The Neon Boneyard

The term “Boneyard” refers to sites that store obsolete items, either whole or in parts, which will generally be broken up for scrap or disposal. There are different types of boneyards, such as automotive boneyards, industrial boneyards, and even airplane boneyards, which store thousands of discarded aircraft. These boneyards can also include parts stripped from original equipment that may be useful to repair contemporary items. Currently, The Neon Boneyard holds more than 250 signs, many of which were donated by YESCO (Young Electric Sign Company), and made their way to The Neon Museum starting in the early 2000s. YESCO have been active collaborators with The Neon Museum since the museum was founded in 1996, assisting with everything from maintenance and repairs of the collection’s signs, to collaborating on the restoration project of the 82-foot tall Hard Rock Café guitar sign.

Museography is the process of organizing and presenting a collection in a museum to create engagement that emotionally connects visitors with an exhibit by promoting scholarship and providing an enriching overall experience. In short, museography is the discipline responsible for transforming collections of objects into visually impactful stories. The curation and museography of The Neon Museum’s Neon Boneyard were inspired in part by YESCO’s commercial boneyard, which housed many of the iconic decommissioned signs that once illuminated Las Vegas. Each sign displayed in the Neon Boneyard has been arranged in a deliberate way for visitors to simultaneously enjoy the artistry of their designs and the stories contained in their history.