Las Vegas signs have been telling visitors where to stay and gamble for the last 80 years. Before there was the Mirage, Caesar’s Palace, and Treasure Island, there was the Riviera, The Silver Palace, and the Pioneer Club. These signs were the original markers of the Strip back in the 50s and 60s.

So where are they now? A lot of classic signs from the old Vegas skyline are laying in the “boneyard”, a graveyard of over 150 neon signs dating all the way back to the 1930s.

"The sign is our architecture. It’s also our native art form,” said Danielle Kelly, operations manager for The Neon Museum.

Artforms like the golden slipper and aladdin’s lamp are being restored by The Neon Museum instead of being destroyed. 

“A lot of people think that these places are gone and that nothing is left of them. So, to see the signs brings a lot of people back,” said museum tour guide Justin Favela.

“There are places that when I was a kid we would go there and eat and they would close down and it would just bring back great memories of great events,” said James Anton, a visitor at The Neon Museum’s “boneyard.”

The Neon Museum is located in downtown Las Vegas and has made saving the memories people like Anton have of these signs their mission. Rescuing a sign is expensive though. It can cost up to $100,000 to remove a sign. Grants can be used to move signs from their original location to the “boneyard.” Companies can also donate their signs.

“It’s really about the community at this point helping us save its history. It’s beautiful,” Kelly said.

“A trip to Vegas without seeing this place is a real loss because you don’t see as many neon signs like this today on the strip and downtown, so to be able to come here and see some of the old signs is really cool,” said Anton.

Lying in the “boneyard” are signs from The Dessert Inn, The Tropicana, and The Stardust, places that used to light up with music from classics like Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra.

“There’s something magical about the fantasies that are present in these signs and all the eyes that have looked at these signs. You can almost feel that they have this power,” said Kelly.

Next time you’re in Vegas, think twice before betting it all on black. Take a gamble at the “boneyard” and see if your eyes can see the magic living on in the old neon signs.