Alien Sighting at Ghost Bar

Posted Friday, April 9, 2004

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Visitors to the Ghost Bar on the 55th floor of the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas have been reporting some unusual sightings lately. Apparently, otherworldly figures have begun to appear on the walls of the bar, ghostly sightings that, upon further investigation, don’t pose much of a mystery at all.

It seems the sightings occur in the Ghost Bar’s luxurious VIP room and coincide with the installation of Martin Architectural Alien 05 stem mount fixtures. Hung from the ceiling above a series of curled acrylic photographs, light from the Aliens penetrates the images, stretching the figure out onto the wall behind. The Alien fixtures (600mm stems) typically project a dreamlike blue but lighting designer Adam Wuertz, technical director for The Nine Group which operates Ghost Bar, also uses the Alien’s palette of other colors from time to time. Adam has programmed six different color looks on a Martin 2518 controller.

The Palms is a $265 million resort just off the Strip with an eclectic mix of top end entertainment venues under one roof. From high above the Vegas Strip, Ghost Bar is an open-air realm with unparalleled views. This upscale lounge boasts 12 ft. glass walls and even a glass floor on the open-air “ghostdeck.”

From the deck yet another vision takes your breath away, one from a see-thru acrylic floor looking directly at the Skin Pool Lounge 55 floors below. The deck, simple, yet eclectic, has been equipped with MX-10 scanners as part of Ghost Bar’s lighting upgrade. Although outside, the MX-10s are not enclosed yet hang from pipes on a ceiling with a small Plexiglas shield to guard from direct rainfall. Adam reports that, although they are exposed to the elements, they have had no problems with the fixtures which are “holding up wonderfully.”

The MX-10s serve two purposes according to Adam. “They liven the space up a bit, create a dancefloor area and add a design element to the area. Another reason I picked the MX-10 has to do with the way I oriented them. When the fixtures are in their movement chases they swing out far enough to project over the glass and people on the Strip and adjacent hotels can see the colored lights. Actually, the day after I hung them I got three phone calls from people wondering what they were. You can’t help but notice them.”

True to its name, the main Ghost Bar area is lit in an atmospheric glow from MiniMAC projection (pre-existing fixtures). The highly stylized design and ethereal color scheme make the bar feel as if it's floating over Vegas, a world apart from the chaos below. Installation was by Kelly Communications with lighting supply by Kelly Communications through Martin’s Las Vegas office.

Three venues at the Palms - Ghost Bar, Rain in the Desert, and Skin Pool Lounge, all operated by The Nine Group - boast Martin intelligent lighting systems that have helped make them some of the most popular destinations in Vegas. In addition, the façade of the Palms is illuminated by 98 Martin Exterior 600 automated color changers.