obscuring a lot of classic neon that would be a draw on its own. Depending on what movies you've seen, the image of downtown pre-canopy is what some folks may think of Vegas. I don't think downtown needs the show to draw people in this particular era as well. Unless they are doing major upgrades, there's almost no point to keeping it.

 

If it wasn't for the canopy and light show, Downtown would be a ghost town today. Every bit of the revitalization of Downtown that has taken place is because of that canopy.

Without it, there's no stages and live music, there's no Fremont East, there's no Container Park, etc.

It's still a big draw. Most newcomers to Downtown are there to see the lightshow.


TFK

 

I still like the canopy shows, although they took out the ones I liked best. I'll watch if I'm out when it starts but there aren't any that I make a point to try to catch anymore. I especially miss American Pie. I know a lot of people say they were tired of it but I don't care. I'm a geezer and I love me some geezer rock.

Oh, yeah. Get off my shiny lawn, ya punk kids!

 

I don't hate that it happened, I just think that it's be nice if they moved on to something else as the big draw and revive those classic neon views.

The canopy could come down without losing the pedestrian mall, side stages, Fremont East, etc etc. I personally think people go downtown for a lot of things other than the canopy these days. It's not as novel in the year 2017 as it was in 1997.

 

I think you guys are forgetting how miserable walking down the strip is on a hot summer day. It's not enjoyable like waking up and down Fremont is with the shade and all. Also, what neon views are blocked by the canopy? As far as i can figure it the canopy is higher than any of the neon, what exactly is it blocking other than the sky?

 

Got this from Wikipedia, so take it for what it's worth, but I'd guess it's pretty accurate....

The initial $70 million investment and the continued improvements have resulted in successful and ongoing downtown redevelopment. The City of Las Vegas and the downtown casinos have benefited as more than 60% of visitors to Downtown are lured by the Fremont Street Experience overhead light show and stage shows and stay to enjoy the attractions of some of the most famous casinos in the world.

So more than half of the visitors Downtown are coming to see the light show. It's not going anywhere. The Casinos would never allow it.

And there are plenty of other places in Vegas to see 'neon views'. I'm not sure a couple of signs that say Golden Nugget and The D are gonna draw any kind of crowds.

The canopy doesn't have the novelty it once had for me anymore since I've seen it a million times, but I do still like it and would hate to see it go.


TFK

 

I have the solution...
RETRACTABLE CANOPY!!!
I mean, WTH...if they can build them for baseball & football stadiums, (where they have to be water-tight), surely, they can construct one to replace the current canopy!

 

would love to see some upgrades

 

You are literally seconds away from a casino when you're on Fremont St. I was downtown many times before the canopy. The sun/heat was a non factor since it's so quick and easy to get out of it if it bothers you.

 

On the first point, Fremont St is damn near a ghost town during the day. There's hardly anyone on the mall until the early evening as it is. Even if there was, the distances are so short that you are from one casino to the next in seconds.

On the second point, it's the contrast of the neon against the black sky which gave rise to the "glitter gultch" namesake. Today there is a lack of contrast and it takes something away from it IMHO. With that said, there actually is some pretty cool neon signage above the canopy that is all but forgotten. Look at early 90s photos of Fremont St. It's there.

 

I'll have to look for that. I wasn't aware of any above the canopy. That would explain some of the hate for it.

 

The Fremont and Four Queens towers in particular and of course The Plaza. It's not mind blowing or anything but at one point that was all part of the view.

 

Personally, I enjoy the canopy. In the summertime, there is an instant, noticeable difference in the heat. I also enjoy the light shows, even though I've seen them all a gazillion times. I also really miss the American Pie show, although I'm glad they brought back the Area 51 show. So maybe they'll bring back American Pie.