Las Vegas Neon Boneyard visit

Before I forget. Remember when we were in Prescott and I wrote about the painted leather jewelry we saw. The beautiful butterflies etc.  Here is the lady’s web site. Worth looking at. She does amazing work.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/IlluminatedLeather

Managed to get all the cleaning done yesterday morning before Bill brought Willie home. Also did some laundry. Feeling very self righteous. Willie got a new battery, his oil changed and filter cleaned of all the red Arizona dust. Also a couple of sensors replaced – now no more red lights staying on.

I found out about the Neon Boneyard and made reservations for the afternoon at 3:00.  Reservations are required as it is a guided tour. If you ever get the chance do it. Am I ever glad we went. But before we got there we were driving north on Las Vegas Blvd and saw several brides walking and standing in front of chapels. I got married here twice and so did all our kids. 

One I missed was dressed in a bright red old time dance hall girls dress along with net stockings and high heeled laced boots. Love it.

The sign for the Neon Boneyard.

Some information about the sign.

Also out front above the sidewalk is the Silver Slipper from the long gone casino of the same name. If you remember some of these signs you are as old as we are! The guide told a tale about the Silver Slipper and Howard Hughes – seems Hughes thought there were spies and or camera in it that were watching his hotel room that was directly across the street from it. So to stop the spying - he bought the casino. 

The tour office. This used to be the lobby of the La Concha Motel – it was moved to this place several years ago. Had to be cut into eight pieces to move it.

Into the “boneyard” We had a great tour guide – he had so much information about Las Vegas past and a great way of telling it. Sometines real serious other times pretty "tongue in cheek." His name was Sean.

One of the first signs we saw. From the old Golden Nugget down town on Fremont Street. The 1905 is when Las Vegas was settled. There were several pieces of the original sign but can’t include everything.

The sign from the Sahara. Now that the Sahara has been torn down there is a half finished hotel/casino on the lot. I guess work does continue so eventually it will be opened. But near as fun looking.

Part of the Lido de Paris sign. One of the great show girl shows from yesteryear. The only Show Girl show now is the Jubliee at Ballys.

The old El Cortez and Showboat signs.

There is a night tour when the signs are lit.

There were so many more with their own stories. Like the story of the Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino – the first integrated show room in Vegas. It was only open for six months. At that time in Vegas history a black performer could perform at a club but not stay there or eat or gamble there. 

Binion’s Horseshoe from Fremont street. When it was stilled called that. 

This is our guide telling us how neon is made. If you make a mistake part of the way through a letter it has to be thrown out. Also how the colors were made. Wish I could remember everything he said.

Part of a Motel sign. Notice the pegs around each letter. That is where the bulb changers stood to change burnt out bulbs. They changed the lights from the bottom to the top. Since OSHA the lights are changed using a cherry picker or with bucket seats coming down from the top of the sign.No more climbing on the pegs.

One of the many Wedding Chapels. At one time Nevada was the marriage capital of the states – but eventually became the divorce capital of the states. Only six weeks residence required.

The skull from the old Treasure Island sign. Before they decided to change from family to adult image. Before the pirate battle became a sexy siren romp. No worth watching any more. But of course I'm not a guy.

The huge Stardust sign. Picture doesn't do it justice.

The Silver Slipper and part of an old Tropicana sign. Silver Slipper long gone. Tropicana is one of the few old hotels still in operation.

Old original Caesar’s Palace sign. Supposedly the profile is of the owner.

Just some letters from various signs. I don’t remember which ones. The Barbary Coast sign is in the background. The building was sold and then sold again and is now in stages of remodeling or demolition don't know which. 

I only included a very small portion of the artifacts there. 

It was a great tour – takes about an hour and costs $12 for seniors. Well worth it.

Heading back through town I caught this sign. Do you suppose he really did?

Wee Kirk of the Heather Wedding Chapel – I got married there to my first husband in 1957 – looks like it is still going strong. My marriage lasted less than four years. Bill and I got married in the courthouse and we are heading into 49 years.

For the first time in years we stopped at this big souvenir store. It is huge.

Just a small part of the inside.

Lots and lots of stuff no one needs. Amazing things. Slot machines, games, cups of every shape size and color. Clothes - even a wedding veil.

We were stopped at a light and the fountain at the Bellagio was dancing.

Then a stop for an early dinner and home.

When we got home I downloaded the pictures [all 120 of them] to my laptop where I discovered they were in “read only” format. Aaaarrrrgggg….When I got the Sony WX80 last spring and found out what a great camera it was we bought another one for Bill to use. But he’s never used it. So I used it today. I remember when I used mine the first time I had to call Sony because of this “read only” stuff and they walked me through fixing it but can’t remember how I did it. Guess I’ll have to call them tomorrow. I can go into the laptop and change each picture so I can work with it but don’t want to have to continue to do that.

Today errands - flea market for a rug, Sams Club for books, Bill wants to see the new Jeeps - NO Willie we will just be looking don't get upset. Later there is a soccer game and of course the truck race to watch.