The Neon Boneyard

For our first full day of vacation, and our only full day in Vegas, I arranged for us to see a side of Sin City that most tourists probably don’t even know exists. Just beyond the end of the Strip and just before you enter the downtown district of the city lies a hidden playground of Vegas history affectionately called the Neon Boneyard. In a nutshell, it’s where the old hotel and casino signs from the Strip go to retire or just rest for a while until someone decides to restore them. Financed through donations, the non-profit Neon Museum offers guided tours where the stories and history of the signs are told. They also allow private access for photo and video sessions, which was our purpose for visiting…

The Boneyard is just a photographer’s dream come true – that’s the only way to describe it! The old, broken, rusted signs are bursting with character and they almost audibly beg to have a camera pointed at them. Stepping close to examine their detail, you feel as though the spirit of Old Vegas is a living being and the ghosts of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. are standing next to you. It’s humbling and awe-inspiring. At least, that’s how I felt. And knowing that we had the place all to ourselves for an hour was the cherry on the sundae!

With the assistance of a tripod and a wireless shutter remote, I was able to photograph this session and be a subject in it. Not an easy thing to do, mind you, but the results are so worth all the effort! Take a look!

One of the challenges of shooting a session that you’re also a subject in on a breezy day is that no one is there to tell you that the wind has blown your dress up and your lining is showing. Another one is when you’re delayed from capturing the shot you want because your boyfriend cannot stop giggling.

A Neon Museum employee came over to let us know when we had five minutes left in our hour. She noticed the sign we were posed with and told us that it had originally been part of the Moulin Rouge hotel. When it came to live at the Boneyard, they reworked the Rouge so it appeared to spell “Love” instead. 

For our big finish, we decided to do a little twirl and take a big bow.

I definitely recommend putting this place on your Las Vegas sight-seeing list! We liked it so much we even plan to come back the next time we’re in town and take the official Boneyard tour to hear the stories of these amazing signs.