Hard Rock bites the dust in Dubai
One of Dubai’s landmark buildings – the Hard Rock Cafe on Sheikh Zayed Road – has almost disappeared.
The mini-Empire State Building, where the opening act in 1997 was the legendary Chuck Berry, is being demolished, along with the huge crossed guitars at the front of the building.
Always a popular expat hotspot, the Hard Rock business moved to another part of town some time ago.
A Hard Rock regular told local media: "When the place first opened, it was considered so far out of town, that for many of us driving down to Abu Dhabi, it was a landmark that gave us reassurance we weren’t lost somewhere in the desert."
Local residents once signed a Facebook petition calling for the building to be saved as an important part of Dubai’s heritage, but the landowners ignored the pleas and plan to build a couple of tower blocks on the site.
Ian Jarrett
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