30 June 2013 - Neon Museum and Boneyard

For some time I have been wanting to see the Neon Museum in Las Vegas, and I finally had the opportunity to go. Opportunity being an interesting word.  

I was in Las Vegas for four days attending the Western Writers of America annual conference, which was a hoot! However, during those four days, Las Vegas was setting all time records for high temperatures. It ranged from 116 to 119 while I was there. I am here to testify that it was HOT!

But I had one evening free to go see the Museum. The Museum was created to save and display old neon signage-- now considered the classic Las Vegas art form. As the older once iconic hotels and casinos are torn down and replaced, much of the gorgeous neon signage is being saved and restored. 

For people like me who adore signs and love typography-- this is a mecca. There are three parts to the Museum. The Boneyard, the Fremont Street Gallery and the Neon Signs Project. 

The sign for the museum is made from many other pieces of signs. The first N is from the Golden Nugget, the E is from Caesar's Palace, the O is from Binnion's Horseshoe and the last N is from Desert Inn. 

I started with a tour of the Boneyard.  It was fascinating!  So much information about early Las Vegas, the evolution of neon, how you date neon signage. Loved it all. Because it was so darn hot and the Boneyard is outdoors, they offer tours in the morning and the evening. On the tour I was part of, they wouldn't let you go out in the yard unless you were carrying water, and every 10 minutes or so they checked with everyone. Are you feeling ok?  Anyone dizzy? Nauseous?  Will everyone please drink some more water now!


The main building and/or reception area is the original reception area from the La Concha Motel designed by Paul Revere Williams. It is a wonderful example of mid-century modern and has more than just a nod to the atomic shapes of that era. 

It was also interesting to learn that Paul Revere Williams was born in 1894 and was the first African American to become a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). He had a hugely successful career and because he designed homes for many notables such as Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez, Barbara Stanwyck, Frank Sinatra and Tyrone Power he was given the nickname "Architect to the Stars."

Behind the La Concha lies the Boneyard: a huge lot with six foot wide paths winding through old neon signs. 

You can imagine how hot all that metal gets -- and since you are walking through an alley of metal it was like walking through an oven. My biggest and only complaint is that the signs are SO large you can't back away far enough to get the whole sign in a photograph.  Perhaps a wide angle lens would have helped.  Most of these signs are not in working order, but at least they are being collected and worked on.  I don't remember which sign it was, but the guide said it cost over $250,000 just to get it moved to the Boneyard. There are more than 150 signs stacked along the paths. 

Here is the sign from the original Golden Nugget. That lumpy potato shape is the nugget.

 This is Sassy Sally.  Too big to get in one photo. 

 This Yucca Motel sign must have been incredible when lit up. All those twisty neon curls!

This duck came from Ugly Duckling Car Sales - a used car lot that was out on Boulder Highway. It is newer, coming from the early 1990s, but he is really cute.

 

The second part of the Museum is the Fremont Street Gallery. As the museum volunteers restore signs they are installed on Fremont Street. I think there are nine or ten of these on display now. Here are the Silver Slipper and the Hacienda Horse and Rider.

 
Not just casino signs are included in this collection but such things as this lovely motel sign.  I think it should be next door to this particular wedding chapel, but what do I know. 

I spent too much time outside in the heat walking on Las Vegas Boulevard taking pictures of signs.  Finally had to say calf rope and wait for a bus. I was whipped.  But great fun!

 The third part of the museum is the Neon Signs Project which consists of several restored signs on Las Vegas Blvd. It is a wonderful thing that this original neon art form is not being lost. As many of the new casinos are moving to LEDs, the city passed a new law that says a certain percentage of all new signage has to be neon. I think that is a fine thing indeed.