The Landmark Hotel and Casino was an off-strip innovation located across from the city’s convention center. A Kansas City developer named Frank Carroll bought land previously occupied by a gas station, and in 1962, construction began. Carroll’s creditors, however, soon refused to loan any more money. When funding stopped, work halted, and the tower sat for several years, eighty percent complete. Locals called the empty shell, “The Leaning Tower of Las Vegas.”

Ultimately, billionaire Howard Hughes purchased the Landmark, agreeing to pay off Carroll’s creditors and contractors. Hughes’ financial backing made it the most luxurious hotel in Vegas. After nearly eight years of on again, off again construction and delays, the hotel opened its doors on July 1, 1969 with five hundred guests and Danny Thomas as the headliner. The hype was short-lived, however, as dwindling profits and continued Vegas expansion set in motion the demise of the property.

The iconic site landed cameo roles in movies like James Bond’s Diamonds Are Forever and Casino by Martin Scorsese. Nonetheless, the Landmark could not sustain the high level of success promised by owners in the competitive Vegas market.

Even with a name change, “The NEW Landmark” was old, unpopular, and in bad shape. In August 1990, the Landmark officially closed its doors. The structure sat vacant for years until it was finally demolished for more convention center parking. The film Mars Attacks captured the actual implosion sequence, and to this day, the resulting parking lot is all that remains.

Researched and written by Norman “Moni” Boling, Graduate History Student, University of West Florida, 2013.