Neon Museum

How to Get There

From Las Vegas Strip (5 mi): Take Las Vegas Blvd N toward downtown; museum is located just north of Fremont Street near Cashman Center.

Overview

The Neon Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada, features signs from old casinos and other businesses displayed outdoors on 2.62 acres. The museum features a restored lobby shell from the defunct La Concha Motel as its visitor center, which officially opened on October 27, 2012.

For many years, the Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO) stored many of these old signs in their "boneyard." The signs were slowly being destroyed by exposure to the elements.

The signs are considered by Las Vegas locals, business owners and government organizations to be not only artistically, but also historically, significant to the culture of the city. Each of the restored signs in the collection holds a story about who created it and why it is important.

History

The impetus behind the museum was the loss of the iconic sign from The Sands; after it closed in 1995, there was no place to store the massive sign, and it was scrapped. To mark its official opening in November 1996, the Neon Museum restored and installed the Hacienda Horse & Rider sign at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Fremont Street. However, access to the collection was provided by appointment only. Annual attendance was approximately 12-20,000 during this time.

In 2005, the historic La Concha lobby was donated to the museum, which moved and reassembled the building 4 miles (6.4 km) north along Las Vegas Boulevard after cutting it into eight pieces. It now serves as the museum's visitors' center and headquarters. Although it cost nearly $3 million to move and restore the La Concha, the plans to open a museum became concrete after the donation of the building, drawing a number of public and private grants and donations. In total, approximately $6.5 million was raised for the visitors' center, headquarters, a new park, and restoration of 15 major signs.

In November 2009, the Neon Museum restored and installed the famous Silver Slipper sign across from its welcome center, and two more restored vintage signs were installed near the northern end of Las Vegas Boulevard to mark its designation as a National Scenic Byway.

Paid public admission commenced on October 27, 2012, replacing the prior appointment-only basis.

Exhibits

The Neon Museum is located on Las Vegas Boulevard and Bonanza Road, South of Cashman Center and along the Las Vegas downtown museum corridor. The museum has exhibits in three main areas: restored and installed neon signs in both the Fremont Street area and along the Las Vegas Strip; and in the Neon Boneyard.

Boneyard

The Neon Boneyard Park was installed in 2012, with "NEON" spelled out using letters shaped like those on signs for the Golden Nugget ("N"), Caesars Palace ("E"), Binion's Horseshoe ("O"), and Desert Inn ("N"). The letters are set on a grid inspired by the sign for The Sands, and the sign is decorated with stars like those from the Stardust and a starburst like the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign designed by Betty Willis.

Pieces in the boneyard include signage from the Stardust, Riviera, Desert Inn and Caesars Palace as well as many others. The Neon Museum also houses fiberglass sculptures including a giant skull from the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino among others.

In 2018, the Neon Museum began Brilliant!, a 30-minute night show designed by Craig Winslow which uses multiple projectors to reanimate defunct signs, set to vintage and contemporary music.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Neon Museum", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0