Throughout my travels I have visited a few historic cemeteries similar to the one in Virginia City and Boot Hill in Pioche. I’ve been able to view wonderful art exhibits in places like the Oats Park Arts Center in Fallon and the Las Vegas Art Museum on Sahara Avenue in Las Vegas.
Can you imagine combining the two tours…graveyard and art? Recently I had the chance to experience both the art and the “boneyard” settings all in one location at the Neon Boneyard Museum in Las Vegas.
Silver Slipper HDR: HDR of the Silver Slipper sign and shoe at the Neon Graveyard. Photo by Corey Ann.
I saw the skeletons and remains of Aladdin’s Lamp, the two-ton, 15-foot high Silver Slipper, the lobby of the La Concha Motel, and the original atomic-font letters from the Stardust. These are just a few of the icons that formed Las Vegas’ most well-known art form-neon signs. These electronic fossils have been saved from trash dumps and destruction and sit in the boneyard waiting for a time when their skeleton of neon and bright lights can be restored and brought back to life.
The Neon Museum’s boneyard is a contradiction to the true definition of the word. The Neon Museum does not intend to ever cannibalize the remains of the neon signs that lay in the 3-acre yard. Instead, the signs have been protected over a period of 10 years, and are being preserved for locals and visitors to be able to reminisce about the history of Las Vegas casinos and historic sites.
One can see several signs designed by the birth mother of neon motel signs..Betty Willis. Willis is well known for designing the infamous “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada” sign that still twinkles as it welcomes visitors on the southern most end of The Strip. The boneyard also shelters the sign from the El Portal, a downtown movie theater, which was the first air-conditioned building in Las Vegas.
One can see the sign from the Tally Ho. In 1963, the Tally Ho became the first non-gaming resort on the strip. The resort was built and owned by Edwin Lowe, the inventor of the board game-Yahtzee. The Tally Ho was not able to survive as a non-gaming property and a year later was sold and became the Aladdin.
Entrance: Photo by andyclymer.Close up views of the signs are fascinating, including the twists and bends of the glass tubes that were filled with a tasteless, colorless, inert gas called neon. The signs appear different from the sign remembered on top of a 20-story casino or hotel. The individual letters from the old Showboat Hotel still have the metal posts that were used by the people who “climbed” the letters to switch out light bulbs as they burned out. In a recent television episode of CSI, a body was found on one of the pegs of the Showboat “W”.
Tours of the Neon Museum are available Tuesday through Friday at 12:00Noon and 2:00p.m. One must have advance reservations for the guided tours. The tours start at the temporary office for the Neon Museum which is located inside the Reed Whipple Cultural Center at 821 Las Vegas Blvd N. By October, 2009, the salvaged Googie architectural arches of the La Concha Motel will become the museum’s visitor’s center.
There is also a walking tour of restored signs on Fremont Street.
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