They’re a disparate lot — museums, hotels, an observation deck, a sculpture park and a sundial-shaped bridge — but these recent structures, none more than 10 years old, are redefining the West.
-- Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
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Four hotels (with a fifth to come), thousands of hotel rooms (more than 4,000 at the Aria alone), scores of restaurants and bars, assorted pools, casinos, showrooms and spas, two titled glass towers and a dedicated tram, all on 67 acres between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo hotels, just off the Strip. The openings began in late 2009. Info: http://www.citycenter.com. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
The crazy angles of the museum’s signature Frederic C. Hamilton building, completed in 2006, can make it tricky to hang paintings. But this shiny, pointy vision with its titanium façade adds a provocative energy to the city skyline. Info: (720) 865-5000, http://www.denverartmuseum.org/home. (Chris Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Our favorite state, distilled to a kid-friendly, 55-acre essence (and placed next door to
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Opened 2003. It’s metal, it’s wavy and it’s the greatest step forward so far in the campaign to give downtown Los Angeles a new sense of place. Even if you can’t score a ticket for one of the 2,265 seats inside (which is as woodsy as the outside is metallic), it’s easy to prowl the shiny perimeter, and tours are offered regularly. Info: (323) 850-2000, http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/wdch-overview.cfm. (Richard Derk / Los Angeles Times)
Opened 2007. At the far western end of the canyon, outside the national park, leaders of the Hualapai Tribe joined with an outside entrepreneur to build a steel-framed, glass-floored, horse-shaped structure that extends about 70 feet over the chasm. It’s not easy to reach: a 120-mile drive from Las Vegas, a 240-mile drive from the canyon’s popular South Rim, and both routes include 14 miles of dirt road. But if your vertigo needs a workout, here it is. Prices to walk it begin at about $75. Info: (888) 868-9378, http://www.grandcanyonwest.com/skywalktour.php. (David McNew / Getty Images)
This 27-acre complex, next to the L.A. Convention Center, includes
Opened 2004. Designed by