Le Chic Geek
Yesterday, I showed off the fabulous high heel sign greeting me at the Neon Museum.
The Neon Museum is a time capsule of Vegas, in a way. They store and show off discarded neon from Vegas, creating a glamourously rusted and faded timeline.
When you enter the grounds, you are greated by a neon sign created for them. The letters are based on casino signs–N fromthe Golden Nugget, E from Caesars, O from Binions and I forget where the N is from.
The entire tour is outdoors and with no shade for an hour. I was both looking forward to and dreading this tour because the neon sounded neat, but I do terribly in dry heats. It is also a half-mile from the edge of Fremont Street and is an unshaded walk.
Luckily, it only hit 100 when 112 was projected and some moisture was hanging in the air from impending rain. They also provide ice cold water and reoffer it a few times during the tour. They accept donations to offset the cost of the water which we were happy to do because the $15 admission was a steal for what we got. One group gave up on the tour from the heat in the first five minutes, so also consider hats, parasols, and/or ice laden spritz bottles to stay cool
They are currently building an air conditioned visitors center to help people cool off before and after the tour. They are a non-profit, so it looks like they are expanding and improving things as the money comes in. Unfortunately, the signs are a lot of money to restore (the high heel from yesterday was $100,000 alone), and with hundreds of signs there, it would be almost impossible for them to restore more than a handful.
The tours fill up quickly, so book your tour as soon as you get to Las Vegas. Here are some favorites from the tour:
That’s my left-handed sister, who proudly found a sign pointing this out.
This Elvis slept here sign is restored and part of their Urban Highway project where they restored some vintage signs and lined the highway with them. The high heel, called the Silver Slipper, from yesterday was part of this.
Our fabulous tour guide. Nick, I think.
And then us at the end of the tour. We survived!
I hope they get some funding to restore the signs. When I saw things like this, it was sad:
Overall, this tour is a must-albiet, a very hot must see. I recommend running to Binions right after for a 99 cent margarita. That’s what I did!
The Neon Museum truly is a wonderful place. It’s absolutely worth braving the heat. Prepare by hydrating to excess, using the facilities at the nearby 7-Eleven, purchase something with electrolytes for the tour, and take the water whenever the guides offer it. A hat wouldn’t hurt either.
One of my favorite signs is from a minimart on the way out of Vegas, offering free aspirin and tender sympathy – both likely very much needed! You can see that sign poking out to the left of Sassy Sally’s in one of the photos above. You can also see it, along with great photos of a bunch more signs at this flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevesobczuk/sets/72157617925723629/detail/?page=2