Neon Museum

The Neon Museum is dedicated to the restoration, maintenance, and continued cultivation of the neon history of Las Vegas. Through housing and restoring a wealth of Vegas neon signs, the museum has spent more than fifteen years preserving a huge part of the city’s history from being lost, and today, a great deal of those gigantic neon signs are installed in various parts of the city, delighting thousands of people every day. This so-called boneyard accommodates a number of Vegas neon signs still waiting for restoration, and visitors, especially photographers, can enjoy the great opportunity of capturing a piece of the history of Las Vegas on film.

Appropriately located at the east end of the Fremont Street Experience, the Las Vegas Neon Museum offers outdoor walking tours, as well as boneyard tours and photo opportunities. Many of the restored signs have been installed on Fremont Street, including Aladdin’s Lamp, at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard at the Fremont Experience; the Hacienda Horse and Rider, at the same intersection; Andy Anderson, originally the mascot of Anderson Dairy, now located at the corner of Fremont Street and 4th Street; the Red Barn, on Neonopolis, near the Experience; and the Nevada Motel, near the same location on Neonopolis.

For many years, a wealth of old Vegas neon signs were being stored in a back lot at YESCO (Young Electric Sign Company), the original manufacturer of many of the Las Vegas signs. During the 1990s, these ancient wonders were moved to another dusty lot, which is their current location, awaiting visitors and restoration. Also awaiting restoration in the same location is what used to be the La Concha Motel lobby; now it is anticipated that this will someday become the Neon Museum Visitor’s Center.

Visiting the Vegas neon signs within the boneyard gives visitors an idea of the massive dimensions and the amount of work necessary for constructing such monstrously complex billboards, which when installed in their appropriate locations must seem to the multitude of passers-by to be just a few lights twinkling among the vast brightness of the Strip. The appreciation for the craft is always heightened for those tourists who pay a visit to the giants that wait for the loving hands of restorers at the Las Vegas Neon Museum.

Outdoor and boneyard tours are only available with advance reservations; however, visitors who simply wish to view the signs that have been restored by the Neon Museum can find a list of installed signs and their locations available on the museum’s web site. Outdoor tours are offered from Tuesday through Saturday, twice daily, at noon and 2 pm.

Paying a visit to the Las Vegas Neon Museum, or at the very least, visiting the restored and installed neon signs along and around the Fremont Street Experience is an ideal attraction to include on the list of things to do in Las Vegas. Encountering beautiful relics of this lively city’s history, from signs of still existing establishments to those of buildings that have burned to the ground, is something that will provide unique memories of a Vegas vacation.