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Neon Signs on Sticks Could Be On The Move (And, Maybe Not A Good One)

November 6, 2012 at 4:56 PM | by | Comment (1)

We need to be convinced this is a good idea.

Five neon signs are moving away from Fremont Street to a traffic median on Las Vegas Boulevard. The Red Barn, Nevada Motel, Flame Steakhouse, Wedding Information and Dot's Flowers neon structures, floor mounted on the pedestrian section of Third Street between Fremont and Ogden, are being transplanted. This group was part of the Neon Signs on Sticks preservation project. They'll end up on a median on Las Vegas Boulevard between Fremont and Charleston. We don't yet know the exact location. But, we bet int the future, you'll only notice them from a car, or riding the Deuce.

It still needs city approval, but that seems a forgone conclusion. Other signs on Vegas Boulevard medians include the nearby Elvis Slept Here which we also think deserves a better setting.

Cost of this particular sign shuffle, installation and upkeep? $500,000.

These signs continue to be on loan from the Neon Museum to the city who'll be the one's taking care of them for at least another year in their new spot. (We think we could do it for half the price with a truck full of Windex and AAA batteries.) The half a million operating budget will be subtracted from the existing Centennial Grant fund, partly designated for exactly this sort of historical preservation.

Now, we know it's just down the road, but removing a pedestrian attraction in an area that is desperately trying to generate and replicate foot traffic seems odd to us. Particularly, since it took us all of two seconds to find hundreds of images of these historical markers. From now on, maybe not so much. Perhaps a greater scheme is yet to be revealed to us.

This collection acted as a personal beacon in the past to indicate we were on the correct street when walking to the Triple George or Mob Bar, a block away. If we saw this collection, we knew we were in the right place. In September of next year, the Downtown Grand hotel and casino will be our new visual guide, but we've not seen much in the way of authentic vintage neon among the concepts for that resort.

Voting take places this week. We'll let you know when they'll be turning out the lights.

[Photos via eyeshot300 Flickr]

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Return to » Neon Signs on Sticks Could Be On The Move (And, Maybe Not A Good One)

wow, stupid idea

Some drunk is going plow into them, then what?
And 500,000??? Are you sure that wasn't a typo?
franko on November 6, 2012 at 9:42 PM #Permalink

Return to » Neon Signs on Sticks Could Be On The Move (And, Maybe Not A Good One)

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