← Misc · 2021–2026

Guitars, Eggs and an Upside-Down Pyramid

Buildings shaped like something else, buildings pretending to be somewhere else, and a few that are hard to describe at all.

30 buildings · 13 states and 3 other countries · October 2021 – September 2026
6 shaped like something else · 6 towers · 3 copies of somewhere else · 4 upside down or inside out · 4 built from what was at hand · 7 shells, sails and shards
Guitars: three, one of them still half-built · balls: one · eggs: five, in a row

This post started with two guitars. In August 2024, driving south through Florida after dark, we passed a hotel shaped like an electric guitar. In March 2026, at the end of another road trip, we saw a second one going up on the Las Vegas Strip. Going back through the other posts on this page, I found plenty of buildings that belong next to them: a ball, a pyramid on its point, a library on stilts, houses made of tires, and a cathedral made of junk.

They are grouped loosely by what makes them strange. All but one appear in another post, linked at the end of the entry, where the visit is told in full. Years and architects are the published ones.

Shaped like something else

The Guitar Hotel, Hollywood, Florida · August 2024

The Seminole Hard Rock's hotel tower, opened in 2019, is a giant electric guitar standing on its end. Around eight in the evening on August 12th, 2024, after a day at SeaWorld, it appeared beside the highway near Hollywood, its glass lit in stripes against a pink sky. From the 2024 road trip.

A hotel tower shaped like a giant electric guitar, its glass lit in colored stripes, rising above trees and streetlights against a pink and blue dusk sky. — From the highway, August 12, 2024, about 8 pm. My wife's photo.

Hard Rock Las Vegas, under construction · March 2026

The second guitar is going up on the Strip, where the Mirage used to be, and is due to open in late 2027. On March 22nd, 2026, at 3:28 pm, from Bellagio Drive, the body of the guitar was finished in blue glass, behind the sign of Caesars Palace, and the neck was still bare steel with two cranes on top. It was my last photo of the 2026 spring break trip.

A half-built hotel tower: a rounded blue-glass guitar body below a bare steel frame with two cranes on top, rising behind the Caesars Palace sign under a blue sky. — The body done, the neck in steel, March 22, 2026, 3:28 pm.

The Power Plant, Baltimore · July 2026

A third, smaller guitar stands on a building that is not shaped like anything. The Power Plant on Baltimore's Inner Harbor is an old red-brick power station with the word "POWER PLANT" in stone near the top, and the Hard Rock Cafe's guitar stands on its tower. From up close, on July 5th, 2026, it turned out to be enormous. From the July 4th post.

The red-brick Power Plant building with a giant guitar on its tower, across a paved plaza. — The Power Plant, guitar and all, July 5, 2026.

The Sphere, Las Vegas · September 2023

A ball 366 feet tall and 516 feet wide, a block east of the Strip behind the Venetian, covered outside in LED pucks. It opened at the end of September 2023. We saw it on Labor Day weekend, four weeks before opening night: at 11:29 am on September 3rd it was wearing deep blue stripes that curved around it like the seams of a beach ball, and by the afternoon it had turned into a planet. It is far too big to be a ball and far too round to be a building. From Rainbows, Adele and Zzyzx; the later visits are in Las Vegas, Again.

The Sphere, a huge round building covered in curving blue LED stripes, behind trees and a construction-coned road under a cloudy sky. — The Sphere at 11:29 am, September 3, 2023.

The Luxor, Las Vegas · August 2025

A black glass pyramid with a giant sphinx in front, opened in 1993. I walked past it with Wangcai a little after eight in the morning on August 30th, 2025, on a walk up the south end of the Strip before the heat. From Las Vegas, Again.

The Luxor pyramid and its giant sphinx behind an avenue of small sphinx statues and a railing, under a deep blue sky. — The Luxor and its sphinx, August 30, 2025.

Phoenix Island, Sanya · February 2023

Phoenix Island is an artificial island in Sanya Bay, on the southern tip of Hainan, and one end of it holds a row of five towers shaped like enormous eggs, ribbed with curving balconies and topped with open steel crowns. We had afternoon tea within sight of them on February 8th, 2023. The next morning, from the top of Luhuitou hill across the bay, all five were in a row. From China, 2023.

Towers

Reunion Tower, Dallas · July 2023

A 561-foot concrete shaft with a geodesic ball on top, opened in 1978. The ball is covered in a lattice of LED lights. We pulled into Dallas just after nine on the night of July 2nd, 2023, and it was the first thing we saw: the ball glowing solid red, then a few minutes later white and blue. We came back to its foot by day the next noon. From Texas, 2023.

Reunion Tower with its ball lit red against a dark blue night sky. — Reunion Tower in red, July 2, 2023.

The STRAT, Las Vegas · March 2022

An 1,149-foot concrete tower at the north end of the Strip, opened in 1996 as the Stratosphere, with a pod of observation decks, restaurants and thrill rides on top. We were back at its foot on the morning of March 16th, 2022, the last day of a desert road trip. From the base it is a plain white shaft going straight up into a deep blue sky, the pod at the top tiny and dark. From Death Valley, Vegas & Page.

The white concrete Strat tower seen from directly below against a deep blue sky. — The STRAT from below, March 16, 2022, 11:01 am.

Lujiazui, Shanghai · February 2023

Across the Huangpu River from the Bund stand the pink-and-silver spheres of the Oriental Pearl Tower, from 1994, and the twisting, 632-metre Shanghai Tower, finished in 2015, with the pagoda-like Jin Mao Tower and the "bottle opener" of the Shanghai World Financial Center between them. We saw them from the Bund promenade on the grey morning of February 3rd, 2023. From China, 2023.

The Lujiazui skyline across the Huangpu River from the Bund promenade: the Oriental Pearl Tower, the Shanghai Tower and their neighbors under a grey sky. — Lujiazui from the Bund, February 3, 2023.

Ping An Finance Centre, Shenzhen · February 2023

599 metres of stone-ribbed steel and glass with a stepped, faceted crown, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and finished in 2017. We walked through the Futian district below it on February 11th, 2023, and went up to the observation deck on the 116th floor. From China, 2023 and Views from Up High.

The Ping An Finance Centre rising above the glass towers of the Futian CBD, seen from a tree-lined street. — The Ping An Finance Centre over Futian, February 11, 2023.

One World Trade Center, New York · January 2023

1,776 feet to the tip of the spire, opened in 2014. Its square footprint is beveled at the corners as it rises, so the cross-section turns into an octagon halfway up and back into a square, rotated 45 degrees, at the top. That is why its edges seem to twist when you look straight up from the base, as we did on New Year's Day, 2023. From the New Year 2023 post.

One World Trade Center seen from its base, a tapering glass tower against a deep blue sky. — Looking straight up, January 1, 2023.

The Hancock, Chicago · August 2024

The tapering black tower on the Magnificent Mile, finished in 1969, with its X-bracing on the outside. We walked past it on our first evening in Chicago, August 8th, 2024, and ended that evening at the observation deck at the top. From the 2024 road trip.

The tapering black Hancock tower with its X-bracing, seen from street level. — The Hancock from the street, August 8, 2024.

Pretending to be somewhere else

New York-New York, Las Vegas · August 2025

Opened in 1997: a collage of Manhattan towers at roughly a third of their real size, with a Statue of Liberty in front and a red roller coaster looping through. On the same morning walk, at 8:24, it came into view behind the castle turrets of the Excalibur. In a quarter of an hour on foot, Wangcai and I had gone from ancient Egypt to medieval England to Manhattan. From Las Vegas, Again.

New York-New York's miniature Manhattan skyline with a Statue of Liberty replica and the red track of a roller coaster, under a clear sky. — Manhattan, Nevada, August 30, 2025, 8:24 am.

The Venetian, Las Vegas · June 2022

Opened in 1999, with a front that is a pocket-sized Venice: the Doge's Palace, the Campanile and the Rialto Bridge at reduced scale, lined up along a turquoise canal. We reached the canal at 10:15 pm on June 13th, 2022, with the gondolas tied up for the night and the water lit from below. From Las Vegas, Again.

The Venetian's floodlit Doge's Palace façade at night, reflected in a turquoise canal with moored gondolas, the hotel tower behind. — The Doge's Palace, Nevada edition, June 13, 2022, 10:15 pm.

Byodo-In Temple, Oʻahu · September 2026

Built in 1968 as a smaller replica of the Byōdō-in in Uji, near Kyoto, and set at the foot of the Koʻolau cliffs. It was a photo stop on a tour on the morning of September 13th, 2026, so what we came away with is the view from the edge of the pond: the red hall with its upswept roofs, and the green fluted cliffs filling the sky behind it. From the 2026 Hawaiʻi post.

The red Byodo-In Temple beside a pond with a fountain, beneath tall pines and steep green fluted cliffs. — Byodo-In under the Koʻolau cliffs, September 13, 2026.

Upside down and inside out

Tempe Municipal Building · March 2025

Tempe's city hall, opened in 1971, is a pyramid of dark glass and steel set upside down on its point, so each floor is wider than the one below it. We were there with Wangcai at 1:54 pm on March 21st, 2025, and she sniffed the gravel bed in front of the sign. From An Inverted Pyramid, a Waymo and a City of Vaults.

An upside-down pyramid of dark glass and steel over a sunken plaza and a stone sign reading TEMPE MUNICIPAL BUILDING, under a clear blue sky. — Tempe's city hall, March 21, 2025, 1:54 pm.

Geisel Library, UC San Diego · February 2023

Designed by William Pereira and opened in 1970: a stack of concrete and glass floors that get wider as they go up, resting on great angled legs. It is named after Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. We walked the campus on the afternoon of February 26th, 2023, just the two of us. From the San Diego post and Brick, Stone and Concrete.

Geisel Library, a concrete and glass building whose floors widen as they rise, held up by angled concrete legs, under a blue sky with clouds. — Geisel Library, February 26, 2023, 3:47 pm.

Boston City Hall · August 2024

The same idea in Boston: a concrete building from 1968 whose upper floors step out over the lower ones. We passed it on the Freedom Trail on August 3rd, 2024. Bostonians have been arguing about it for over fifty years. From the 2024 road trip.

Boston City Hall, a massive stepped concrete building, under a blue sky with white clouds. — Boston City Hall, August 3, 2024.

Within without, Canberra · December 2023

James Turrell's piece at the National Gallery of Australia, opened in 2010. From the outside it is a grassy mound in a pond. Inside is a square, open-roofed chamber with sloping red walls, and in the middle, in a pool of turquoise water, a domed stupa of dark basalt, which we could only look at from outside. We saw it on December 16th, 2023. From the SIGGRAPH Asia post.

A domed stone stupa rising from a turquoise pool inside a red-walled chamber open to a blue sky. — The stupa in its pool, December 16, 2023.

Built from what was at hand

The Earthships, near Taos · March 2026

An Earthship is a house designed to need nothing from outside: it heats and cools itself, catches its own water and makes its own electricity. The architect Michael Reynolds started building them around Taos in the 1970s, out of what other people throw away. We reached the Greater World Earthship Community at sunset on March 20th, 2026. One building near the visitors center was a fat concrete cylinder with a slimmer tower wrapped in a spiral of golden bottle ends. From the 2026 spring break trip.

A round concrete Earthship building with a tower spiraled with golden bottle ends, solar panels and wooden scaffolding, in evening light. — Bottle ends and solar panels, March 20, 2026.

The Cathedral of Junk, Austin · July 2023

A backyard in South Austin where Vince Hannemann has been building since 1988: a multi-story structure of bicycle frames, hubcaps, old televisions, toys and bottles, with rooms, stairs and towers you can climb through. We went after lunch on July 1st, 2023. From Texas, 2023.

A tall spire of welded scrap metal rising above green foliage against a blue sky with white clouds. — A spire of scrap, July 1, 2023.

Arcosanti, Arizona · March 2025

The experimental town Paolo Soleri started in 1970 on the edge of a canyon north of Phoenix: concrete buildings with big round windows, a dome of glass panels, and two great concrete vaults, one behind the other, painted underneath in bands of ochre and red. We stopped there on the way home on the morning of March 23rd, 2025. From An Inverted Pyramid, a Waymo and a City of Vaults.

Two great concrete arches, one inside the other, painted underneath in ochre and red bands, over a paved terrace, under a bright blue sky. — The vaults, March 23, 2025.

POST Houston · July 2023

Houston's main post office, built in 1962, reopened in 2021, redesigned by OMA, as a food hall and concert venue with a rooftop park and farm. We went up on the night of July 3rd, 2023. From the roof, the long building glowed red behind a screen of vertical fins, with the downtown towers lit up beyond. From Texas, 2023.

The long POST Houston building glowing red behind vertical fins at night, with the downtown Houston skyline beyond. — POST Houston at night, July 3, 2023.

Shells, sails and shards

Sydney Opera House · December 2023

Jørn Utzon's cluster of white shells on its own point in the harbour, opened in 1973. Every shell is cut from the surface of the same sphere. We passed it at close range on the ferry from Kirribilli to Circular Quay on December 11th, 2023, close enough to see the pattern of the tiles. From the SIGGRAPH Asia post.

The Opera House at close range from the water, its white tiled shells gleaming in bright sun. — From the ferry, December 11, 2023.

Canada Place, Vancouver · September 2023

A long pier with a roof of white fabric sails, built for Expo 86. We walked past it on the evening of September 29th, 2023, and the next day, from the Vancouver Lookout, it was straight below us, with the harbour and the North Shore mountains beyond. From the Vancouver post.

Canada Place from high above: the white sail roofs on a long pier, the blue harbour with ships, and forested mountains behind. — The sails from the Lookout, September 30, 2023, 1:13 pm. My wife's photo.

The Hollywood Bowl · October 2021

The amphitheater opened in 1922 in a hollow in the Hollywood Hills, under the white concentric arches of its shell. I was there with friends for the We Can Survive concert on October 23rd, 2021, and by 6:34 pm, when it was nearly dark, the shell was lit red around a big round screen. From Phone Lights and Confetti.

The Hollywood Bowl's white arched shell lit red at dusk, with a large round screen and lighting rigs inside it, and the audience in the dark below. — The shell at dusk, October 23, 2021, 6:34 pm.

Wayfarers Chapel, Rancho Palos Verdes · January 2024

Lloyd Wright's glass chapel: walls and roof of glass in a frame of wood and stone, so from the pews you look straight out into the trees. We were there on the afternoon of January 14th, 2024. The next month it closed because the ground under it was moving, and later in 2024 it was taken apart. From the Los Angeles coast post.

The outside of a glass chapel with a pointed wooden frame among tall trees, with ferns and a stone wall in front. — Wayfarers Chapel, January 14, 2024, 4:04 pm.

Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles · June 2022

Frank Gehry's concert hall on Grand Avenue, opened in 2003: curved sheets of stainless steel that lean and peel away from each other. I took this from the corner across the street at 3:55 pm on June 11th, 2022. It is not in any other post on this page.

The Walt Disney Concert Hall: curving stainless-steel walls rising behind a traffic signal on Grand Avenue, with glass towers to the left, under a clear blue sky. — Walt Disney Concert Hall, June 11, 2022, 3:55 pm.

Peter B. Lewis Building, Cleveland · August 2024

Frank Gehry's business-school building at Case Western Reserve, opened in 2002. Its brick walls bulge and lean, and sheets of stainless steel pour off the roof like the folds of a giant napkin. We walked around it on the morning of August 7th, 2024. From the 2024 road trip.

Close-up of Frank Gehry's Peter B. Lewis Building: curving brick walls under a swooping steel overhang. — Brick and steel, August 7, 2024.

Denver Art Museum · July 2024

The Hamilton Building, by Daniel Libeskind, opened in 2006: titanium walls that lean, a roof that points, and one wedge projecting out over the street. I ended an evening walk there on July 29th, 2024, during SIGGRAPH, a few days before the road trip began. From the 2024 road trip.

The angular titanium-clad Hamilton Building of the Denver Art Museum at dusk. — The Hamilton Building at dusk, July 29, 2024.

Of the thirty, only the Las Vegas guitar is not finished yet. The photo from Bellagio Drive is the only one I have of it half-built.

Built from the photos' timestamps; times are local. Photo locations have been removed from the published images. Years and architects are the published ones. All photos but two also appear in the posts linked above; the Las Vegas guitar is a closer crop of a photo in the spring break post, and Disney Hall is new here.

Some photos in this post are my wife's.

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