NEW ORLEANS — After half a decade, a lot has changed at the site of the Hard Rock Hotel collapse. Cars crawl through the once-closed intersection, the Rampart Streetcar picks up passengers, and a concrete lot has replaced the hulking wreckage of the building. But the busy area is still far from recovered.
Five years ago Saturday, the top floors of the building fell, killing three people and injuring more than 30. It took almost a year and a half for the rest of the structure to be torn down.
Now, the site is empty, surrounded by a fence lined with construction materials and debris. Across the street, the Saenger Theater has names on the marquee once again after being forced to go dark for months after the collapse. One of the businesses on the block, a branch of the Ruby Slipper Cafe, is also back open.
Its neighbors, two clothing stores and a beauty supply shop, never came back. The intersection itself is also still recovering– there is no sidewalk along the sides of the site, so pedestrians have to walk between lines of plastic barriers.
The biggest step forward of 2024 came with the return of the Rampart Streetcar line. It started running again in May after years of delays in its repair. The return was a welcome sight for business owners on Rampart, who said the loss of streetcar traffic had been a serious hit for them.
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