Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown have this famous essay, “The Significance of A&P Parking Lots, or Learning from Las Vegas." I am always confused about what A&P stands for. I always thought the A&P parking lot is a place in Las Vegas, until I can't really find it on google map. I also have a hard time tracing the few places also mentioned in the article like the Middle Eastern bazaar, Miami Beach Modern Motel, or the narrow street of the medieval town, but can find any information about them, which just makes me really confused. Also, his writing style is kind of jumpy, so I can't really figure out if these sites are supposed to be analogies, fictional settings, or real locations. Can anyone who is knowledgeable about this piece explain it to me?
Volunteer
Jul 25, 21 8:35 am
A & P was a chain of supermarket stores. Venturi is comparing a grocery store parking lot with the Roman Forum of antiquity. A more apt comparison would have been the Mall in Washington DC lined by national museums and the Capitol building, but Venturi is trying to make some kind of a witty statement.
For some strange reason Venturi thought he had to travel from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Las Vegas, Nevada, to find the vulgar and tacky.
Miles Jaffe
Jul 25, 21 9:29 am
Leaving LV is a parody of architecture that far too many people have taken seriously.
Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown have this famous essay, “The Significance of A&P Parking Lots, or Learning from Las Vegas." I am always confused about what A&P stands for. I always thought the A&P parking lot is a place in Las Vegas, until I can't really find it on google map. I also have a hard time tracing the few places also mentioned in the article like the Middle Eastern bazaar, Miami Beach Modern Motel, or the narrow street of the medieval town, but can find any information about them, which just makes me really confused. Also, his writing style is kind of jumpy, so I can't really figure out if these sites are supposed to be analogies, fictional settings, or real locations. Can anyone who is knowledgeable about this piece explain it to me?
A & P was a chain of supermarket stores. Venturi is comparing a grocery store parking lot with the Roman Forum of antiquity. A more apt comparison would have been the Mall in Washington DC lined by national museums and the Capitol building, but Venturi is trying to make some kind of a witty statement.
For some strange reason Venturi thought he had to travel from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Las Vegas, Nevada, to find the vulgar and tacky.
Leaving LV is a parody of architecture that far too many people have taken seriously.
reductio ad absurdum