| rev:text
| - Liberace is the embodiment of Las Vegas culture: Flash, excess and style.
Even if you don't know who Liberace is, he was one of the original main headliners, playing at the Riviera and Hilton. As far as entertainment acts go, he was one of the biggest.
The museum itself is a testament to that, showcasing his cars, his lavish pianos, his costumes and jewelry, and some of his art pieces. Over the top? Definitely. His costuming choices put Elton John's and Lady Gaga's style ideas in the minor leagues. The man LOVED rhinestones. You'll find a lot of great help from a very enthusiastic staff.
His music plays throughout, and even if you don't like the genres, the work is impressive. It lists Liberace as playing 6,000 notes in two minute's time. Think about that.
There's also a little gift shop and a cafe, which are nice additions, and there is also a mention about how much the Liberace Foundation continues to donate to the arts. Eccentric? Undoubtedly, but from the listed quotes, Liberace seemingly just wanted to be remembered as a nice guy who wanted to share his bedazzlements with others.
That said, Liberace is closing next month, and either his collection will go somewhere else, or be put into storage. I'm not what you could call a Liberace "fan", but I do recognize his entertainment contributions to Vegas and place in the city's history. For that reason, I find it highly disrespectful and negligent of the city to allow the museum to even get to pre-closing status.
Granted, you can't find Liberace items in souvenir shops like you can the Beatles, Elvis, or the Rat Pack. You may not even know who Liberace is if you come here not knowing any history, and are just coming to gamble and get your drink on. At one point, Liberace was the highest paid performer on the Strip. Now you'd be hard pressed to find younger folk knowing who he is past "that flamboyant rhinestone guy".
The Liberace Museum is closing, and it's disgusting to see how little Vegas continues to care about its own history (which is all but nonexistent), as all the classic elements still end up on the chopping block. This now gets included.
I hope it just finds a new location to survive and be that part of "classic" Vegas history. Perhaps the Riviera or Hilton (as if the latter certainly doesn't have the free space since it killed off Star Trek) could take it in. The museum needs to find a new home and not just simply disappear.
I know the positive review ended with a soapbox sermon, but Vegas has a very young, albeit spectacular history. It might benefit the city to actually try and save it once in a great while.
Regardless, see it before it's gone. Who knows if or when this level of flash will be resurrected.
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