Glass Pool Inn
| Glass Pool Inn | |
|---|---|
| Former names | Mirage Motel (1952–1988) |
| General information | |
| Status | Demolished |
| Type | Motel |
| Location | Paradise, Nevada |
| Address | 4613 South Las Vegas Boulevard |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 36°05′13″N 115°10′22″W / 36.08681°N 115.17271°WCoordinates: 36°05′13″N 115°10′22″W / 36.08681°N 115.17271°W |
| Opened | 1952 |
| Closed | September 2003 |
| Demolished | 2004 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 2 |
| Grounds | 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 48 |
Glass Pool Inn was a motel located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It initially opened as the Mirage Motel in 1952. An above-ground swimming pool was added in 1955, and included large porthole windows that allowed outsiders to peer inside. The motel became well known for its pool, which was used in numerous films and television shows, as well as music videos and photo shoots.
In 1988, the Mirage Motel was renamed as the Glass Pool Inn to avoid confusion with Steve Wynn's new Mirage resort, also located on the Las Vegas Strip. The Glass Pool Inn was closed in September 2003, and demolished a year later for a project that ultimately did not materialize.
The 22-room Mirage Motel was opened in 1952, on the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip, known at the time as Highway 91. In 1953, Robert and Betty Rosoff purchased the motel. To compete against hotels further north on the Las Vegas Strip, the Rosoffs believed that the motel needed something to attract tourists arriving from southern California. In 1955, the Rosoff couple and one of their siblings installed an above-ground swimming pool with seven porthole windows, each one measuring four feet wide and providing people the ability to see into the pool.
The kidney-shaped pool was nine feet above ground, measured 26 feet by 55 feet, and was designed by the sibling who helped install it. The pool contained either 54,000 or 56,000 gallons of water. Future motel owner Allen Rosoff, the son of Robert and Betty Rosoff, said that at the time, the concept of an above-ground pool with windows posed design challenges: "You had the electrolysis, you had steel windows. Brass fittings in there. Aluminum in a couple of other areas, besides your regular plaster and gunite." By 1961, Allen Rosoff was a co-owner of the motel with his parents. That year, a California resident filed a $45,000 lawsuit against the motel after his arms were paralyzed in a diving board incident a year earlier, in which he hit a swimmer while landing in the pool. The diving board and a slide were removed from the pool some time later.
Allen Rosoff and his wife Susie took over operations in 1971. In 1987, Allen Rosoff filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the newly opened La Mirage hotel and casino, alleging that the resort was costing him customers who were confusing the two properties. Rosoff won a permanent injunction against La Mirage. However, La Mirage was granted a stay of proceedings until it could appeal the case to the Nevada Supreme Court. In 1988, as La Mirage was appealing the case, businessman Steve Wynn purchased the Mirage name from both businesses to avoid confusion with his upcoming Mirage resort, which opened on the Las Vegas Strip a year later. Both businesses received $250,000 to stop using the name as of July 1, 1988. At the time, the motel also had a lounge.
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