Step Into Bright Lights & Shady History at Las Vegas' Neon Boneyard

The Neon Museum tells the story of Las Vegas through thousands of luminous bulbs

You don’t necessarily make the trek to Las Vegas with the intention of visiting a museum, but Sin City, just like any other iconic American destination, has its fair share. And when you think about it, why wouldn’t that be the case for a place with a history as interesting as Vegas’? A city with origins inextricably linked to the mob, after all, is bound to have plenty of skeletons in the closet (and in nearby Lake Mead, unfortunately).

The modern history of this infamous out West adult playground got started in the 1930s, when President Herbert Hoover, in his infinite wisdom, commissioned construction on what was originally called the Boulder Dam. Single men flocked to the desert to snatch up those damn dam jobs, significantly increasing the population of Las Vegas, which was previously home to just a few thousand people, and creating a brand new market for entertainment — more specifically, casinos and showgirl theaters. The burgeoning scene eventually attracted the attention of less-than-reputable characters, some of whom helped finance the Flamingo, today one of the most iconic casinos on the Strip.

The mob’s investments in Vegas, which were basically an open secret, had the place jumpin’ by the mid-1950s, with millions of people visiting and “donating” upwards of $200 million yearly. However, as our good friend Marshall Mathers once told us: “Bitches Casinos, they come, they go / Saturday through Sunday, Monday / Monday through Sunday, yo.” Everybody wanted to get in on the action, but building and then owning and operating a casino/hotel resort is expensive, dawg, and it didn’t always work out.

Las Vegas’ Neon Museum is in the business of preserving the stories of those ill-fated ventures, collecting and displaying the neon signs of the ghosts of casinos past — and those of casinos present — making sure their memories live on. Located near the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas, the museum invites you to travel back in time through the decades, learning about the twists and turns that helped make Vegas what it is today. Scroll on for a peek at the treasures awaiting visitors in Sin City’s Neon Boneyard.

The sign from La Concha Motel, which operated in Las Vegas from 1961 to 2004, is one of the first you’ll encounter in the Neon Boneyard; the motel’s former lobby is now the museum’s visitor center

The Plaza Hotel & Casino is still standing in Vegas, but one of its old signs has found new life at the Neon Museum

Milkman “Andy” Anderson was the mascot for the Anderson Dairy in Vegas until his sign was taken down in 1994 during a facility expansion; of course, we had to capture “Andy” with our own Milkman, Cam “The Man” Toczynski

The Palms Casino Resort, which sits just off the Strip on Flamingo Road, is the only fully Native American-owned and operated casino in Las Vegas; this sign comes from an early 2000s billboard advertisement

Super Bowl LVIII, which pitted the Kansas City Chiefs against the San Francisco 49ers, took place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas; afterward, the Super Bowl folks were kind enough to donate this sign to the museum

Sassy Sally’s Casino was a staple on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas from 1980 to 1999, thereafter becoming Mermaids Casino until it was demolished in 2017

If you hear wedding bells ringing, it may be because you’ve spotted this 1970s era wedding information sign from the Ali Baba Wedding Center that formerly stood on the south end of the Strip

One of the larger signs at the Neon Museum is that of the short-lived Moulin Rouge Hotel-Casino, which was open for just a few months in 1955; its significance lies in the fact that it was the first racially integrated casino in Las Vegas, opened at a time when the city was known as the “Mississippi of the West” for the way Black visitors and performers were treated

In addition to the signs showcased here, there is much more to see at the Neon Museum. The next time you’re in Vegas, maybe consider prying yourself away from the blackjack table for an hour or two to check it out.

-LTH