The Neon Museum (The Neon Boneyard)
Thanks to my friend Claire, I was able to venture off-Strip for once and check out the Neon Museum (also known as the Neon Boneyard) with her and some of my other Vegas friends on a nice Saturday morning in October. I was so happy to be able to take my Canon and get some good photos for my personal collection!
Claire was nice enough to arrange limo transportation for six of us to and from the Palazzo Hotel & Casino, and the trip to the museum took about 20 minutes with traffic. We were dropped off at the museum office - which sits across the street from the actual "museum" - to pay the entrance fee of $15 and sign waivers stating we would NOT use any photos we took for anything other than personal use. Absolutely!
Paul was our guide for the day, and he took our tour group across to the museum area from the office area. He kept up a running dialogue of interesting facts about the signs found outside the museum property along Las Vegas Boulevard and what the museum owners were planning to do with the additional signage they were acquiring from hotels when ownership changed hands as we made our way up to the gates of the boneyard.
Before we were allowed inside the museum grounds, we were given strict instructions to look, but don't touch; not because the signs in the area are necessarily fragile, but because they are old, sharp, and could fall on us if we attempted to get too close to them or pose around them. He invited us to take our time and take as many photos as we wanted, and he proceeded to lead our group from area to area, giving background information on the signs and answering questions as he went. The walking tour took about an hour, and it was a beautiful day for a stroll amidst all that Vegas history.
Claire and I being the avid photographers of our group (along with a couple of other equally avid photographers in the tour group) tended to stray behind a little and didn't hear all the descriptions, details and history because we were too busy framing shots at every opportunity. Even so, we were extremely happy because we were able to photograph to our hearts' content the historic and interesting signage out on display in the boneyard. Getting an up-close and personal look at the classic signs from The Dunes, Stardust, Binions, Moulin Rouge and other famous or long-gone hotels was fantastic, and I'm so glad I got the opportunity to see them all up close. I was surprised that there were so many other signs in the collection from hotels I'd never even heard of. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, though, since I've only been vacationing in Vegas for about 13 years, and some of the signs are well over 50 years old.
In the end we DID manage to catch up with our group at the end of the tour, and a limo was waiting to pick us up and return us to the Palazzo. It was a fantastic way to spend a Saturday morning in Vegas. On a scale of 1 to 10 for Vegas attractions, I rate it as a 9.
If you plan on visiting the museum, be sure to make reservations for you and your party as far in advance as possible, as they only have two tours available on any given day. There is no penalty if you should need to cancel, but reservations are required because of the limited number of spaces available. Also be aware that closed-toed shoes and long pants are strongly recommended by the organizer, and you could be refused entry into the boneyard if you are wearing sandals or flip-flops because of the danger and risk that may be involved walking so closely to some of the ancient signs.
For more information or to schedule a tour, go to their website for the link to the request:
http://www.neonmuseum.org/
Tour times and days:
Tuesday - Friday, 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Saturday, 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
Claire was nice enough to arrange limo transportation for six of us to and from the Palazzo Hotel & Casino, and the trip to the museum took about 20 minutes with traffic. We were dropped off at the museum office - which sits across the street from the actual "museum" - to pay the entrance fee of $15 and sign waivers stating we would NOT use any photos we took for anything other than personal use. Absolutely!
Paul was our guide for the day, and he took our tour group across to the museum area from the office area. He kept up a running dialogue of interesting facts about the signs found outside the museum property along Las Vegas Boulevard and what the museum owners were planning to do with the additional signage they were acquiring from hotels when ownership changed hands as we made our way up to the gates of the boneyard.
Before we were allowed inside the museum grounds, we were given strict instructions to look, but don't touch; not because the signs in the area are necessarily fragile, but because they are old, sharp, and could fall on us if we attempted to get too close to them or pose around them. He invited us to take our time and take as many photos as we wanted, and he proceeded to lead our group from area to area, giving background information on the signs and answering questions as he went. The walking tour took about an hour, and it was a beautiful day for a stroll amidst all that Vegas history.
Claire and I being the avid photographers of our group (along with a couple of other equally avid photographers in the tour group) tended to stray behind a little and didn't hear all the descriptions, details and history because we were too busy framing shots at every opportunity. Even so, we were extremely happy because we were able to photograph to our hearts' content the historic and interesting signage out on display in the boneyard. Getting an up-close and personal look at the classic signs from The Dunes, Stardust, Binions, Moulin Rouge and other famous or long-gone hotels was fantastic, and I'm so glad I got the opportunity to see them all up close. I was surprised that there were so many other signs in the collection from hotels I'd never even heard of. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, though, since I've only been vacationing in Vegas for about 13 years, and some of the signs are well over 50 years old.
In the end we DID manage to catch up with our group at the end of the tour, and a limo was waiting to pick us up and return us to the Palazzo. It was a fantastic way to spend a Saturday morning in Vegas. On a scale of 1 to 10 for Vegas attractions, I rate it as a 9.
If you plan on visiting the museum, be sure to make reservations for you and your party as far in advance as possible, as they only have two tours available on any given day. There is no penalty if you should need to cancel, but reservations are required because of the limited number of spaces available. Also be aware that closed-toed shoes and long pants are strongly recommended by the organizer, and you could be refused entry into the boneyard if you are wearing sandals or flip-flops because of the danger and risk that may be involved walking so closely to some of the ancient signs.
For more information or to schedule a tour, go to their website for the link to the request:
http://www.neonmuseum.org/
Tour times and days:
Tuesday - Friday, 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Saturday, 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
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