The ever-disposible history of Vegas.
The Desert Inn's St. Andrews tower is to be imploded this weekend, to make way for Le Rêve's second tower, with ground-breaking in August.
A part of that illicits within me a sense of melancholy. Something that took years to build, and with so much history, gone. Desert Inn opened in 1950, one of the oldest Strip casinos still standing. Howard Hughes lived in the top level, and when they tried to evict him, he bought the entire property until his disappearance in the 1970's. (As you can likely tell, we have been researching this.)
Desert Inn's Augusta tower was imploded in late October 2001. I remember the outrage by some tourists, because of a building's implosion so recent after the September eleventh attacks of that year. The ground-breaking ceremony for Le Rêve was held nearly a year later: Hallowe'en night, 2002, and Le Rêve will open April 2005.
I think of the other pieces of history Las Vegas has lost: the El Rancho, in October 2000, in order to build Turnberry Place; the old Aladdin, in 1998 to make way for the "new" Aladdin (though they spared the concert hall); the Sands, in 1996, where The Venetian now stands; the Hacienda, in 1996, on the site of Mandalay Bay; the Landmark, in 1995, replaced by a parking lot (a parking lot!); and the Dunes, in 1993, creating space now occupied by Bellagio.
One can walk the Strip and see new marvels, something bigger and better all the time. Tourists will not return to someplace as "glamorous" as Las Vegas is it all remains the same. And yet, this city has only a disposable history. Although I know that all these implosions will keep us employed for years to come, I wonder what feelings I will have when Le Rêve is finally demolished.
A part of that illicits within me a sense of melancholy. Something that took years to build, and with so much history, gone. Desert Inn opened in 1950, one of the oldest Strip casinos still standing. Howard Hughes lived in the top level, and when they tried to evict him, he bought the entire property until his disappearance in the 1970's. (As you can likely tell, we have been researching this.)
Desert Inn's Augusta tower was imploded in late October 2001. I remember the outrage by some tourists, because of a building's implosion so recent after the September eleventh attacks of that year. The ground-breaking ceremony for Le Rêve was held nearly a year later: Hallowe'en night, 2002, and Le Rêve will open April 2005.
I think of the other pieces of history Las Vegas has lost: the El Rancho, in October 2000, in order to build Turnberry Place; the old Aladdin, in 1998 to make way for the "new" Aladdin (though they spared the concert hall); the Sands, in 1996, where The Venetian now stands; the Hacienda, in 1996, on the site of Mandalay Bay; the Landmark, in 1995, replaced by a parking lot (a parking lot!); and the Dunes, in 1993, creating space now occupied by Bellagio.
One can walk the Strip and see new marvels, something bigger and better all the time. Tourists will not return to someplace as "glamorous" as Las Vegas is it all remains the same. And yet, this city has only a disposable history. Although I know that all these implosions will keep us employed for years to come, I wonder what feelings I will have when Le Rêve is finally demolished.
posted by Logan Nambiet at
8:47 PM
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