Vintage Vegas neon signs light up Sin City museum - Itineraries on NBCNews.com
The brightly-colored, flashing lights of neon signs and the city of
Las Vegas go together
like gin and tonic water, so it’s no surprise that
Sin City is the site of
the Neon Museum, which its founders say is the world’s largest museum of neon signage.
On
Saturday, when the museum opens its doors, visitors will be able to
view a collection
of more than 150 neon signs - some vintage dating back
to the 1930s, others more recent.
But
all the signs are an important part of the social, architectural,
design and pop-culture
history of Las Vegas, said Danielle Kelly, the
museum’s executive director.
“Everyone
knows the Stardust, which is highly recognized by so many people all
over the
world,” Kelly said. The museum has three different versions of
signs from the iconic
Stardust Hotel-Casino, which was demolished in
2007 after an almost half-century run.
During its heyday, the resort was
considered the ultimate in luxury and style.
Other signs are from lesser-celebrated properties, like the one from the
Algiers Hotel - once “the place
for a power breakfast,” for locals, Kelly said.
Other signs are from
the Moulin Rouge, the Desert Inn, the Flamingo and
other bygone hotels,
restaurants, casinos and businesses.
The museum features a two-acre outdoor space known as the Neon Boneyard,
and a
visitor center housed inside the former La Concha Motel lobby, a
distinctive
modern shell-shaped building from the early 1960s.
The
initial effort to collect the signs began in the 1980s when a local
arts group recognized
their historic and artistic value, as many signs
were being destroyed when buildings
were torn down, Kelly said. In 1996,
the formal collection began with a handful of rescued signs.
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Vintage Vegas neon signs light up Sin City museum - Itineraries on NBCNews.com
