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The Landmark Hotel, a once-elegant attraction opened by Howard Hughes but left shabby and vacant 25 years later, was reduced to rubble Tuesday in an implosion that jolted thousands of sleeping tourists.
The hotel, a tower with a saucer on top like that of the Space Needle in Seattle, was loaded with 100 pounds of strategically placed dynamite at its base.
The 356-foot, octagon-shaped tower seemed to pause for a moment after the explosives were detonated, then split down the middle and sank into a pile of debris.
About 7,000 people turned out for the blast, with thousands more watching from nearby hotels.
Construction of the Landmark was started in 1961 by developer Frank Caracciolo and completed in 1968 by Hughes, the reclusive billionaire. It went through bankruptcy twice, finally closing in 1990.
The Landmark was the tallest building in town when it opened. But it was nudged aside by more spectacular hotels and fell prey to various design and financial problems. It had been closed for five years.
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