On October 12th right outside of the French Quarter, what was supposed to be the Hard Rock Hotel on Canal Street partially collapsed, killing three people and wounding 30 others. The top six floors of the building fell and left the construction unstable and two large cranes hovering over downtown. Due to safety concerns, the construction site needed to be demolished. The precarious site became a danger even to the businesses and buildings around it. Evacuation was ordered for the streets nearby.

A controlled explosion was scheduled on October 20th to safely dismantle the towering cranes. However, one crane was left dangling from the top of the building and a section of the other toppled over and crashed into North Rampart Street. Officials said the destruction of the cranes went smoothly even though beforehand the cranes were forecast to fall inwards on the building itself to prevent damage of surrounding infrastructure. The most devastation the explosion brought was the destruction of a sewer line and the practically impaled North Rampart Street. The next step planned is for the rest of the construction site and the skeleton of the building to be stabilized and retired.