Bugs removal: As most crime fans know,...

Bugs removal: As most crime fans know, a cost overrun on his Flamingo Hotel led to the shooting death of Ben (Don’t Call Me Bugsy) Siegel in Beverly Hills 46 years ago. The Mob has always been less tolerant of cost overruns than government agencies.

Now, the last part of his old Vegas casino--the wing where Siegel lived--is about to succumb. The building will be torn down next month without ceremony, says Terry Lindberg, a spokesman for the Flamingo Hilton, the casino’s successor.

“There’s really nothing original inside left,” explained Lindberg, though he acknowledged that there is a ladder leading from Siegel’s suite to some tunnels underneath.

The recent movie “Bugsy” used a replica built in Palm Desert for its Flamingo scenes. “The producer told us that when they had finished building it, they turned on the lights and some couple drove up afterward,” Lindberg said. “They (the couple) thought they were in the Twilight Zone. It turned out that they had spent their honeymoon at the Flamingo in 1947.”

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Reliving L.A.’s future: The movie, “Demolition Man,” as we mentioned the other day, prophesies the L.A. of 2032 as a place where touching is forbidden, sex is electronic and every restaurant is a Taco Bell. Some other scary milestones in L.A.’s cinematic history:

* 1953--Martians level City Hall. (“War of the Worlds”)

* 1974--The Big One destroys the Capitol Records Tower and most of the rest of L.A. (“Earthquake”)

* 1989--A nuclear disaster threatens the Wilshire area, including Johnny’s Restaurant. (“Miracle Mile”)

* 2000--Hairless humanoids from outer space crash and take up residence in Hollywood. No one notices. (“Alien Nation”)

* 2019--Killer androids cavort in an L.A. further tormented by a never-ending acid rain and haze as well as electronic message boards hovering in the sky. (“Bladerunner”)

Then there was “Just Imagine” (1930), which predicted that in 1980 Angelenos would have videophones, test-tube babies and numbers instead of names--as well as a cop directing traffic on Wilshire Boulevard while tethered in a balloon. That last prediction really took nerve.

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City Hall rises again: They may have been flattened by the movies, but City Hall and the Capitol Records tower are big in the world of Erector set toys--24 feet tall. The two buildings, along with the Aztec pyramid at Lincoln Park’s Plaza de la Raza, are part of a new “Cityscape” sculpture. School children, who chose the landmarks for the artwork, will join Mayor Richard Riordan for an unveiling at the L.A. Children’s Museum at 11:30 a.m. Thursday.

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Spill of the Century: The debate rages over whether the accident that partially closed an off-ramp Monday qualifies as the history-making first SigAlert on the Century Freeway. One traffic reporter labeled it as such, but the CHP declined to confer such an honor.

Whatever, the mishap left its mark, KFWB’s Lin Durling notes. “One vehicle leaked transmission oil there, and spoiled a brand-new freeway,” he said sadly.

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Contest of the day: We’re accepting suggestions for a new name for the vacant Chevy Chase Theater.

miscelLAny:

A McDonald’s restaurant near Los Angeles International Airport advertises that it is “Open 22 Hours a Day.”