I’m so excited tomorrow I will be visiting the city of sin…Las Vegas for a long weekend with my husband (and for this German function thing which I will explain at a later date). Can’t wait, love this city! I have been so many times I have lost count and then just a couple of months later I will be back in Vegas for the VIVA Rockabilly weekend (yay!!!). Anyways….the last time I was in Vegas I got to check out one of the coolest pieces of history that Vegas has…”Neon Boneyard Park aka The Neon Museum“.
Vintage Vegas-The Neon Museum
Samples of the Vintage Neon Signs
The Neon Boneyard is home to over 150 donated and rescued signs dating from the 1930’s to present day. Located within a two-acre outdoor museum space, the unrestored collection includes signs from businesses, motels and celebrated casino resorts originally located throughout the Las Vegas valley.
Some of the signs that have been “laid to rest” here, I have seen in my 14 years of visiting (Sahara, Stardust). Then some are WAY before my time like Yucca Motel (Opened in 1950), seen below.
What a cool sign and I can only imagine how cool it looked all lite up in the Vegas nighttime sky.
VISITING NOTE: Go do the tour AT NIGHT! It’s the best time to see the signs. Daytime is fun too but nightime is the best!
Below are some pics from the tour, which you can book by going to their website (link was posted above). I learned so much about “Vintage Vegas” and I 100% recommend that you check out the tour the next time you’re in the city.
Love this One “Sassy Sally’s” what a name 🙂
“Silver Slipper”-I love shoes, so this was a VERY appropriate sign. Wonder if it would fit in my luggage??
Cool History Note!
Below is a picture of what the Casino use to look like. It was around from the 1950’s until the 1980’s and was home to “Barry Ashton’s-Wonderful World of Burlesque”. In April 30, 1968, the Silver Slipper was purchased by billionaire Howard Hughes for $5.4 million in his famous spending spree of buying Vegas properties, which included the Frontier next door. Legend has it that he purchased the casino because the lights from the rotating slipper bothered him. This was a time when Mr. Hughes feared for his safety, and because the toe of the slipper always stopped and faced the window of his Desert Inn penthouse before rotating again, he feared a camera could be planted in the toe either by the government or someone else. After several attempts at requesting that the slipper be turned off, Hughes purchased the casino, had the slipper filled with concrete and dismantled the rotating mechanism (Vegasliveshows.com).
El Cortez vintage sign & Showboat.
Yours truly at the Boneyard (in my Bettie Page dress-It was chilly that day so I had to cover it up).
Thanks for dropping by! Have you been to the Neon Museum? I have now gone during the day AND at night (night is the best!).
Further Reading:
- Vintage Travel Posts 1920s-1960s (Archived Blog Posts)
- Vintage Las Vegas Photos, 1940s-1960s
- The Dancing Side of the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend
- Vintage Vegas-Neon Boneyard Park
Want to visit?
I am an affliate with VIATOR a tour company I have used on several of my trips and trust 100% for a good time. They have lots of tour options for all different activities in Las Vegas, including the museum. Take a look below at some sample tours!
Note: Viator is an Affiliate Link, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Thank you!
Ohhhh, I’m going to join you there in spirit, okay? I’ve never been to Vegas, but I’ve felt the pull to visit since I was knee high to a slot machine. It’s not the gambling or tourist draws that beckon to me, but the notion that maybe, just maybe I could still connect with a little bit of the world and culture that Rat Pack knew, as well as to see first hand a city that was so near and dear to one of my all-time favourite writers (Hunter S. Thompson).
Have a fabulous, fun trip!
♥ Jessica
*PS* Thank you so much for your awesomely lovely comment on my wig reveal post, it really means a lot to me. I agree, there are perks – such as no more hair dye required each month – to wearing wig for sure.
There in spirit..done. That takes up like..zero space in my luggage hehehe. 🙂 If you do ever get a chance there is still bits and pieces of “Old Vegas” left and sometimes the fun of travelling to places like that is looking for those haunts that still exist.
Oh and one more thing…I’m totally envious that you can pull off red so wonderfully, lucky duck.