Select pieces of the recently closed and imploded Tropicana Las Vegas will now be permanently displayed at the Neon Museum.
The museum has taken ownership of dozens of pieces of signage and other memorabilia from the Tropicana casino resort, which opened in 1957. The museum’s treasure trove also consists of iconic Sin City casino signs and other architectural pieces.
A large advertising sign that stood on Las Vegas Boulevard from 1976 until 2012 is already prominently on display at the Neon Museum. Most of the new rescued pieces are in need of repair or restoration before display.
The Neon Museum has also asked anyone with memorabilia or personal recollections of the Tropicana to give them a visit and share their stories for a future project.
“Vegas is a city that constantly builds up and blows up,” said Neon Museum Las Vegas Executive Director Aaron Berger.
“When we are talking about restoring signs that have been on the Strip for years, there’s so much that goes into it. You have to think about the age of the signs and what type conditions it’s gone through over the years.”
The New Additions
The Neon Museum has not released a full catalogue of what pieces it rescued from the Tropicana. But it says it will roll out many of them for display over the following months.
However, Berger says they are keeping some larger pieces in storage to reveal after the Museum’s planned 2026 move to a new Arts District location. As well as some pieces from the venerable Rat Pack-era Tropicana, the Museum also took ownership of some memorable parts of the recently closed Mirage Las Vegas.
Luxury casino resort The Mirage opened in 1989, and its success helped usher in a new era of mega resort projects on the Las Vegas Strip. When the Mirage closed earlier in 2024, the Neon Museum saved its giant entrance archway sign. Moving it was a job so big, transporting it temporarily closed off Las Vegas Boulevard for half an hour.
The Museum also has parts of the Mirage Volcano attraction, which played out nightly shows for crowds on the Las Vegas Strip for free for nearly three decades.
The Existing Collection
The Neon Museum is currently located just north of downtown Las Vegas. It has a striking art deco entrance building, which was the old lobby of the 1960s era La Concha Motel (closed 2004).
A large part of the Museum’s exhibits are displayed outside. It includes signs from the second casino to open in Las Vegas, The New Frontier (1942 – 2007) and the 1950s casinos the Hacienda, The Stardust, and the Desert Inn. The Museum is also in charge of maintaining a dozen or so vintage neon casino signs no longer associated with any open casino that are scattered around the Las Vegas area.
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David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
