Las Vegas History Tour
Discover the history of Las Vegas, from its origins as a meeting point for nomadic Indigenous peoples crossing the dusty Mojave Desert, to the city’s humble birth as a remote railroad stop in 1905. This Museum Guide-led tour traces the city’s evolution including its checkered past with the Mob and years of segregation through the neon-lit stories of Downtown and the world-famous Strip, revealing how Las Vegas rose to become the dazzling “Entertainment Capital of the World.”
Neon Boneyard Experience
At the heart of the experience is the Neon Boneyard, expertly curated since 2012 to preserve the city’s irreplaceable glowing icons. Walk among legendary signs that once defined the skyline each glowing relic telling a story of innovation and reinvention. Stand beneath the beaming Stardust letters and glimpse the space age era, zip back to the family-friendly phase at the Treasure Island skull and witness the milestone of social progress marked by the Moulin Rouge—the nation’s first racially integrated casino.
Celebrating Las Vegas’ Icons
Encounter the visionaries who helped shape Las Vegas’ visual identity, such as designer Betty Willis (creator of the City Center Motel and Moulin Rouge) and Kermit Wayne (designer of the Stardust and Golden Nugget). Today, the Boneyard shines brighter than ever, newly featuring the vibrant Palms sign—historically significant as the first property in Las Vegas to be entirely owned and operated by a Native American tribe.
City Center sign at The Neon Museum
The term “Boneyard” is often used in the commercial signage industry to refer to a place where signs are retired following their period of use. Signs are typically leased out to businesses, and when a company renovates or closes, sign companies store the displays in their storage lots or “boneyards.” The old signs are used for parts, repurposed, scrapped or sadly, destroyed.
The arrangement of our outdoor collection is meant to emulate the layout of an active boneyard, with signs that range from the 1930s through today stacked, arranged and erected in a mindful and matter-of-fact manner.
