One Six Sky Lounge in the Eastside Cannery Casino & Hotel is overseen by Las Vegas nightlife industry veteran Frankie Anobile, noted for opening and operating some of the most successful clubs on and off the world-famous Strip. The new 11,000sq-ft. venue that opened in December 2008 had to live up to its spectacular view through its floor-to-ceiling windows on the 16th floor. The lounge offers various spaces to socialize, a dance floor, a bar, and a 1,700sq-ft. wraparound balcony.
Scheduling was not typical for the lighting and sound installation, as noted by Dave Tennant, director of technical entertainment for the club. “Our greatest challenge was the timing,” he says. “We got the go-ahead for the lighting and sound just three weeks prior to our opening date.” Michael Graham, product manager for Chauvet, was brought on to do the lighting design for the dance floor and the seating areas. “When Mike came in, he had a vision of what would work; we took that and worked around the audio we were installing,” adds Tennant. “I had a fair idea what the budget was and what kind of room we had to work with.”
“I wanted to make sure that we did not interfere with the clean look of the room and the view,” Graham says, adding that the project management team was open-minded about a design, but with two caveats: they had a limited budget and wanted as much LED lighting as possible. With only approximately 45 days until opening, the design and install process started at breakneck pace. “Little had been done [at that point] to accommodate your typical ultra-lounge-style lighting install,” adds Tennant. “Mike took a look at the venue, and we discussed how we wanted to keep it conservative yet impressive.”
“The balcony has the best view of The Strip I have ever seen,” Graham says. “I wanted to make sure nothing obstructed that view. We placed the fixtures above the soffit, so nothing would be hanging down to be in the way. The final look is clean with nothing hanging down.”
The club features an all-Chauvet rig, with a total of 60 Chauvet Colordash Battens, 24 Colordash PARs, 10 Vue IIs, 12 Q-Spot 300s, and six MiN Wash units. The dance floor is lit by the Q-Spot 300s, Colordash PARs, and Vue II fixtures. The MiN Wash fixtures are used for downlighting on the back side of the bar for extra dimension. PRG in Las Vegas provided the lighting and effects package, which also included a CITC Starhazer II. An Avolites Pearl Tiger console, chosen by in-house LD and system programmer Matt Druzbik, came directly from the manufacturer.
The Hotel & Casino itself sports industrial architecture, but the nightclub also incorporates classic motifs and modern furnishings. Warm red hues are offset by three large blue, cast glass columns that are lit from within. The lounge area is an inviting atmosphere where lighting could become a distraction, but Graham used small fixtures hidden in the coves around the seating area. “We tried to hide as many lights away as possible so that they would not obstruct any of the existing design,” says Graham. “In the seating area, we were successful in not having one fixture visible and still maintaining the lighting effects perfectly.”
Other than two 42“ plasmas near the bar, there is no video in the venue. “The main feature of this venue is definitely the view of the Las Vegas Strip,” says Tennant.