For 27 years, it was an iconic sight for Las Vegas visitors: an 800-square-foot guitar glowing in yellow and red neon, tilted just so in front of the Hard Rock Cafe on Paradise Road.
When the cafe next to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino closed in 2016, the guitar -- modeled after Pete Townshend's #9 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe -- returned to its creators, Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO). The company decided to donate the spectacular piece of Las Vegas history to the Neon Museum.
But before the guitar could take up residence in the museum's signature Boneyard, the sign needed to be restored. YESCO spent about 1,650 work hours refurbishing and installing the sign, which includes 4,110 feet of neon tubing and 1,538 10-watt incandescent bulbs, spelling out the words "Hard Rock Cafe" across the body of the guitar.
A crowdfunding campaign helped pay for the project and future maintenance, and the restored sign was recently reilluminated in its new home for the first time. Now, visitors to Las Vegas can marvel at the massive art piece at the Neon Museum, an enduring symbol of the city saved from the scrap heap.
For more information or to donate to the sign's endowment fund for future care and maintenance, visit neonmuseum.org/events/hard-rock.