Just returned to my hotel before I venture out to Caesars Palace this evening to see the Jerry Seinfeld Show.
Today’s experience at the Neon Museum here in Las Vegas was like going back to the 20th Century for me. The first time I visited Las Vegas and the famous Strip was way back in 1969, way before smart phones and iPads.
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| One of the Las Vegas classics: The Golden Nugget |
I can remember wandering down Las Vegas Blvd with my Standard 8mm movie camera shooting many of the Neon Signs that I saw this morning in the bone yard of this museum. I still have all that footage at home in one of my wardrobes, so needless to say today’s experience bought back many wonderful memories of a bye gone era for me.
Almost all of the casinos that were prominent then have had to be demolished to make way for progress and the changing road system plus the multi story monoliths of today.
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| A boneyard of Neon signs from hotels past here in Las Vegas |
As you can see by the photographs, this Neon Museum has preserved and saved many of those wonderful Neon Signs that were the trade mark of the strip back in the day of the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Peter Lawford & Joey Bishop).
Almost all of the original Casinos and Neon signs are no longer in existence, for those of you that are old enough to remember these iconic names from the past:
* Stardust.
* Sahara.
* Frontier.
* The Star Dust.
* Moulin Rouge.
* The Mint.
* The Sands
* The Golden Nugget.
Plus many more that are too many to list here, and who could ever forget the flamboyant Liberace, his museum closed its doors here on October 17th 2010, his museum had also fallen victim to changing tastes of tourists. Liberace died of Pneumonia on February 4th 1987 as a result of AIDS at his home in Palm Springs, California at the age of 67.
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| Ten lovely young ladies that are visiting Las Vegas from Cleveland, Ohio |
I also managed to catch up with 10 lovely young ladies [above] that are visiting Las Vegas from Cleveland, Ohio to celebrate their friend's bachelorette party. The lady in question is on the far left.
The museum made these beauties turn their Tee-shirts inside-out before they would give them permission to enter, if you look closely... you can see why. They told them that this museum was a family friendly attraction. Spoil sports, this would never have happened in the “GOOD OLD DAYS”.
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| The original Stardust sign being installed in 1968 |
I need to go and prepare myself for this evening's BIG night out, I can’t wait because I have loved Jerry Seinfeld since watching him on his hilarious TV Show.
Cheers for now.
Warbo.
NB: I must also remind you in case you have forgotten. “Adventure before Dementia”
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