The tale of the Landmark Hotel originates in 1957 when Frank Caroll, a contractor from Kansas City, found himself relaxing by the pool at the Hollywood Landmark Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Having just completed a challenging day of testing for the California State Contractor’s Exam, Caroll was taking some much-needed downtime. During this respite, he observed the hotel owner tending to the flowers while carrying a Hollywood Racing form in his pocket. After finishing his work, the man hopped into a sleek new Cadillac and drove off. Enamored by what he had just witnessed, Caroll thought, “…if owning a Landmark is what it takes to have such a life, then that’s what I shall build.”¹

Caroll was born Frank L. Caracciolo on November 8, 1918.² He and his wife, Sue, started the Caroll Construction Company in Nevada in 1946.³ Sue, full name Susan Marie DiGiovanni, was the niece of the notorious Kansas City mafia boss Joe “Scarface” DiGiovanni. For this reason, the Federal Bureau of Investigations monitored Frank’s activity in Las Vegas.⁴ No connection has ever been made between the Carolls and organized crime.

In 1960, Caroll and his attorney Sheldon Sandler, both hailing from Kansas City, acquired the corner lot at Paradise Road and East Fulcher Road ⁵ in the unincorporated town of Winchester, Nevada. This prime location was across the street from the recently constructed Las Vegas Convention Center and part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area. The duo embarked on a project to build an apartment complex and shopping center, christening Landmark Plaza. They tirelessly pursued funding for their hotel venture along the way.⁶

The Landmark Apartments comprised an impressive array of twenty 2-story buildings, each boasting 120 fully furnished rooms spanning a generous 1,000 ft². The property also boasted six pristine swimming pools and weekly maid and linen service for convenience. Adjacent to the apartments stood the Landmark Plaza, anchored by the popular Ramsay’s department store, a coffee shop, liquor store, beauty salon, the “Landmarkett” grocery store, and a gas station, providing residents with a comprehensive range of amenities.

Caroll’s original vision for the tower was to comprise a hotel, casino, showroom, a revolving restaurant, and helipad on the roof. This would change as the plans for the tower evolved. Plans for the revolving restaurant survived up to June of 1962.⁷ However, by October, it was removed.⁸

Caroll wanted his hotel to be unique. He recounted to the Las Vegas Sun Magazine in 1979, “…in designing a hotel for this city, I had to have something different. I don’t like to build ‘boxes’ for hotels.”⁹ Caroll enlisted the services of Clarence Stringer, a skilled structural engineer from the area, to craft the tower’s design. Stringer drew inspiration from the convention center’s contemporary Googie-style dome, fashioning a sleek, eight-sided column that could bear the weight of a disc-shaped structure above. The tower’s interior would be dedicated to hosting a variety of amenities, including dining establishments, a showroom, and a casino.

The Caroll Construction Company appointed Charles Wagner as the project’s General Superintendent. Wagner then awarded a contract worth $1.5 million to Louis P. Scherer, whose Fremont Construction Company was already involved in multiple projects in the Redlands area of California.¹⁰ Architects, Gerald Moffitt and Edward Hendricks of Los Angeles, were brought in to help design the tower’s interior.¹¹