Eastside Cannery Implosion Draws Crowds Despite Owner Saying Event Was Closed
Crews imploded the eastside cannery hotel-casino along Boulder Highway in the early hours of Thursday, and spectators gathered across the street to watch the building come down at 2: 00 a. m. local time (5: 00 a. m. ET).
The implosion occurred on the corner of Boulder Highway and Harmon Avenue. Nevada Department of Transportation closed a portion of Boulder Highway starting Wednesday at 11 p. m. local time (2: 00 a. m. ET) between Harmon Avenue and Sun Valley Drive and kept the road closed until Thursday at 6 a. m. local time (9: 00 a. m. ET), with law enforcement on site to direct a detour.
Boyd Gaming placed the property on the market for residential use and said the demolition was not a public event; a company spokesman said there would be no public viewing areas. Still, a neighboring casino hosted a demolition party across the street, selling parking spots for $25 and hotel rooms for $250 to give guests a front-row seat. Visitors came from out of state alongside longtime Las Vegas locals for the spectacle.
Eastside Cannery demolition and road closures
The official demolition was set for Thursday at 2: 00 a. m. local time (5: 00 a. m. ET). Traffic control measures were limited to the stretch of Boulder Highway between Harmon Avenue and Sun Valley Drive, where the department posted a detour and placed law enforcement and temporary traffic-control equipment on site. The closure window ran from 11: 00 p. m. Wednesday to 6: 00 a. m. Thursday local time.
Neighbors, viewing party and memories
People who gathered across the street described a mixture of amazement and nostalgia. Mark Carson, a retired carpenter who said this was his first demolition, brought his guitar and a secured parking space across from the Cannery so he could “watch it” and “feel it. ” Gus Biner said he drove from San Diego because the Cannery was one of his favorite casinos. Sue Jaszekowski said the demolition felt personal and recalled the hotel’s rooftop nightclub and Friday happy-hour martini nights.
The Eastside Cannery opened in 2008 as a replacement for the older Nevada Palace and closed in March 2020 during the pandemic; it remained dark afterward while customers were directed to a nearby property in its place. Boyd Gaming confirmed it was in talks to sell the site for residential development, a plan that drew mixed reaction from those gathered—some welcomed “progress, ” while others said they were not excited about housing replacing the casino.
With the implosion complete and the temporary road closure scheduled to end at 6: 00 a. m. local time (9: 00 a. m. ET), recovery and traffic restoration were the immediate next steps on site. The company has said it is pursuing a residential sale for the property, and the transportation department’s posted schedule called for Boulder Highway to reopen once crews cleared the area and law enforcement removed traffic controls.
