Las Vegas’ Neon Museum Moving to Arts District for More Room

Posted on: July 18, 2024, 01:32h. 

Last updated on: July 18, 2024, 02:23h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Las Vegas Myths.

With all the iconic Las Vegas casinos being demolished by their new owners, it was bound to happen. The Neon Museum is running out of room to display the still-glowing remnants of Las Vegas’ past.

Founded in 1996 to preserve the unique cultural heritage of Las Vegas, the Neon Museum currently resides on 2.27 acres at 770 Las Vegas Blvd., near Bonanza Road. Outside, in an exhibition space known as the Neon Boneyard, it displays 26 restored and operational casino and hotel/motel signs, alongside more than 250 unrestored signs. (Image: Neon Museum)

This sad reason is why the cramped downtown attraction announced plans this week to move two miles south of its current location to the Arts District. The relocation — news of which was first tweeted by Vital Vegas back in November 2023 — will nearly triple the museum’s outdoor and indoor exhibit space.

The clamshell-shaped La Concha Motel, built in 1961, was originally located on the Strip at 2955 Las Vegas Blvd South. Today, it serves as the Neon Museum’s visitor’s center. (Image: Neon Museum)

Times of the Signs

In a press release, the museum admits it has yet to choose between two new sites, both of which it plans to “conduct due diligence on.”

One is a 60,000-square-foot outdoor display space that will also boast 47K square feet of indoor space on the ninth and 10th floors of a proposed parking garage at the corner of Art Way and Boulder Avenue, just north of Charleston Boulevard.

The second site, located a short walk away, sports 35K square feet of programmable space, the museum said.

The museum hopes to move to one, or both of the expansion sites by 2027. It plans to raise $45 million for the move from government funds and philanthropic gifts.

The iconic La Concha Motel lobby, a circular shell designed by Paul Revere Williams that now houses the Neon Museum’s visitor’s center, will make the move to whichever new location is chosen. So will a new slew of signs and other relics expected to be donated by the owners of the recently closed Tropicana and Mirage.