Old Neon Signs to Illuminate Vegas History

LAS VEGAS —  The rust has taken over now, fading the old red and yellow casino sign. Broken lightbulbs that once formed bright beams of neon struggle to hang onto an era long past.

Warped signs and lone letters have languished in this boneyard for years, discarded when another generation’s casinos were demolished to make way for towering new mega-resorts.

Soon the signs will have a new home, where tourists can see them and remember the city’s neon history. The lucky ones will be chosen to glow once again.

“This town doesn’t seem to have much history, but I think we have a history through our signs,” said Gary Hendricks, service manager for Young Electric Sign Co., owner of the sign graveyard and the city’s oldest and largest neon producer.

Within a few weeks, the vintage signs will be relocated to an empty lot on Las Vegas Boulevard, a few blocks north of downtown. By fall 2002, a visitors’ center should be open, offering neon demonstrations for schoolchildren.

Nine historic signs already have been restored and placed downtown by the Neon Museum, a nonprofit group set up by the city in 1996 to save the signs. Some of those signs are from the sign company; others came from the local Allied Arts Council and private donors.

Tourists can see the 1966 genie lamp from the old Aladdin Hotel and the 1940 Chief Hotel Court sign. Plaques accompany each sign and tell its story.

The Hacienda Hotel’s 40-foot-tall horse and rider, which welcomed gamblers on the south end of the Strip, was the museum’s first restoration project. The Hacienda was demolished in 1996, and Mandalay Bay went up in its place. Now the famous cowboy sits on a 24-foot pole at Las Vegas Boulevard and Fremont Street.

The sign company first began designing casino signs in 1932, the year after gambling was legalized. And ever since, when casinos, motels, restaurants and businesses wanted new signs, the old ones were cast aside.

The unplugged signs began collecting in the gravel lot next to the sign company behind the Strip. Today dozens of old signs are stacked on top of one another, some missing letters that rest amid a carpet of broken glass.

In one corner, almost hidden and on its side, lies the red and yellow Golden Nugget sign from the 1950s. Rust has taken over now, and the paint has faded. A new sign with classy gold lighting instead of neon has taken its place at the downtown casino.

Broken bulbs crackle under Hendricks’ feet as he walks the lot, ducking under large signs and weaving in and out of the city’s history. The Silver Slipper from the casino of the same name finds its place near old restaurant signs. A parking lot replaced the Silver Slipper, one more victim of the new Las Vegas. Toward the back, the Lone Palm Motel sign still has its palm tree intact. New York-New York now stands where the little motel used to host tourists.

They are a reminder of old Vegas, when the Rat Pack ruled the Strip, flashing neon was all the city knew and resorts with dancing fountains and pirate shows weren’t even imagined.

“The good memories come back,” Hendricks said, glancing at the castoffs. “You remember walking by, you just . . . “ he said, his voice fading away. “It was a part of a Las Vegas that’s gone.”

The sign company never intended the boneyard to become a tourist attraction, despite many requests from the curious. In its new location, the Neon Museum will welcome visitors exploring Las Vegas’ bygone landscape.

One by one, historic signs from the boneyard will be chosen for restoration to former glory. Each neon face-lift will cost at least $10,000, money the Neon Museum gets through private donations.

As they are preserved, clusters of signs will be erected in several outdoor locations throughout downtown and possibly the Strip, said Barbara Molasky, president of the Neon Museum.

“Everyone has some memory regarding a Las Vegas hotel or neon sign,” she said. “That’s why we want to restore them. You don’t want to see them disappear.”

The Neon Museum plans to offer free boneyard tours beginning this summer. Construction on the information center is expected to begin by the end of the year and be completed by next fall.

“No city in the world ever created a sign environment like Las Vegas,” said Richard Hooker, a senior cultural program specialist for the city. “Our museum is going to be one of the unique museums in the world.

“There’ll be no other museum like ours.”

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City of Las Vegas:

https://www.ci.las-vegas.nv.us/