Iconic downtown Las Vegas bar unveils its redesigned look — PHOTOS
Commonwealth, a longtime anchor of the Fremont East entertainment district in downtown Las Vegas, a bar and nightlife venue known for its gritty glamour, rooftop lounge and tucked-away speakeasy called The Laundry Room, recently unveiled a top-to-bottom redesign, according to an announcement by owner Corner Bar Management.
Corner Bar founder Ryan Doherty, famously possessed of a peripatetic design sensibility, has sourced, salvaged or hunted down each element for the redesign. The face of the main bar is now clad in dark wood panels inset with laser-cut brass screens bearing elaborate floral and foliate patterns. Every piece of furniture on the main floor has been replaced by reupholstered vintage finds, including banquettes swaddled in striking oxblood-red leather.
A new DJ booth helps anchor the energy of the room. Overhead, new Tiffany-style pendant lamps cast a warm jewel-toned glow. Bathrooms sport new wallpaper, lighting and doors.
Rooftop remake: Up on the roof, all the furniture has also been replaced, with tufted sofas and low-slung wooden tables arranged on patchwork Persian rugs. The face of the bar is now mantled in custom emerald-green tile from London, each piece molded with foliate medallions and lion masks. The back bar is now crowned by a 107-year-old stained-glass installation salvaged from a Philadelphia church.
The DJ booth has also been refurbished, and “Birds of a Feather,” a new Thursday rooftop residency, brings headliners, house and techno-driven sounds and pyrotechnic effects to the alfresco space overlooking Fremont Street.
Speakeasy style:
Back downstairs, The Laundry Room speakeasy has been transformed, from furniture and lighting fixtures to photographs and antiques lining the walls. Some of the highlights: a grand crystal chandelier, Tiffany-style pendant lamps, a Victorian floor lamp, 200 pieces of original art and antique framing densely populating the walls, Louis XVI-style chairs covered in floral tapestry, nailhead-trimmed leather bar stools and crimson velvet drapes pooling at one end of the space.
Davey Francis has joined The Laundry Room as head mixologist, with a new cocktail menu — “Fear and Laundry” — that chronicles a reporter’s descent through Vegas in three chapters, with associated cocktails for each chapter.
Commonwealth, 525 Fremont St., is open from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursdays and 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays; visit commonwealthlv.com. The Laundry Room is open from 6 to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 5 to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; visit laundryroomlv.com.