Blog du Wren

Where Neon Goes to Die

The most exciting [blogable*] activity from my latest trip to Las Vegas was a visit to the neon museum, a non-profit whose mission it is to collect, restore, and display signs from Las Vegas's past. The museum is still in its beginning stages, so the tour was less of a museum and more of a tour of a fenced-in gravel lot. But that doesn't mean it was any less cool*.

So besides "museum" being somewhat of a misnomer, at least currently, the focus on "neon" also doesn't necessarily stand true. Many, if not most, of the signs in the boneyard are pre-neon, or at least pre-neon-overload. In my book, that makes it all the better, as it is reminiscent of the old timey Vegas before its over-the-top consumerism* as seen .

Putting these two denotive-nitpickyisms aside, I can't recommend the boneyard highly enough. The place seems to come alive with the stories from the tour guide of the history of a certain casino chain's font choice and the pre-WWII rivetless construction style. And while they have kind of a discouraging photo policy, I managed to snap a few good shots. Read on for more reactions and photos.

More...

Sunday September 9 2007

File under: travel, pics

Toggle Comments (12)

comment?

on Mon 10th Sep, 2007 11:47 am PDT Saxtor said:
There's another neon boneyard just North of Circus Circus, I believe. It didn't exactly look publicly accessible at the time*, but we could see it from our 14th floor hotel room. Definitely sounds fun!

For a bit more cool nostalgia on your next trip, be sure to check out the Pinball Hall of Fame. No admission is collected at the door, only by way of the coin slots. It was the highlight of my last trip to LV.
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on Mon 10th Sep, 2007 01:40 pm PDT jenelle said:
saxtor's tip on the PHOF (yah, that's with a "ph") reminds me of a cool museum in san fran that i have yet to wander around in called the Musee Mecanique.
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on Mon 10th Sep, 2007 04:16 pm PDT Saxtor said:
And here's a website of a genius who makes his own, including this one that would be of special interest to Wren.
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on Mon 10th Sep, 2007 10:55 pm PDT MOM said:
And, please, don't forget about the "Twenty-Four Hour Church of Elvis" in Portland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24_Hour_Church_of_Elvis. I still carry my Sacred Elvis Detector with me for emergency sightings. If I was really cool though, I would add a bunch of ***'s to this comment like all these blogger dudes and send out subliminal messages about "The King."
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on Mon 10th Sep, 2007 11:36 pm PDT Saxtor said:
Sorry Marg, but the 24 Hour Church of Elvis closed a few years back. I was really bummed to learn that, as it was at the top of my list when I first moved to the PDX area back in those days. :(

But that's okay, you can always visit RichArt's Art Yard
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on Mon 10th Sep, 2007 11:36 pm PDT Saxtor said:
...in Centralia, WA, might I mention.
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on Tue 11th Sep, 2007 07:06 am PDT Sarah F said:
thanks saxor! you just gave me a good idea of something new to do with the in-laws when they're here in a few weeks! that place looks awesome.
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on Wed 12th Sep, 2007 12:25 pm PDT Sean said:
Ah man, that hover thing just blew me away. Now I have to go back and re-read every post.
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on Thu 13th Sep, 2007 04:51 pm PDT Jule said:
While in Centralia don't forget to go the Olympic Club for a beer. It may be a Mcmenamins, but it has the coolest and largest urinal I have ever seen. Not to mention a fine game of Billiards.
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on Thu 13th Sep, 2007 04:52 pm PDT Jule said:
Holy pee! they are on the web (the urinals) http://www.urinal.net/mcmenamins_olympic_club/
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on Thu 13th Sep, 2007 08:59 pm PDT MOM said:
So, a big "no me gusta" on the urinals, Jule. How do you even sit on those things?
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on Fri 14th Sep, 2007 09:53 am PDT Saxtor said:
For the record, McMenamins typically have the finest non-ice-filled-troff-type urinals in the land, but the Centralia ones are definitely the best of all of them. I'm glad to know there is another appreciator of fine vertical porcelain.
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