Okay, a visit to the Neon Museum ranks really high, if not the highest, on our list of the coolest things we have ever done in Vegas. This is truly a do not miss experience (thank you Karen B for the suggestion).

Also known as the Neon Boneyard, this is a history of Vegas told through its signage.  It is home to some of the most treasured and world-famous signs of Las Vegas – Caesars Palace, Binion's Horseshoe, the Golden Nugget and the Stardust.

Each sign in the collection has a unique story about who created it, what inspired it, where and when it was made, and how it fits into the development of Las Vegas and the city's rich history.  Changes and trends in design and technology are also illustrated in the pieces that range from the 1930s to the present day.
We took the 7:30 evening tour so that as the sun went down, the signs truly came alive. This was indescribably incredible.






There were many history lessons told on this hour long tour. One I found incredibly interesting was regarding the Moulin Rouge Hotel described as, "The Vegas Hotspot That Broke All the Rules". It was America’s first interracial casino and helped end segregation on the Strip. It proved that the only color that mattered was green. There is so much more that could be said about this. Wow.




Dating from the early 30s, this was the oldest sign in the collection. The first of such establishment owned by a woman.


The Stardust holds fond memories for me. As a child we would stay there and in college, during spring break, rooms were $20. What a deal for us girls on a budget.
This is the newest sign. The Riviera (colloquially, "the Riv") is a closed hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, which operated from April 1955 to May 2015. It is owned by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which plans to demolish it to make way for convention and meeting facilities.

The old La Concha lobby, the museum's ticket office and gift shop, is an example of Paul Revere Williams’ work (he was the first certified African-American architect west of the Mississippi), as he moved away from more traditional architectural styles to embrace Modernism.  A popular name for this type of architecture is “Googie,” which describes a style that references a time when the United States was enthusiastically anticipating the future.
There is absolutely no way I can fully give this experience the justice it deserves. It was truly Vegas in its finest and we were so excited that we were able to do this tour.