Drive six miles from the Las Vegas Strip, or 0.6 miles north of Fremont Street, and you will come across a fascinating museum highlighting the history of this glamorous city. The Neon Museum, founded in 1996 as a partnership between the Allied Arts Council of Southern Nevada and the City of Las Vegas, displays a collection of old neon signs from various hotels and other locations around Las Vegas.
How do you know that you have found the Neon Museum? Look for the large sign outside the Neon Boneyard Park.
The sign was cleverly designed, using letters from other famous Las Vegas signs. The first ‘N’ resembles the N from the Golden Nugget. The ‘E’ resembles the E from Caesar’s Palace Hotel. The ‘O’ resembles the O in Binion’s Horseshoe while the final ‘N’ resembles the N from Desert Inn. The letters are all set on a grid that resembles the background to the sign for the Sands Hotel and Casino. The sign is further decorated with stars resembling those from the Stardust Resort and Casino. In the top right of the Neon Museum sign you may recognize another famous 8-pointed red star, the one seen on the famous ‘Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas’ sign on the Las Vegas Strip.
The Neon Museum has exhibits in three main areas, the Neon Boneyard Park, the Main Boneyard and the North Gallery. Head to Main Boneyard if you would like to see the old signs from the Stardust Resort and Casino, the Desert Inn, Caesar’s Palace or the Sahara Hotel. They even have the old sign from the La Concha Hotel that closed in 2004, as well as having restored the motel on the grounds of the Neon Museum. See if you can spot the old sign from the Algiers Hotel, or what about the large sign from the Las Vegas Club Casino. Even the sign from the Golden Nugget Gambling Hall has found its final resting place at the Neon Museum.
The North Gallery, introduced in 2018 after my visit, features a 30-minute art installation using various projectors to reanimate the signs around the museum, set to old and modern music.
Despite the very structured nature of the guided tour, and the rather limited time that we were given to take photos, I really enjoyed my visit to the Neon Museum. I specifically enjoyed the chance to take some brightly colored photos around the fascinating site. Experiencing a little history of Las Vegas along the way added to the interest of the visit.
If you are looking for a few fun hours off the Las Vegas Strip then consider a visit to the Neon Museum. It is certainly kid friendly and they will appreciate the signs in the bright Arizona sun.
The Neon Museum may be found on Google Maps here. If you would like to book your accommodation in Las Vegas you may want to start with booking.com by clicking here. How about an evening helicopter flight that includes admission to the Neon Museum? Start your adventure by clicking here.
Our other posts from the United States may be found here.
(Visited June 2014)