Landmark Specifications
Time of Construction: 1961-1968 (7 years - The tower sat 80% completed from 1963-1967 due to lack of funds)
Opened: Tuesday, July 01, 1969
Closed: Wednesday, August 08, 1990 (operated for 21 years)
Demolished: November 07, 1995
Cost of Construction: $20 million
Architects (tower): Gerald Moffitt and Ed Hendricks
Architects (casino): George Tate and Thomas Dobrusky
Address: 364 Convention Center Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Phone #s: 1967-1979: (702) 734-9110
1979-1990: (702) 733-1110
Owners: Frank Caroll ('61-'66)
Frank Caroll/Plaza Tower, Inc. ('66-'68)
Howard Hughes/Summa Corp. ('68-'78)
Ted and Zula Wolfram ('78-'83)
William Morris ('83-'90)
Lloyds Bank PLC ('90-'93)
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority ('93-'95)
General Managers: Robert Maheu ('69-'71)
Frank Modica ('71-'72)
Perry Lieber ('72-'74,'77)
James Wadsworth ('74-'77)
Gary Baldwin ('78-'81)
Jeff Silver ('81-'83)
Chet Wander('83-mid 80's)
William J. Hornbuckle (mid 80's-1986)
Kerry Kindig (1986-late 80's)
Forest Woodward (late 80's-'90)
Rooms: 498 (at time of closing) - 350 in Garden Wing / 148 in tower
Floors in Tower: 31 (there were no 13th or 28th floors)
Dimensions: Height: 338 ft (from ground to tip of "L" sign spire)
298 ft (from ground to roof of upper elevator room)
364 ft (from foundation to tip of "L" sign spire)
Width: 70 ft (column)
141 ft (upper dome, excluding outriggers)
138 ft (upper dome floor space within windows)
Owners
Frank Caroll / Plaza Tower Inc. 1961-1968
Howard Hughes / Summa Corp. 1968-1978
Ted & Zula Wolfram 1978-1983
William Morris 1983-1990
Logos
Did You Know?
Frank Caroll's original logo from 1967. It was never used during operation but can be found on many items.
Standard Hughes-era logo used on most paperwork from 1969~1978
Used on hotel items such as ashtrays, matchbooks, and playing cards from around 1977-1980
Wolfram-era logo used from 1980-1983
Morris-era logo used from 1984-1990
Used in print media such as brochures from 1969-1974
Used in print media such as brochures from the late 70's until 1984
Used only on the main monument sign in front of the building
Used for exterior signage above the building entrances
- In total, The Landmark sat empty and unused for 1/3 of her life. First from 1962-1969 then again from 1990-1995.
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- The contrasting geodesic shapes of the tower and nearby crooked telephone poles made it appear to lean to one side causing the Landmark to earn the nicknames "Leaning Tower of Las Vegas" and "Frank's Folly" (for owner Frank Caroll) but the tower was actually built straight.
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-Although it is commonly believed that the Landmark's design was inspired by the Seattle Space Needle, they were actually designed and built at roughly the same time. Landmark's plans were approved in mid-1961 at the time construction was only just started on the Space Needle. It is not possible for one to have influenced the other as construction was started on the Landmark in September of 1961 - three months prior to completion of the Space Needle on December 8.
- From 1990-1995 only the lower twinkling lights on the Landmark's dome and the "L" at the top remained in operation at night. The entire building was lit for the last time in 1994 during the filming of "Casino" where the hotel was redressed as "The Tangiers"
- The door key for room 182 sold on e-Bay for $36.22 on December 19, 2006. Keys have sold for as much as $150.
- The Landmark was the second tallest structure in the world to be imploded at the time of it's demise.
- On July 2nd, 2005, the Red Hot Chili Peppers played a free concert on the parking lot which used to house the Landmark to celebrate Las Vegas' centennial.
- When the implosion was filmed for "Mars Attacks!", a fictional billboard was placed outside the tower promoting it as the "Galaxy Hotel" (as it was in the movie) on which it noted a "revolving restaurant" which led many to believe the Landmark's top floor revolved when in fact it did not.
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-When Controlled Demolition, Inc. began preparations for the tower's demolition, they were unable to find any blueprints for the building. Legend has it that Howard Hughes had all the plans destroyed after the project was completed. This, however, proved partly untrue. While complete architectural as-built plans have yet to be found, Lied Library at UNLV has acquired several structural and architectural plans from various remodels and proposed expansions.
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-In 2006, former Landmark security officer Velvin Cooper wrote a novel called Tower in the Sky -
A true love story centered in Las Vegas with behind the scenes facts of the hotels and casinos. How
Security functions are kept quiet for fear of adverse publicity. Facts the novice tourists and gambler
never considers. The novel has received high praise from those who read it and from Landmark
employees who have attested to the accuracy of Cooper's accounts of behind the scenes cover-ups.
It is available for purchase on Amazon.com.
