Las Vegas Neon Museum

The glittery lights of yesteryear will shine again this fall.

VINTAGE VEGAS: The allure of the Rat Pack-era of Las Vegas -- that time of bouffants and lounge shows and mirrored casinos and deep pile shag rugs -- remains a draw for many visitors, despite the fact that that particular time has faded a bit from the bigger, brighter, highly rebuilt Strip. But tourists to the city have long heard about a mythical "boneyard" housing the largest artifacts from that time period, the neon, bulb-lined signage for which the city became famous for. Getting into the boneyard was a challenge, if not impossible -- we ourselves asked a host of friendly concierges, to no avail -- but that day is done; the Neon Museum, and the 150+ signs of the famous Neon Boneyard, will now be open to visitors starting on Saturday, Oct. 27.

BUT THAT'S JUST THE START: If you're enamored of the Vegas look of yore, like we are, then you likely think there's nothing that can top that, but wait! There's more! (We've always wanted to say that.) The La Concha Motel lobby will serve as the Neon Motel's visitors center. The La Concha, with its sinuous, shell-like form, is pure 1961; we couldn't think of a better welcome to a sign-filled boneyard, in fact, than a motel.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S EVEN MORE! Well, now we just can't stop using that phrase. But there really is more: A group called the Las Vegas Signs Project has been working with the city of Las Vegas to display restored signs on the Las Vegas Boulevard between Sahara and Washington Avenues. Good stuff, right? It's great to see 'em in any setting, but along the boulevard is best. In short, neon fans and old Vegas enthusiasts, there's a fine and highly visual new way to experience that bygone era. Oh, and yep, we did use Vegas Vic for the image, but you can still find that icon of the city downtown, in his usual spot.

Copyright FREEL - NBC Local Media
Contact Us