caption death_date birth_date article_title name occupation
martin stern , jr. 28 july 2001 9 april 1917 martin stern , jr. .
 martin stern , jr. . architect
martin stern , jr. .

martin stern , jr. -lrb- april 9 , 1917 - july 28 , 2001 -rrb- was an american architect who was most widely known for his large scale designs and structures in las vegas , nevada .
he is credited with originating the concept of the structurally integrated casino resort complex in las vegas .
the international hotel , which later became the las vegas hilton , and the first mgm grand hotel and casino , two pivotal martin stern , jr. projects with entrepreneur kirk kerkorian in 1969 and 1973 , set the pace for the transformation of las vegas from a low-rise sprawl of motels , clubs and parking lots into an extravagant high-rise metropolis .
`` the daily telegraph '' -lrb- london -rrb- wrote of the first stern and kerkorian project in its september 2001 eulogy to stern : `` the international , whose tri-form 30-floor tower contained 1,519 rooms and became the most imitated building on the las vegas strip , provided the model for the bellagio , treasure island , mirage and mandalay bay , among other hotels . ''
when it was completed , the international was the largest hotel in the world .
it is now the lvh -- las vegas hotel and casino .
the first mgm grand , larger than the empire state building and in its turn the largest hotel in the world , burned in 1980 in what is considered the worst disaster in nevada state history .
as the `` telegraph '' observed , this loss only seven years after the hotel was completed was devastating to stern .
the mgm grand was nonetheless rebuilt within eight months and reopened .
it was sold in 1985 and is now bally 's las vegas .
construction magnate del webb was another major client with whom stern worked on many projects , including twenty years of elaborate stages of expansion of the sahara hotel and casino between 1963 and 1983 .
