In a city that likes to blow up its history, the museum preserves its most brilliant parts.
Betty Willis should ’ve gone for the cash . In 1959 , the initiate distaff commercial-grade creative person design what is probably the most famous — and one of the longest persistent — atomic number 10 symbols in the world . In 1952 she was utilize by Western Neon Sign Company when a salesman named Todd Rogich , seeing welcome sign proliferate in other locale , approached her about plan a fitting emblem for the city . He suggested Las Vegas ’ think over its flashy veneer by utilizing Ne lighting : one of the city ’s most familiar , yet somehow still refreshing , features .
Now accredit the humanity over , Willis ’s 25 - footWelcome toFabulousLas Vegassign pose on the southerly top of the Strip — technically in unincorporated Clark County — flanked by decoration Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and Elvis imitator , roadside Americanabeckoning to motorist with its promise of possibility . Balancing on two magnetic pole , an exaggeratedGoogie - style diamondis bordered with flashing incandescent bulbs .
Red varsity letter write out “ WELCOME ” against silver dollar coins rimmed in whitened neon , a nod to both the Silver State and the gamblers attracted to it . And on the top sit a flushed metal starburst outlined in brilliant yellowness . Willis told theNew YorkTimesbefore her death in 2018 , “ I added a Disney star for felicity . ” In 2008 the city build a parking deal for the sole purpose of encouraging pedestrians to describe up for a perfect ( and free ) photo op . The house cement Willis ’s bequest , thanks to its alluring glow .
The Moulin Rouge was the first integrated casino hotel in Las Vegas.|Flickr/The Neon Museum
Neon fascinate from its very inception . In 1898 , British scientists William Ramsay and his helper Morris Travers discovered the new element , which let loose a magical crimson glow when electrically energize . To say they were in reverence of the element ’s mightiness would be an understatement : of the discoveryTravers write , " the hell of ruddy light from the tube separate its own story and was a stack to dwell upon and never forget . "
The first neon sign were reveal in Paris in 1910 , and it did n’t take long for the illuminated phenomenon to make its style to the States , lift in tandem bicycle with the country ’s Romance language with automobile . It ’s said the United States ’ first neon sign was erected in 1923 in Los Angeles . It sat atop a hotel reading “ Packard ” in four - foundation - mellow red and blue lettering , and drew onlookers from far and wide , creating dealings jam with its eminence .
But it was Vegas that fully understand — and utilized — Ne ’s true potential . In the early 1930s , after the legalization of gambling bring an inflow of holidaymaker and the grammatical construction of the Hoover Dam an teemingness of electricity , Las Vegas transformed from a sleepy frontier town to one dripping with gaseous , colored meretriciousness . The business district thoroughfare of Fremont Street earned the soubriquet of Glitter Gulch in the forties , with everything from pharmacies to casinos lit up in lights .
In 1983, there was no parking lot or palm trees. But they did have plenty of sweatpants.|Flickr/NESR
Rogich finally betray the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas foretoken to Clark County officials for $ 4,000 , and as the story go , Willis declined to copyright the design , saying it was her gift to her dear city . But she failed to remember that her metropolis was make on capitalism — and chance . days later , after seeing the sign replicated everywhere from snow world to boxer shorts to potato chips , she acknowledged , “ I should make a one dollar bill out of it . Everybody else is . ”
Welcome to Splitsville: How Reno Became the Divorce Capital of the World
For decades the city was the place to break your marriage, and pick up the pieces.
Today , you may see the Willis ’s sign whenever the mood strike . In 2013 , solar panels were sequester , ensure the symbolization ’s seniority and make it much more energy - effective ( not quite in tune with the rest of Vegas , but a promise for the future ) . name in the State Register of Historic Places , it ’s an outstandingly enduring pavilion in a urban center whose M.O. is to repeatedly pave over its past tense .
Many of Vegas ’ other once - iconic Ne signs are perpetually move , smashed into shimmer sherd and commit only to memories of the metropolis ’s mid - century sumptuousness . But if catch sight of Willis ’ glowing contribution sparks an interestingness in the element ’s reaches , you could always get your fix at theNeon Museum .
A ticket to an illuminating history
In the other nineties , Las Vegas set out making room for new hotels the best way they have it away how : byimploding the old onesin splashy , theatrical affairs . Sometimes they had accompanying fireworks , one time they had pirates . The Dunes was the first to meet this fate back in 1993 ( seduce way for the Bellagio ) , follow by the Landmark in 1995 , a blank space needle - like structure whose crumbling implosion was entrance in the Tim Burton filmMars Attacks . Then , like dominoes , the Sands was eliminated in November of 1996 , and the Hacienda went a month after . The latter ’s thriving death was showcased as part of atelevised New Year ’s Eve extravaganzathat year .
In 2007 came two more major demolitions : New Frontier , a western - theme Howard Hughes reefer where both Sigfried & Roy and Elvis made their Vegas debuts . And the Stardust Casino , inspired by a mid - century chemical attraction for space geographic expedition , frequented by the like of Sinatra , and once the domain of kingpin and bookie Lefty Rosenthal , AKA the inspiration behind the Hollywood blockbusterCasino .
The artists who labored over the Ne signage mark these disappearing artifacts despair before resolving to save their works . deliver the jaggy and otherworldly — not to bring up massive — Stardust augury was an specially pregnant feat : The letter range from 14 to 18 foot in height and contain over 1,100 luminosity bulbs , 975 in the S alone . Imposing in height , it in all probability ca n’t be seen from infinite , but it certainly gives the impression it could .
The Glitter Gulch in 1994, featuring Vegas Vickie. She’s now at the Circa Resort & Casino.|Caron Badkin/Shutterstock
Today , however , itcanbe seen in the Neon Museum . Established in 1996 as a not-for-profit to collect , preserve , and exhibit discarded neon sign , the museum began with a donation by the Young Electric Sign Company and was initially only let in visitors by appointment . In 2012 , the campus ’ “ boneyard”—the space where items no longer in use are stored — opened to the public .
Approximately 250 mark populate the museum , some dating back to the 1930s , a number always growing as more are donate ( the only manner they acquire signs ) . Around two dozen of those are electrified , offer viewers with a dazzling taste perception of old Las Vegas . And in true Vegas mode , you may even have your wedding there , surrounded by radiance .
Like much of Las Vegas , the open - air ( or shut down , when it ’s raining ) Neon Museum is well have in full miniature after the sun live on down . But swinging by in the daytime — even if it ’s shut — can still prove fruitful . There ’s amural on the outer wall of the North gallerypainted with the greatly influential yet not - so - well - known figure that shaped Las Vegas history , including , of course , welcome sign mastermind Betty Willis .
And things get especially interesting if you ’re an computer architecture buff . The salient shell - shape entry that serve as the museum ’s Visitors Center once belonged to theLa Concha Motel , which work on the Strip from 1961 to 2004 and was splendidly support by tricky celebrities and Hollywood types . But , more importantly , it was designed by trailblazing African American architect Paul Revere Williams , who , in 1923 , became the first pitch-dark architect to bring together the American Institute of Architects . The prolific pioneer designed upward of 2500 buildings , including works for Lucy and Desi Arnaz and Carey Grant . ( In a tragical , infuriate , sad , and loathsome twist , he ’s also make love forteaching himself to delineate upside downso white client would n’t be uncomfortable sit next to him . )
Most of Williams ’ creations were in his hometown of Los Angeles , but there are others scattered around the country . Like the St. Jude Children ’s Hospital in Memphis , which he plan for innocent , and the La Concha , whose lobby was save from demolition in 2005 and relocated to the Neon Museum presently thereafter .
make it at the museum at nightfall and the La Concha scale buzz , getting perch alongside its Ne age group . But before you anywhere near the museum ’s entering , you ’ll spot one of its most recent — and most gigantic — acquirement : the 82 - foot - tall Hard Rock Café guitar fool straight up from the boneyard , a ethereal instrument seemingly float in mid - aviation .
They call it the “neon boneyard.” Spooky.|artemu kopylovk/Shutterstock
The first of its variety , the hulking instrument spent 1990 to 2017 on the corner of Paradise Road and Harmon Avenue in Vegas , and even made it to the ash grey screen with appearances in classic likeHoney I shrink the KidsandNational Lampoon ’s Vegas Vacation . With 1,530 incandescent bulbs and around 4,110 infantry of neon tubing , it ingest 1,650 hours and $ 250,000 in crowdsourced funds to reconstruct . ( All that , and it ca n’t even play a tune . )
Enthusiastic museum guide offer tours , detailing background stagnant plaque could never deliver . Each turn seize a specific metre and berth in Las Vegas ’ complicated and storied history .
Take another of Betty Willis ’s work : theMoulin Rougesign , propped up near the entrance and spelled out in swoop pink cursive . Named after the Parisian club , it marked the first desegregated hotel casino in Ithiel Town . It strike the Strip in 1955 , and while its incumbency only hold up a brief six months , its shock is immeasurable .
The Stardust sign on the Strip in 2004. Also a McDonalds.|Joseph Sohm/Shutterstock
The Moulin Rouge relic is mightily across from Binion ’s Horseshoe . Owned by career risk taker and racketeer Benny Binion , the property was Glitter Gulch personified . Boasting a personal history as dirt - prostrate as his manufacture , Binion was know for both a murder conviction and , on a wakeful promissory note , initiating the tradition that player imbibe for detached . ( Thanks , Benny . )
A little further down , visitors will stumble upon the sign for the Sahara Hotel , famous for once hosting the Beatles overnight ( the ring was earlier schedule to spiel a show there , too , but it had to be moved when checking into the hotel spurred such a rumpus ) . Elsewhere , there are examples of the first move sign alongside non - neon attractions like agigantic skull salve from Treasure Island , staring up into the nighttime sky .
Across the way , the North Gallery housesBrilliant ! , an audiovisual introduction that begins with a presentment of how Ne exercise by stir gas in a thermionic valve before reanimating 40 dissimilar signs using ejection mapping . There are three show every evening .
The Stardust sign at the Neon Museum.|Flickr/The Neon Museum
And if you sense like going all out , you could even make a neon night of it by booking ahelicopter tour package . The choppers first swoop up you over the current - sidereal day Strip , before the tour deposits you at the Neon Museum , juxtaposing the present mean solar day with where it all began .
To forecast Vegas’ future, just look to its past
business district is a meet home for the Neon Museum : While the Strip reinvents itself every other day , Vegas ’ less - touristed field strives to expect to the time to come while preserving the past tense . Here , you may still get a sensory faculty of what drove people to forge this thriving , anything - goes townsfolk in the middle of the Mojave Desert . In 1905 , the city was hold by auction , and Fremont Street became its glittery link . Today , the attraction stand as the coveredFremont Street Experience , unadulterated with a nightly lightheaded show and theSlotZilla ziplinezooming preceding retro landmark like theGolden Gate Hotel Casino , open up in 1906 , 1946’sGolden Nugget , and theFour Queens , date to 1966 .
In the Four Queens , you ’ll findHugo ’s Cellar , opened in 1973 and known for one of the best throwback steakhouse deals in town . carry tuxedo - clad waiter and a tableside salad cart and , if you ’re a ma’am , they ’ll greet you with a ( astonishingly long - lasting ) uprise .
TheEl Cortez Hotel , once owned by notorious mobster Bugsy Siegel , still look much like it did when it open in 1941 as downtown ’s first major casino resort . interpret up on this prop as well as the balance of the city ’s Scheol by in the nearbyMob Museum , an almost immersive experience , as it ’s housed in the former courthouse where the infamous Kefauver trials were hold in the other fifties . It was there that the sordid bond between casino owners and unionise crime bosses come to light .
The Visitor’s Center is repurposed from the former La Concha Motel, designed by pioneering Black architect Paul Revere Williams.|Flickr/The Neon Museum
business district also strive to revitalize its landscape with spots like theD Hotel , open in 2012 and incorporating vintage touches like flair bartenders and old - schoolhouse slot machines in its second - floor cassino . TheLip Smacking Foodie Tourgives a good overview of the alteration , merging the area ’s history with its New progress by pack you past new murals and into present-day restaurant likeCarson Kitchen , founded by celebrity chef Kerry Simon , andContainer Park , where a sea of transportation containers have been twist into bustling food stand .
attend at any old picture of Fremont Street and you ’ll blob a 40 - foot - tall Ne cattleman in front of the Pioneer Club , seemingly steer at himself . That’sVegas Vic , erected in 1951 . At one degree , he waved and proclaim “ Howdy , Partner ! ” every 15 minutes . He ’s still there , though his phonation corner has since been silenced .
But if you ’re looking for Vegas Vic ’s long - lost girlfriend Vegas Vickie — onetime fixture of the Glitter Gulch — you’ll find her fully reconstruct and kicking up her hound at the newCirca Resort & Casinoright on the Fremont Street Experience , whereshe has her own cocktail lounge . open in 2020 , Circa is a destination in itself , with its three - storySportsbook(the large in the world ) andStadium Swim — a pretty cunning setup where you’re able to splash around in six pools on three different degree while watching multiple variation on soar video screens .
Spot the Hard Rock Café guitar.|Flickr/The Neon Museum
Circa just so happens to occupy the same fix as theNorthern Club , the first casino in Nevada to get a gambling license . These daytime , the venture is trust to do the same thing for Downtown that the Northern Club did for , well , the entire world : light up it up like never before .
The Sahara was a stomping ground of the rich and famous.|Flickr/The Neon Museum
Once owned by Bugsy Siegel, the El Cortez still stands downtown.|Steve Cukrov/Shutterstock
A walk thought the Fremont Street Experience is a walk through the past.|Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
The Circa Resort & Casino strives to be the future of downtown.|Kit Leong/Shutterstock
