One man’s exhibit, another’s eyesore

Dr. Lonnie Hammargren says his house is like a little boy's bedroom on steroids.

The county, for more than a year, has called it the scene of misdemeanor crime.

On Tuesday, Hammargren, 71, appeared in Las Vegas Justice Court to face misdemeanor charges of building without a permit and code violations.

Authorities accuse him of altering his oddball, ornate home near Flamingo Road and U.S. Highway 95 without the proper permits. They also say Hammargren placed items outside the house "above the height of the fence or wall" without a permit. From the road, a locomotive's smokestack, a replica of the state capital and a copy of the torch-bearing arm of the Statue of Liberty are visible on Hammargren's property.

The Clark County district attorney's office on Tuesday agreed to allow Hammargren to work with county code enforcement officers to bring his house up to code.

"Our office's main objective is compliance," said Deputy District Attorney Christopher Pandelis. "Dr. Hammargren has shown he's willing to come into compliance."

Hammargren has a six-month deadline to fix the violations. He's due back in court in October.

But the issue goes beyond enforcing a few building codes. To Hammargren, who has spent decades working on his personal castle, the house represents a unique piece of Nevada history and shouldn't be altered.

His property, located on the 4300 block of Ridgecrest Drive, is visible from Sandhill Road. It is actually three houses Hammargren purchased over the years as his collection of knickknacks and space capsules expanded. One house is topped with a pyramid. Another has a 90-foot-long replica of a Mayan palace.

Over the years, neighbors have complained about it, calling it a junkyard. In 1997, it was voted the worst eyesore by readers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

But Hammargren never considered it a criminal offense.

County officials, through a spokesman, declined to comment because Hammargren's case remains open.

Hammargren said the issue started in 2007, when a neighbor complained that he was making an 80- to 100-foot model of a rocket in his yard. He said it was part of a plan to construct a model of the international space station.

The model was left in his yard for six weeks for all to see. He conceded that was wrong and apologized for it.

This complaint spurred the county to issue a notice of violation in October 2007, he said.

The notice stated that Hammargren has multiple structural violations and a zoning violation. The notice ordered Hammargren to fix the problems or get the proper permits by Oct. 24, 2007.

If he failed to obtain the permits, he would face criminal prosecution, the letter stated.

Hammargren said he didn't correct the problems because he met with county officials and believed the issues were resolved. He knows now that the resolutions have fallen apart.

The county, he said, wants him to alter key portions of his property, including the train and the replica of the state capital.

Hammargren, a former Nevada lieutenant governor and neurosurgeon, calls himself a law-abiding citizen and says he will probably comply with the county's orders.

But he's also relying on his powers of persuasion to convince county code enforcement officers that he can keep his house intact.

"I've been relatively harmless here," he said.

Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.