NEON MUSEUM RESTORES SILVER SLIPPER SIGN PAINT COLOR TO
ORIGINAL SILVER, GOLD, BLUE
The Silver Slipper, one of the Neon Museum’s most iconic signs installed in the median on Las Vegas Boulevard North, has been restored to its original color combination as the result of a recent repainting.
Long familiar to passersby for its metallic, bulb-studded upper and bright-red sole and insole, the Silver Slipper was, in fact, painted silver, gold and blue when it first appeared on the building of its famed casino in the mid-1950s. It remained that way into the early 60s. Today, travelers along the stretch of road between Sahara Avenue and Washington Avenue, which is a designated National Scenic Byway, will see those original colors once again.
“The City of Las Vegas is in the process of touching up paint and repairing lighting fixtures on each of our signs on the National Scenic Byway,” explains Tracey Sprague, collections manager, Neon Museum. “While the Silver Slipper was indeed painted silver, gold and red during the latter part of its tenure at the casino, returning it to its original hue gives a chance to celebrate the earlier part of its history.”
The blue color selected by the museum team for the new paint scheme was chosen following a color match with photographs of the sign from the 50s into the early 60s.
One of nine restored and operational signs included in the Neon Museum’s Las Vegas Signs Project, the Silver Slipper sits just west of the Neon Museum Boneyard and is frequently photographed by museum visitors; it appears particularly attractive at dusk against the backdrop of the desert sunset. Other signs in the Las Vegas Signs Project showcased on the National Scenic Byway include the Caballero from the Hacienda Hotel and Casino at Fremont Street, Bow & Arrow Motel and Binion’s Horseshoe near the La Concha Visitors’ Center at the McWilliams Avenue intersection and Society Cleaners, the Lucky Cuss Motel and the Normandie Motel at the Ogden Street intersection. Additionally, the Las Vegas Signs Project includes the 5th Street Liquor sign at Garces Street and Casino Center Boulevard and the Landmark Hotel sign, installed on Paradise Road near the site of the imploded casino.
Reservations are recommended for all Neon Museum tours and may be booked online here.
ABOUT THE NEON MUSEUM
Founded in 1996, the Neon Museum is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to collecting, preserving, studying and exhibiting iconic Las Vegas signs for educational, historic, arts and cultural enrichment. It has been named “Best Museum” by Las Vegas Weekly, one of “Sin City’s Best Retro Sites” by MSN, “No. 1 Las Vegas Museum Sure to Entertain and Educate” by USAToday’s 10best.com, “One of the Top 10 Coolest Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do” by Forbes.com, one of the “Top 10 Historic Spots in Las Vegas” by Vegas.com; one of “15 Most Fascinating Museums in the U.S.” by VacationIdea.com; and earns a consistent 4.5 out of 5 rating on TripAdvisor. On its 2.27-acre campus, the Neon Museum houses an outdoor exhibition space known as the Neon Boneyard (“boneyard” is traditionally the name for an area where items no longer in use are stored); the North Gallery, home to the nighttime augmented-reality, audiovisual spectacle, “Brilliant!”; the new Boulevard Gallery outdoor exhibit and event space; and its visitors’ center, housed inside the former La Concha Motel lobby. The museum collection also includes nine restored signs installed as public art throughout downtown Las Vegas and one restored sign on view at the outdoor Fashion Show Plaza on the Las Vegas Strip. Public education, outreach, research, archival preservation and a grant-funded neon sign survey represent a selection of the museum’s ongoing projects. Both the Neon Boneyard and the La Concha Visitors’ Center are located at 770 Las Vegas Blvd. North in Las Vegas. For tour schedules and pricing information, visit NeonMuseum.org. Follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.