The Neon Museum

Trivia Tuesday!

What famous Las Vegas hotel hosted The Beatles during their first North American tour in 1964?

📸: Courtesy of Las Vegas Review Journal

Vote for Us! The Neon Museum is honored to be nominated for several Best of Las Vegas Awards. Make us the winners by casting your vote!

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The twinkling Plaza Hotel & Casino sign! This sign was the 22nd sign to be restored in 2022. Hartlauer replaced 576 light bulbs, installed 14 new border neon units, and repainted the nearly 40-year-old sign.

Historic treasure. Do you know what sign this is?

In July 1922, over 400,000 railroad laborers and workers went on strike to protest for better wages and job security. In Las Vegas, this action came at a critical time when Union Pacific Railroad had already cut 60 jobs, impacting the city's small population of 2,300.

Las Vegas relied heavily on Union Pacific, yet was also largely pro-union. A mishap at the Union Pacific-owned power plant led to a city-wide blackout, turning public sentiment against the strikers. The strike fizzled out by late 1922, with workers gaining slight wage increases, but Union Pacific pulled out key resources from Las Vegas. In the 1920s and 1930s, however, Las Vegas was already diversifying its economy through tourism and mining, and was not as reliant on the railroad as it had been.

Elmer “Al” Bramlet arrived in Las Vegas in 1946, with a mission to expand the Culinary Workers Local 226. Under his leadership, the union grew from 1,000 to over 22,000 members by the time of his death, largely due to his focus on diversifying the workforce and providing benefits such as medical care and home ownership opportunities.

However, Bramlet’s methods became increasingly extreme as he faced resistance from non-union establishments. Believing that businesses operating without union affiliation undermined the strength of Local 226, he allegedly turned to violence, orchestrating bombings on several local restaurants. When a bombing attempt on the Village Pub and Starboard Tack failed, Bramlet’s relationship with his hired bombers, Tom and Gramby Hanley, soured. Refusing to pay them for the failed job, Bramlet found himself the target of their revenge. The Hanleys kidnapped and brutally murdered him in 1977.

📸: Courtesy of the Culinary Union Local 226, The Neon Museum Collection, Mob Museum

The Frontier strike in Las Vegas lasted over six years, from September 21, 1991 to February 1, 1998, becoming one of the longest labor disputes in U.S. history. It involved 550 workers protesting wage, benefits, and pension cuts by the Elardi family, who owned the Frontier Hotel. This resulted in a 40% decrease in business at the Frontier by the end of the strike’s first year. The strike attracted significant attention, with support from activists like Cesar Chavez and Jesse Jackson.

In 1998, Phil Ruffin bought the Frontier, ending the historic strike. Ruffin, alongside outgoing owner Margaret Elardi, paid back $3.5 million in back pay and benefits to strikers, and maintained their seniority and pensions.

📸: Courtesy of the Culinary Union

Ruby Duncan, born in 1932, moved to Las Vegas in 1952 from Tallulah, Louisiana. After a divorce and a work-related injury made it difficult to make ends meet, the single mother of six applied for welfare. The challenges and stereotypes she encountered inspired her to advocate for welfare reform. In 1971, Duncan, alongside activists like Jane Fonda and Sammy Davis Jr., marched on the Las Vegas Strip, drawing over 6,000 protesters and shutting down operations at major properties, starting with Caesars Palace.

In 1972, Duncan co-founded Operation Life, a non-profit dedicated to job creation, children's medical care, and drug and alcohol prevention awareness. Her activism continued for decades, including serving on President Jimmy Carter’s National Advisory Council on Economic Opportunity in 1979 to discuss job program reforms.

📸: Courtesy of Getty Images

Labor Day was first declared a national holiday by President Grover Cleveland on June 28, 1894, to be observed annually on the first Monday of September. The holiday's roots trace back to the late 1800s, a time when laborers, including many children, faced harsh working conditions with long hours and low pay.

Today, unions play a significant role in protecting workers, with over 111,651 union members in the Las Vegas area, making up 13% of the total workforce.

📸: Courtesy of Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jacobin Magazine, The Nevada Independent

The Wedding Information sign was in use in the 1970s at the Ali Baba Wedding Center on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip.

Time to Shine! The Neon Museum is nominated for several Best of Las Vegas Awards. Help us take the top spot by voting today!

Vote daily! https://bit.ly/3Z02p0P

Testing your Vegas sign knowledge. Can you name this sign?

On this day in 1946, the iconic Golden Nugget Las Vegas opened in downtown Las Vegas. The casino's signage, bursting with color and typographic flair, was crafted to capture the attention of visitors and evoke the Old West.

The "1905" façade, now preserved in our Neon Boneyard, commemorates the founding of Las Vegas.

**Trivia Tuesday reveal**

What color glow does neon gas typically produce when when electricity is applied?

ANSWER: Neon gas typically produces a bright red-orange color.

Vegas nostalgia wrapped in a spectacular audiovisual experience.

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Trivia Tuesday!

What color glow does neon gas typically produce when when electricity is applied?

Monday Memories.

Silver Slipper postcard circa 1960s.

✨ A bright piece of history: The Fitzgeralds sign is one of only two in the Neon Boneyard that came to us fully operational!

This iconic piece lit up the Fitzgeralds Casino until it was transformed into The D Las Vegas.

Do you know what sign this beautiful glow belongs to?

Let's hear your guesses!

Let the vintage neon signs dazzle and spark memories.

✨️ Brilliant! Jackpot

**Trivia Tuesday Reveal**

Which classic 1997 movie features O'Sheas as the spot where a character wins a sports car?

ANSWER: Vegas Vacation

📸: UNLV Libraries Special Collections & Archives

Be part of something iconic! 🌟

With our expansion plans unveiled, we are thrilled to invite talented leaders to help guide our future. Ready to make your mark in Las Vegas history?

Apply today! https://bit.ly/3SZIJIJ

Trivia Tuesday!

Which classic 1997 movie features O'Sheas as the spot where a character wins a sports car?

Our neon lights are shining bright in the Best of Las Vegas nominations! We’ve been nominated for several Best of Las Vegas Awards and would love you to help up shine the brightest!

You can vote daily here: https://bit.ly/3Z02p0P

Ann Meyers purchased the Casbah Casino in the 1970s, renaming it the Queen of Hearts Hotel and Casino at a time when there were very few women in gaming, and none that owned a casino in the city.

Take a look! Can you name this sign?

Everyone is famous under the neon lights.

✨️ Brilliant! Jackpot

**Trivia reveal!**

Les Folies Bergere began captivating audiences in 1959 at which iconic Las Vegas hotel & casino?

ANSWER: Tropicana

📸: UNLV Special Collections & Archives