The Neon Museum Las Vegas: Nostalgia in the desert
The Neon Museum Las Vegas isn’t like any museum I’ve visited before. It has more in common with a junkyard, albeit a very tidy junkyard.
In other words, you won’t see precious items in display cases, and don’t expect the neon signs to be hung neatly on walls. Instead, the only way to see this collection of iconic Las Vegas neon signs is by taking a guided tour through “the neon boneyard.”
The Neon Boneyard Las Vegas
The neon tubes are broken. The sockets gape, empty of their incandescent bulbs or sporting shards of glass. The faded vintage signs lean or lie several layers deep along the cleared paths that wind through the yard. In the desert glare, it’s a melancholy sight.
In Las Vegas’s heyday, the motels and casinos that popped up in the Nevada desert needed to stand out. Bright signs, each one handmade from neon tubes, incandescent bulbs, or both, were expensive. Instead of buying them, the businesses leased their signs from the companies that made them. When they went out of business, or upgraded to a new, bigger, louder sign, the old signs ended up in their manufacturer’s “boneyard.” Scavenged for parts for newer signs, they deteriorated in the desert sun.
The Neon Museum is on a mission to collect Las Vegas signs and restore them to their former glory. So far, 11 of the signs at the museum are operational. Nine more have been installed along Las Vegas Boulevard as part of a long-term project.
Some of the signs in the “boneyard” are familiar, like the Stardust sign that, our tour guide explained, uses Atomic font. Apparently, anything atomic-bomb-related was popular in the 1950s, when people would travel to Nevada to watch the nuclear bomb tests in the desert.
Most of the signs – or single letters that used to be part of signs – are very large. They weren’t intended to be viewed from close up; they would have been mounted high on buildings or poles and visible from long distances. From nearby, they seem rough, crudely made, but precision in form wasn’t necessary.
The tour of the Neon Boneyard
As our tour guide steamed through his spiel – he packed an amazing amount of detail into an hour-long non-stop story – I ventured as far as I dared from the group, trying to get pictures without people. Visitors are not allowed to wander the yard alone because of the dangers posed by the broken glass of old light bulbs and the rusty edges of the signs.
After the tour, when I lingered to attempt a few last shots, a man approached me with “Can I help you with something?” – a recognizable code phrase for “You shouldn’t be here.”
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If you are looking for trips from Las Vegas, read this first: Visiting Hoover Dam with a “Dam” Tour Guide, then take a look at the many possibilities for day trips here!
The building housing the museum’s reception and gift shop is a sight in itself. Once the lobby of the La Concha Motel, built in 1961, the curved lines of its roof reflect the “space age” futuristic tastes of the “Googie” style. The giftshop, by the way, has some fun and unusual gift items.
Nostalgia in the neon boneyard
The signs in the “boneyard” evoke a certain nostalgia for a time of wild, optimistic growth. Las Vegas still thrives on that optimism, drawing millions every year to try their luck at gambling. And over-the-top neon signs are still produced and still beckon from casinos and hotels all over town.
Yet there’s a brashness to these old ones – the Neon Museum has signs dating as far back as the 1930s – that made me smile. In the post-war period, they promised riches, or they fed into America’s love affair with the road trip. Motels and diners catered to the new middle class, who owned a car and could hit the road, looking for adventure. Las Vegas was the place to get rich, get married, drink, and generally enjoy their new prosperity.
Even though I never visited Las Vegas in its heyday – I was just a child at the time – I recognized many of the signs. I could pick out the font from Caesar’s Palace, for example, and lettering from Circus Circus. From old movies perhaps? I’m not sure. In any case, it’s a nostalgia for something I never actually experienced myself.
My daughter, in her mid-20s, recognized little of it. Yet, as a graphic designer, she found the fonts and signage interesting and could enjoy the vintage feel of the place.
Book your Las Vegas accommodations here, or use the map below:
The Neon Museum: 770 Las Vegas Blvd. North, Las Vegas. Opening hours vary. Book a tour here or just show up (as we did) and there might be room on a one-hour tour. Tours may be cancelled in bad weather. Day tours: $19; Night tours $26; Late night tours $28.
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My travel recommendations
Planning travel
- Skyscanner is where I always start my flight searches.
- Booking.com is the company I use most for finding accommodations. If you prefer, Expedia offers more or less the same.
- Discover Cars offers an easy way to compare prices from all of the major car-rental companies in one place.
- Use Viator or GetYourGuide to find walking tours, day tours, airport pickups, city cards, tickets and whatever else you need at your destination.
- Bookmundi is great when you’re looking for a longer tour of a few days to a few weeks, private or with a group, pretty much anywhere in the world. Lots of different tour companies list their tours here, so you can comparison shop.
- GetTransfer is the place to book your airport-to-hotel transfers (and vice-versa). It’s so reassuring to have this all set up and paid for ahead of time, rather than having to make decisions after a long, tiring flight!
- Buy a GoCity Pass when you’re planning to do a lot of sightseeing on a city trip. It can save you a lot on admissions to museums and other attractions in big cities like New York and Amsterdam.
Other travel-related items
- It’s really awkward to have to rely on WIFI when you travel overseas. I’ve tried several e-sim cards, and GigSky’s e-sim was the one that was easiest to activate and use. You buy it through their app and activate it when you need it. Use the code RACHEL10 to get a 10% discount!
- I’m a fan of SCOTTeVEST’s jackets and vests because when I wear one, I don’t have to carry a handbag. I feel like all my stuff is safer when I travel because it’s in inside pockets close to my body.
- I use ExpressVPN on my phone and laptop when I travel. It keeps me safe from hackers when I use public or hotel wifi.
Rachel Heller is a writer living in Groningen, the Netherlands. She is the owner and primary author of this website, Rachel’s Ruminations, a travel blog focused on independent travel with an emphasis on cultural and historical sites/sights. Read more here about her and about this website. All photos in her articles are her own, unless otherwise specified. Rachel also owns and operates a website about UNESCO site travel.
We had actually seen an article about the Neon Museum (Boneyard) not too long ago. It seemed interesting to us, and thought that we would like a visit when in Vegas. Thanks for keeping our interest piqued with all of the colorful pics, and great article.
It’s definitely worth seeing! Thanks for stopping by!
We’ve had that on ‘our list’ for ever and still haven’t made it there. Loved the tour you gave us!
This is the kind of place I love exploring- even though you can’t walk around by yourself. What a fabulous idea to utilise the old signs.
Eventually a whole series of them will extend along one of the main streets for miles. But they cost a lot to restore, so it’s a long process.
This looks like a place I would definitely like to visit. I love the kitsch and uniqueness of it – great photos!
Hi Rachel! I’ve never been to Las Vegas. Part of me has always thought it would be fund and the other part say NAH! I think this would be a fun tour. I’ve always enjoyed seeing the Las Vegas signs in TV shows and movies. Thanks for co-hosting this week. #TPThursday
I think Vegas is fun if you are in the right frame of mind. My daughter had just finished her masters and needed to de-stress, so it seemed like the easiest place to go for a few days. This museum was the most intellectual thing we did the whole time we were there. We had a ball!
Those signs are amazing! This has bumped to the top of my “reasons to visit Vegas again” list. I’ve been to Vegas a few years ago and had never even heard of it.
#TravelPhotoThursday
I’m not sure I’d make a special trip for it, but it’s worth a stop if you’re there!
I had the opportunity to visit this museum last year and liked it a lot (even if it was super hot). I have been living in Los Angeles for 15 years and have been visiting Vegas for the same period of time. I didn’t get to see the “Old Vegas” but I have seen how the city has changed through the years. What we have today it totally different from what I experienced years ago. As an example, years ago Vegas had a high season and a low season. There is no such a thing nowadays.