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I was heading over to Cashman Center this afternoon, and just before I got into the parking lot, I noticed two things:

1. A surreal junkyard
2. The old La Concha Motel

I thought I was having some kind of flashback.  Not that I have ever taken drugs … perish the thought … but I did assume that I was seeing things.

Of course, I had to get to the bottom of my hallucination, so I hung a quick right turn and proceeded down an eerie dead-end street.  At the end of the street was a lady dressed in a bridal gown.  At this point, I was fairly certain that I was, indeed, having flashbacks.

When I stopped the car at the road’s end, I looked around and quickly realized that I had driven directly into the center of the “Neon Boneyard”.

For those of you who are not aware, the Neon Boneyard is where Las Vegas neon signs go to die.  It is about one mile north of Downtown on Las Vegas Boulevard.

Did you ever wonder what they did with the Stardust sign?  Well, they dumped it in the boneyard … along with the signs of most other hotels, motels, bars, restaurants, stores, and other attractions that are no longer with us.

There are literally thousands of neon fixtures in the boneyard, and it really is a sight to behold.

These days, the folks who run the exhibit don’t like the term “boneyard”.  They prefer that it be called “African-American” … I mean “The Neon Museum”.

I think “boneyard” sounds far more cool than “museum”, but … whatever.

One of the problems with the Boneyard has been that it has never really been open to the public.  The Boneyard is a non-profit endeavor, and two days out of the week you can arrange tours for “donations” (read: admission fees), but the infrequent tours are usually booked solid, and the whole thing is kind of a hassle.  For that reason, I have never been inside the gates of The Boneyard.

This didn’t stop me from trying to investigate the La Concha structure.

I strode up to a gap in the fence, and was lucky to meet one of the employees of the boneyard.  I was not allowed inside because she did not have any photo releases for me to sign.   Apparently, only personal photography is allowed inside the boneyard, and you have to sign a form to swear on your mother’s life that you will not use the images for commercial purposes.

She could have gotten in trouble for letting me in without a release. To be honest, I didn’t want one anyway … because I don’t agree with that particular clause.

The Boneyard is a non-profit organization funded with taxpayer dollars, and I think I should be free to use my photos for whatever I damn well please.  I paid for the place.  We all did.  In my opinion, we should be able to enjoy and disseminate the photos in any manner we choose.

This nice lady did not make the rule, though.

“What if I just walk around the barbed wire, hold my camera up, and take shots?”, I asked.

She grinned and said “It’s a public street, whatever you do on the outside of the fence is none of my business.”

She really was quite nice, and seemed to want the place to be seen.

There was a large, 6 1/2 foot high fence around the boneyard with barbed wire, but being 6’3” has its advantages.

I lifted my arms up, and even put them through the barbed wire in order to take shots.  I ripped my shirt and got a minor cut on my arm, but when I see a shot … I try my best to get it.

After I was done, I went back and spoke with the museum employee for about 5 minutes, and she filled me in on the details of what was going on.

The Neon Boneyard obtained a fairly substantial Federal grant, and they are using that grant to turn the Neon Boneyard into the “Neon Museum”. They will be opening this museum to the public.  That is the reason the La Concha Motel is there … it is going to serve as the entrance and lobby for the new Neon Museum.

I am not sure if there will be a fee to enter the museum (my guess is that there will be),  but it is slated to open to the public in 2010.

This means that everyone will be able to visit the museum at their leisure, as it will soon be a standard tourist attraction.

Personally, I think this is great news.  Looking at the signs was a beautiful thing.   Some I recognized, some I didn’t, but it was really very cool to take that walk down memory lane.

I really do think this will be a legitimate tourist attraction in an otherwise blighted Downtown area.   It will certainly be far more interesting and productive than Neonopolis ever was.  There is just something compelling about being able to reach out and touch the old signs that were significant pieces of Las Vegas history.

There is one negative aspect to it though.  This being the neighborhood.

The museum is just north of Downtown in a gang-riddled section of the city next to Cashman Field.  When I went to the far east  side of the museum fence to take photos, I had to enter a deserted side street.

While snapping away, I heard something coming up behind me, and when I turned around, I noticed that a small car had coasted to a stop about three feet from where I was standing.  When I turned to face the occupants, the passenger reached into his jacket for something.  I was pretty sure I was going to be staring at the business end of a gat, but the driver put his arm across the passenger and said “It ain’t worth it” … then peeled off down the street.

Forget about being tall, sometimes looking like a bum has its benefits.

Now that I am home and have had some time to think about it, I can’t help but feel slightly insulted.

Why in the hell was my camera not worth stealing???

I like my camera.  I think it’s great.  As a matter of fact,  It’s my favorite camera I have ever owned.

If I was a gangbanger, I’d steal it.  It is worth it.  Assholes.

My feelings are hurt.

I’m going to go back and look for those bastards so I can tell them that I don’t like the paint job on their rice-rocket car, and demand an apology.

That’ll teach them some manners.

Anyway, this development regarding the Boneyard going public is great news for lovers of Vegas nostalgia everywhere.  It’s the first time I am actually looking forward to a museum opening.

Lest my little story concern you about safety, I am positive that when it becomes a bona-fide attraction, the area will be kept safe.  Visitors getting jacked is bad for tourism.

Enough yapping, here are some preliminary photos.

You better like the shots.

I cut myself, ripped my clothes, and almost got shot in the face to get them.

Really … don’t mention it.

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