Neon Museum at the Fremont Street Experience
Encyclopedia
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, features signs from old casinos and other businesses displayed outdoors on over 6 acre (2.4 ha). The museum is restoring the La Concha Motel
La Concha Motel
The La Concha Motel was a Motel that opened 1961 and closed in around December 2003. It was designed by architect Paul Williams who was one of the first prominent African American architects in the United States and was also the architect who designed the first LAX theme building...
lobby as its visitor center
Visitor center
A visitor center or centre , visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to the visitors who tour the place or area locally...
.
For many years, the Young Electric Sign Company
Young Electric Sign Company
Young Electric Sign Company is a privately owned manufacturer of electric signs based in Salt Lake City. The company was founded by Thomas Young in 1920 and today has divisions and branches in 10 western states, as well as in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas...
stored many of these old signs in their "boneyard." The signs were slowly being destroyed by exposure to the elements. The museum is slowly restoring the signs and placing them around the Fremont Street Experience
Fremont Street Experience
The Fremont Street Experience is a pedestrian mall and attraction in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The FSE occupies the westernmost 5 blocks of Fremont Street, including the area known for years as "Glitter Gulch," and portions of some other adjacent streets.The attraction is a barrel vault canopy,...
.
History
The Neon Museum was founded in 1996 as a partnership between the Allied Arts Council of Southern Nevada and the City of Las Vegas. Today, it is an independent non-profit. The Neon Museum maintains restored signs along the Fremont Street Experience as well as the signs in the Boneyard collection.Located on Las Vegas Boulevard and Bonanza, the Neon Museum includes a new park.
November, 1996: The Neon Museum at the Fremont Street Experience opens with the Hacienda
Hacienda (resort)
The Hacienda was a Paradise, Nevada hotel/casino that operated on the Las Vegas Strip from 1956 to 1996. It was one of four Hacienda properties owned by Standard Motels, Inc., with the other three being located in Fresno, Bakersfield, and Indio, California. The other Haciendas also featured the...
Horse & Rider sign being lit at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard
Las Vegas Boulevard
State Route 604 is the route number designation for parts of Las Vegas Boulevard, a major north–south road in the Las Vegas metropolitan area of Nevada in the United States best known for the Las Vegas Strip and its casinos. Formerly carrying U.S...
and Fremont Street
Fremont Street
Fremont Street is a street in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is the second most famous street in the Las Vegas metropolitan area after the Las Vegas Strip...
.
On January 24, 2006, the original 80 feet (24.4 m) tall Sahara sign was donated to the museum.
Recent history: The Neon Museum recently restored three signs to the median. The Neon Boneyard City Park (next to the museum) installed its sign based on pieces held in the collection and will open soon. The museum also recently took in the sign from the Moulin Rouge Hotel
Moulin Rouge Hotel
The Moulin Rouge Hotel was a hotel and casino located in the West Las Vegas neighborhood of Las Vegas, Nevada, that is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places...
and is restoring the historic La Concha
La Concha
The Crown Plaza Key West - La Concha, more commonly known as the La Concha, is a hotel and the tallest building in downtown Key West, Florida, United States. It was completed in 1926....
lobby to serve as the museum's building.
Restored signs
The Neon Museum maintains twelve restored signs throughout Downtown Las VegasDowntown Las Vegas
Downtown Las Vegas is the central business district of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the original gambling district of Las Vegas, prior to the Strip, and the area still incorporates downtown gaming.-Tourism:...
. Some can be seen on a self-guided visitors walk through the Fremont Street Experience. Three others have been added in recent years to the median of Las Vegas Boulevard in front of the eventual site for the Neon Museum itself.
Boneyard
The Neon Museum is located on Las Vegas Boulevard and Bonanza, across the street from Cashman Center and along the Las Vegas downtown museum corridor. The boneyard preserves over 150 neon signs from the Nevada area. While the core of the collection is from the old Yesco Boneyard, private donations and loans have expanded the collection to the current size.Important historical pieces in the boneyard include the signage from the Moulin Rouge Hotel
Moulin Rouge Hotel
The Moulin Rouge Hotel was a hotel and casino located in the West Las Vegas neighborhood of Las Vegas, Nevada, that is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places...
, the Stardust
Stardust Resort & Casino
The Stardust Resort & Casino was a casino resort located on along the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada.The Stardust opened in 1958, although most of the modern casino complex was built in 1991. At its March 13, 2007 demolition it was the youngest undamaged high-rise building to ever be...
, Desert Inn
Desert Inn
The Desert Inn was a Paradise, Nevada, hotel/casino that operated from April 24, 1950, to August 28, 2000. Designed by noted New York architect Jac Lessman, it was the fifth resort to open on the Las Vegas Strip. The property included an 18-hole golf course. Locals nicknamed the resort "The D.I."...
and Caesar's Palace as well as many others. Not just neon signage, the museum also houses fiberglass sculptures including a giant skull from the Treasure Island
Treasure Island
Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book on May 23, 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881–82 under the title Treasure Island; or, the...
among others.
Tours (and private photo shoots) of the boneyard must be arranged with the office prior to your visit. Tours occur on a weekly schedule.