Thursday, May 8, 2003 | 10:55 a.m.
Their hopes were set on the Silver Slipper, a high-heeled ladies shoe that once topped the marquee of the casino of the same name.
But at 14 feet tall and more than 8 feet wide, there was no feasible way for museum staff to move the clunky 2-ton metal figure into its gallery space.
"I wanted to get the Stardust letters in here too," said Thomas Dyer, exhibits manager of the Nevada State Museum and Historical Society. "But those are so big we'd have to get them on their sides."
Still, there is plenty of nostalgia overwhelming the state museum's gallery, where "Neon Unplugged, Signs From the Boneyard" opens Sunday.
The exhibit features roughly 30 aging relics taken from the Neon Museum's outdoor storage lot known as the Boneyard.
Paint-chipped, unlit and dusty, the giant signs and sign pieces are clustered behind chain-link fences for the Boneyard effect, their empty light-bulb sockets exposed.
Though merely a taste of the Boneyard, and not as romantic as the three-acre lot near Cashman Field where roughly 100 unrestored signs haunt the grounds, the exhibit gives an up-close view of colorful images from Las Vegas' yesteryear.
Included in the exhibit is the 22-foot-long, faded and loosely scripted Landmark sign that once stretched across the marquee of the late 1960s-built hotel, which was imploded in 1995.
Also included are the giant "G-O-L-D" letters of the Golden Nugget, an entrance sign to the now-imploded Dunes hotel, the "Casino" from the Sands and an "R" taken from the now-remodeled Sahara.
The battle ax from the Normandie Motel on North Las Vegas Boulevard is stashed behind its tremendous handle/motel sign.
"Some of them are in really sad shape, a lot of them are broken," Dyer said.
But, he added, "They're old signs, retired signs that had their heyday and now they're artifacts given some respect.
"We did minimal cleaning, not a great deal, because we want to show them in their Boneyard state -- rusty, tired, in need of some protection and restoration, that sort of thing."
Seeing the signs
The exhibit is a joint effort between the state museum and nonprofit Neon Museum.
Organizers are hoping "Neon Unplugged" will generate interest in the Boneyard, which is tentatively set to open its doors this year. State museum staff members hope the exhibit draws visitors to its facility on Twin Lakes Drive.
"It's a metaphor within a metaphor," Dyer said. "It's like pheromones in the biological world. It's an attractant. A sign's whole purpose is to bring people in." And an exhibit of the beloved signs will hopefully do the same at the museum trying to rejuvenate itself.
"All of these signs are big cans," Dyer said. "They're big sheet metal, formed and riveted. There's a whole art to this. It's a big part of what made Las Vegas what it is today."
At the Boneyard -- now closed to the general public -- uninvited visitors have literally been climbing the fences to get a peek at the retired signs.
"It's very funny," Sandra Harris, director of the Neon Museum, said. "They are allowed to come if they make an appointment."
Prearranged guided tours have been conducted informally for the past two years.
Tour groups include county and city groups, seniors, high school students on education tours, photography clubs, graphic designers and historical architects. At least one group of visitors tour the site each week.
"They get pretty passionate about it," Harris said. "It's kind of a sacred piece of history."
Flashing forward
Most of the signs are from a collection started by Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO), which had the foresight to collect and store the signs when the hotels were demolished or remodeled.
Others were donated or rescued by the board of directors. Their refurbishing chances are based on historical value, recognizability and design elements, Harris said.
Eleven signs have been restored at an average cost of $20,000 per sign, funded through private donations, Harris said.
They're part of a walking tour on Fremont Street that includes the fantastically lit Hacienda Horse and Rider, installed in 1967 at the former Hacienda Hotel on the Strip and the ornamental Aladdin lamp, installed in 1967 at the Aladdin.
Further refurbishing is on hold while the Neon Museum maintains the already restored signs and prepares to open the Boneyard to the public.
The Neon Museum's ultimate goal is to open a museum to store and feature them, a goal that would take another three years and cost $10 million, Harris said.
But there's a definite interest. Despite a lack of advertising, tourists and locals drive by the Boneyard daily.
"They're jumping the fence, calling constantly," Harris said. "There's so much demand right now for a place. We can open the Boneyard relatively easy.
"A lot of people have the idea that Vegas has just abandoned its past," Harris said. "That's the illusion, that we just don't cherish history in this town. People get fascinated by the obvious effort to save it."
Admission prices would be put toward building a facility.
"It's a really fun way to teach Vegas history," Harris said. "Each of the signs have an interesting story. Especially from the design perspective ... Signage and architecture have really changed."
And in Las Vegas, she said, "The buildings themselves have become signs."
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