No, mobsters are not being dug up. (Have they really left?) Regardless, located behind chain-link fences, rests 150 relics of vintage Las Vegas. The relics belong to the Neon Museum, which has been collecting old neon signs since 1996 and showcasing them throughout the city and at its Neon Boneyard.
But with no place to adequately display its vast collection, the Neon Museum for five years has been forced to operate on an appointment-only basis.
That has all started to change this week with construction starting on the Neon Boneyard Park.
The park will be located on the corner of McWilliams Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard and will back up to what is now part of the Neon Boneyard.
The $1.9 million improvement project will jumpstart a sluggish Las Vegas economy and be located along the section of Las Vegas Boulevard that was recently designated a National Scenic Byway and is at the heart of the Las Vegas cultural corridor.
The project includes the development of the half-acre park and paving part of the Neon Boneyard for a parking lot. The Bureau of Land Management funding the project.
When the park is completed, visitors will find landscaping, benches, picnic tables, a stage and informational kiosks.
A sign made up of replicas of old neon letters will welcome visitors to the new park. The company building the sign, Federal Heath, chose iconic letters from the old Horseshoe, Desert Inn, Caesars Palace and Golden Nugget signs to spell out the word “neon” in LED lighting.
The Neon Boneyard will move across McWilliams Avenue, behind the restored La Concha Motel lobby, which will serve as the visitor center.
The change will allow the Neon Museum to better serve visitors, expand public hours and operate under a general admission format, rather than visitors making appointments for tours.
In light of the construction, the Boneyard is now closed to the public temporarily but will reopen in the spring for modified tours. The new facility should be up and running by the summer.
Vegas Backstage Access (VBA) 