The Boneyard, the Neon Museum, and Las Vegas

Who can think of Las Vegas without considering the flash and glow of neon lights at night? Neon signs have been part and parcel of the Las Vegas experience ever since the 1940’s. While neon signs are still abundant in Las Vegas, more and more hotels and casinos are replacing them with glaring television-type screens with scrolling verbiage informing potential customers of entertainment, competitions, and deals. What happens to the old neon signs?

Many of them have ended up the Neon Museum’s Boneyard, waiting to be restored. You can tour the Boneyard, the outdoor three-acre resting place for retired signs, by appointment through the Neon Museum. Famous signs include “The El Cortez Hotel,” “The Cheesecake Revue,” and “Horseshoe.”

The Neon Museum’s restored signs are located on Fremont Street Experience. The first sign that the Neon Museum restored was the “Hacienda Horse and Rider,” dating from 1967. Other signs on Fremont Street Experience include “Andy Anderson,” dating from 1946, “Chief Hotel Court,” dating from around 1940, and “Aladdin’s Lamp,” dating from 1966. In all, you can enjoy eleven signs that have been lovingly restored and placed on Fremont Street Experience to keep Las Vegas' old neon signs tradition alive.

The Neon Museum also sponsors exhibits on neon signs from the Boneyard at other locations in Las Vegas, so do not forget to check the site for any current exhibits to see what is going on!

For terrific visuals of Las Vegas’ past starting c. 1905, please see:

http://www.earlyvegas.com/

For more information on the Neon Museum, the Neon Museum Walking Tour, and the Boneyard, please visit:

http://www.neonmuseum.org/