Thomas Hawk

I took this photograph 20 years ago, in November 2006. A Yellow Cab outside the Virgin Megastore in San Francisco, red neon on the wet street.

People bought CDs here.

Virgin closed in 2009. Forever 21, gone in 2019. A candy pop-up.

Then empty.

Nordstrom Rack is due next fall.

The hardest table in New York just opened in Las Vegas, and I was there on its second night.

The Corner Store opened in SoHo in fall 2024. Lines at 4 in the afternoon for one of thirteen bar seats. Monday night it opened on the third floor of the Cosmopolitan, same menu and same martinis, plus a steak program just for Vegas. I was there with my wife and my two daughters for her birthday.

The martinis are the thing. They come to the table on a tray with a chilled sidecar sitting in a bowl of ice, and the olives are the show. I had the sour cream and onion martini. My daughter had hers with caviar on the olives.

My favorite plate was the Wagyu French dip, 72-hour ribeye in a soft roll with horseradish.

Save room for the apple pie. Two golden fried hand pies, crisp on the outside, and the best way to end the meal.

The service is what I will remember most. It never felt like one waiter. It felt like a whole team of professionals who had quietly agreed we were their only table.

Sixteen years ago I was invited to photograph the Cosmopolitan before it opened. Being back in that building shooting a brand new restaurant on its second night, with my family at the table, felt like coming full circle.

Full set of photos here: flickr.com/photos/thomash…

Dinner is 5 to 10 Sunday through Thursday, 5 to late Friday and Saturday. Reservations through the Cosmopolitan or 702-675-9828.

This negative is 94 years old. It ended up in an archive I bought out of Maryland.

The envelope just says Camp 1932, Marine Reserve. No name.

Look at his face. He's about to smile at whoever is holding the camera.

Atomic Liquors on Fremont.

Vegas tavern license #00001. The Rat Pack and Barbra Streisand came here after their shows to get away from the crowds on the Strip. Later it showed up in Casino and The Hangover.

Just shot this. The new Hard Rock guitar going up on the Strip where the Mirage volcano used to fire.

42 stories. 660 feet of blue glass. They're still building the neck.

When it opens late 2027, six beams of light will shoot 20,000 feet into the sky off it, like guitar strings. Eyesore or the most Vegas building ever? I can't decide.

RIP Mirage. Steve Wynn built it in 1989 for $630 million, the world's most expensive hotel-casino at the time. Siegfried & Roy did 5,700 shows there before the tiger ended it in 2003, and Beatles LOVE played to 11.5 million before going dark in 2024.