Since You Asked—The Neon Museum

Ever since Betty Willis designed the historic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign for Western Neon in 1959, Las Vegas has had a love affair with neon signs. It’s hard to believe, but for many years, no effort was made to preserve this rich area of local history. When old hotels were torn down or rebranded, their signs were simply discarded.

Somewhere around the mid-1990s, the nonprofit group behind the Neon Museum started storing signs haphazardly in an empty lot north of downtown, with the hope of someday providing them with a proper home. In the meantime, small tours were available by appointment on an informal basis, if you happened to know about it and were able to reach someone when you called.

It wasn’t until the La Concha Motel closed in 2004 and its iconic lobby building was donated that momentum built for a real home for the museum. The La Concha lobby was cut into pieces, transported up Las Vegas Boulevard, and restored to serve as the incipient Neon Museum’s lobby and visitor center. It’s now now a full-fledged tourist attraction.

The Museum is located at 770 Las Vegas Blvd. North, which is about a 10-minute walk or a very quick cab ride up Las Vegas Blvd. from Fremont Street. (I wouldn’t recommend walking it at night).

I’d suggest buying tickets on their website, since it’s a timed-entry admission and it’s possible that if you just show up, you might have to wait for an open slot. Nighttime tickets are also available; they light up some of the old signs to show off their former glory. Day or night, you’ll really enjoy stepping back through history to visit the Las Vegas of years gone by.