Los Angeles Blog

Rome's Colosseum. Sydney's Opera House. San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. And now Beverly Hills' Flynt Publications Building. What these august monuments to the human spirit have in common is that, along with the Las Vegas Strip, they will all turn off their lights tomorrow during Earth Hour. Those dark 60 minutes will, of course emphasize conservation of electricity and the fight against global warming. They may also be a harbinger of things to come unless alternate sources of energy are developed quickly enough.

My, That's a Big One: Flynt Building

Still, we have to wonder, since the William Pereita-designed Flynt Building, built in 1972, is a huge oval of smoked glass, how will we know the lights are truly off? What hour is Earth Hour, anyway? Plus, a press release for event doesn't just say the lights will be turned out, but that Hustler founder Larry Flynt will personally be "shutting off the power" to his building -- does that mean all the power? And what about the Golden Gate Bridge -- won't that be a little dangerous for suicides searching for a suitable spot from which to leap? The real question is what Vegas will look like with the lights out -- a scene from an Ocean's Eleven sequel, perhaps? We'll just have to wait to see -- or not see.