Mirage Atrium Demolition Serves as Reminder of Fleeting Nature of Magic
The Mirage’s iconic atrium is being demolished and for many it symbolizes life’s impermanence, providing an opportunity to appreciate the things we love before they fade into oblivion like smoke rings in a wind tunnel.
Yes, this story is going to include a lot of padding. If you don’t like it, get your own Las Vegas blog. Which you’re never going to do, because then you’d have to interview showgirls and gamble 340 days a year and deal with people in casino public relations, nobody wants a life like that.
The Mirage atrium was a fixture on the Las Vegas Strip since the game-changing resort opened in 1989. Mirage closed on July 17, 2024 and will be reborn as Hard Rock Las Vegas in 2027 if all goes according to plan.
Big thanks to our eagle-eyed friend @JamesinLasVegas for snagging pics of the atrium demolition.
On the bright side, if there is a bright side, the demolition of the atrium dome is being done with care.
Could the methodic dismantling of the atrium mean it could return in some form at Hard Rock Las Vegas?
No, what a stupid question and we are embarrassed to have asked it.
The atrium was old and sticky, Hard Rock Las Vegas will be new and shiny! And it will have an awesome guitar-shaped hotel tower that will give whoever is running Vital Vegas by then something to talk about for years to come.
Some people thought the Mirage atrium might stick around, possibly because it could be seen in early renderings of Hard Rock Las Vegas.
Renderings aren’t reality. See also the A’s ballpark, LXVP, high-speed rail, the Las Vegas Spaceport, King David Hotel, All-Net, the list is endless.
Why wouldn’t the Seminoles keep their perfectly good atrium, beloved by many longtime visitors? Because Hard Rock Las Vegas isn’t Mirage 2.0. The volcano is out, “Love” is out, the big cats and dolphins are in sanctuaries, out.
Yes, Hard Rock is keeping its existing hotel towers. It’s a cost-savings thing. All the rooms will be completely remodeled, ditto the Mirage’s villas, where untold shenanigan happened back in the day (Villa 7 was especially popular) with Steve Wynn’s “Plutocrat Pack,” a term we just made up and expect to trademark if we ever stop Tweeting 24/7. You know the names: Wynn, Sibella, Baldwin, McBeath. So many stories.
Anyhoo, farewell, Mirage atrium.
Sandcastles are washed away by waves, candle flames are snuffed and even the brightest stars become white dwarfs. Or possibly white little people, which is nearly as problematic, so just nevermind.
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