Where do Vegas signs go when they die? When the casinos and hotels decide to retire their glitz and trade it for a new look, what happens to the classic sparkle? Thankfully, the people who run the Neon Museum saved what others wanted to throw away. And they've put together an amazing collection of Vegas neon signs from the past.
The Neon Museum or Neon Boneyard is one of the most unique places Vegas has. It's not a copy of Italian or French or Egyptian culture. It's Vegas culture and Vegas history and its incredible. The Boneyard is filled with signs from the 40s through the 90s that hung high above the Vegas strip, lit up with bright neon and hundreds of light bulbs.
The volunteers and curators that run the museum offer a reservation-only guided tour through the signs explaining their history and significance in the world of neon art. And it's really inspiring to listen to them explain the place these signs held as icons in Vegas past.
For lovers of Vegas, this is a treasured place--a place that captures some of the ghosts of Vegas past. It's also a place that proves remains surprisingly undiscovered. Right now it's still an impressive collection of signs that are housed in an empty lot just north of 95. But the plans to build a visitor center and a better organized space should lift the Boneyard 's prominence up a little higher.
It's a little expensive at $15 a person for the tour, but consider it as a tour of a museum. Hell, it's the best collection of art in Vegas.