Rare Las Vegas Fail, Harmon Hotel Tower, is Officially Half Disappeared

The Harmon Hotel Spa and Residences at CityCenter Las Vegas was supposed to be 49 floors of luxury rooms and condos in the center of the glorious Las Vegas Strip. It turned out to be a rare Las Vegas fail of epic proportions. Now, it’s being torn down, floor by earthquake-vulnerable floor.

Ah, what might have been. Behold, the “before” photo.

Harmon Tower
The Las Vegas hotel that never was. On the bright side, no resort fees.

The defective building’s proximity to other buildings meant it couldn’t be imploded, so it’s being dismantled, and the dismantling process has cut the ill-fated Harmon tower down to half its original height.

Harmon tower Las Vegas
Blame it on the crane.

It’s a story that will live in Las Vegas infamy.

The Harmon is the only hotel in the history of Las Vegas that was unceremoniously pulled down, piece-by-piece, before it hosted even one guest or “direct to your room” dance party. Not that we have those in Las Vegas, of course.

Harmon tower Las Vegas
This photo was taken during an early stage of the demolition, just after the building began taking prescription drugs to help with its self-esteem issues.

The unconventional demolition of the Harmon tower is expected to cost $11.5 million plus gratuity. (Hey, it’s a Las Vegas.)

Harmon tower demolition
The Harmon hotel debacle could’ve taken years to resolve in court, but all the parties came to a settlement and now vacation together, sharing backrubs, long walks on the beach and bottomless frozen cocktails. No, wait, that’s the lawyers involved in he case, sorry.

So, as the Harmon disappears before our eyes, the saga of this unfortunate chapter in Las Vegas history is coming to a close. But not before we memorialize the Harmon with this awesome photo we had to wait 20 minutes to take because the Aria digital sign didn’t realize we have better things to do.

Harmon Tower demolition
Reading recent trends in Las Vegas, we predict the Harmon space will be filled with a nightclub, sports arena, pedestrian promenade or burger restaurant with a cult following on the east coast.

Here’s to wrongs righted, to FUBARs rebarred, to buildings being unbuilt and multi-million dollar projects summed up in one simple word: “D’oh.”