Relighting of The Mirage Signals the Next Phase of a Las Vegas Icon

For decades, The Mirage stood as one of the most recognizable landmarks on the Las Vegas Strip. Its tropical landscaping, erupting volcano, and iconic glowing sign helped define a new era of Las Vegas resorts when it opened in 1989.

Now, The Mirage’s iconic Lagoon sign shines once again at The Neon Museum. The relighting of the Lagoon sign, alongside the installation of a Volcano FireShooter™ from the famed Mirage Volcano Water and Fire Show, gives two beloved artifacts a new life. Millions of visitors passed the sign on their way into the resort’s lush lagoon entrance and now even more people can enjoy the resort’s history.

Let’s take a walk down memory lane and look at the history of The Mirage, as well as its next chapter at the Neon Museum.

The Mirage Changed the Strip

When The Mirage opened in 1989, it was a turning point for Las Vegas. Developed by Steve Wynn, the resort helped usher in the era of the modern megaresort. At a cost of more than $600 million according to newspaper articles in 1990, The Mirage was the world’s most expensive hotel-casino ever built at the time.

Bo Bernhard, director of the International Gaming Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said that The Mirage “changed the image Las Vegas projected to the rest of the world.”^[1]

The resort’s volcano quickly became one of the city’s most recognizable attractions. Every evening, crowds gathered along Las Vegas Boulevard to watch fire, water, sound, light, and even smell (pina colada) combine into something you couldn’t find anywhere else.

The Lagoon sign was positioned at the entrance to the resort’s tropical landscape and helped establish the sense of escape that made The Mirage feel different from what had come before. Millions of people walked past that sign for decades.

More Than Just a Resort

Photograph of The Mirage Hotel & Casino volcano attraction at night, August 2003. Gift of Anita Rosenburg, Ref: 2016.010.074

Part of what made The Mirage so influential was that it changed expectations for what a Las Vegas resort could be.

Before The Mirage opened, many casinos focused primarily on gaming. The Mirage helped shift attention toward the overall guest experience. Visitors came not only to gamble, but also to see the volcano, explore the tropical landscaping, dine at amazing restaurants, and experience world-class entertainment, like the famous Siegfried & Roy show.

The volcano was especially important because it was accessible to everyone and one of the first free entertainment options on The Strip. Families, locals, and tourists alike gathered along Las Vegas Boulevard night after night to watch the free show, making it one of the most widely experienced attractions in the city. Today, there are a few options like this on the Strip, but The Mirage was the first to set the stage (literally) for this type of entertainment.

For many visitors, the volcano and lagoon entrance became their first memory of The Mirage. The resort appeared in television shows, movies, and travel brochures and became one of the most recognizable symbols of Las Vegas during the 1990s and early 2000s.

That broad cultural impact is part of what makes the preservation of the Lagoon sign and Volcano FireShooter™ significant. These artifacts helped shape how millions of people experienced Las Vegas.

Preservation Through Illumination

On June 5, The Neon Museum officially added The Mirage Hotel & Casino Lagoon sign and a Volcano FireShooter™ from the iconic Strip attraction to the Neon Boneyard during a special relighting ceremony.

The Lagoon sign was relocated to the Neon Boneyard, while the Volcano FireShooter™ was installed nearby as a companion artifact that helps tell the story of the resort’s famous volcano attraction.

The acquisition was a collaborative preservation effort involving Hard Rock International, The Mirage, Penta Cares, The Neon Museum’s Sign Conservation Fund, and local sign industry partners. By securing the artifacts, the Museum has preserved not only these physical structures but also the visual reminder of a part of Las Vegas’ history recognizable to millions of visitors.

Even though it’s always sad when an iconic resort like The Mirage leaves the Strip, it just goes to show how Las Vegas is always reinventing itself. Plus, The Mirage may be entering a new era, but its influence on Las Vegas remains impossible to ignore.

The relighting of the Lagoon sign and the addition of the Volcano FireShooter™ to The Neon Museum’s collection offer visitors the chance to reconnect with a resort that helped redefine the Las Vegas we know and love today.

Come visit The Neon Museum and see the re-lit Mirage sign to experience its history and story!