Neon Museum seeks $2M grant to move La Concha building

New details on the Neon Museum’s planned relocation to the Arts District show museum operators are not only focused on the sign collection — they want to pack up and move the historic lobby building, too.

Museum operators will ask the Centennial Commission for a roughly $2.1 million grant for the costs associated with relocating the La Concha Motel lobby, a hotel building built in the early days of the Strip that now acts as the museum’s lobby at 770 Las Vegas Boulevard North.

The grant would be a portion of the expected $7.1 million costs associated with disassembling, relocating and reassembling the building, well known for its “Googie” architecture style. Executive Director Aaron Berger said plans for the building, with its large parabolic features, has been the subject of many inquiries since the museum first announced its intention to relocate in July.

“It’s so important to us (that) it’s our logo,” Berger said in a Wednesday interview. “It is definitely our identity.”

The Centennial Commission meets Monday to discuss and vote on the grant request. Established in 2005 in honor of Las Vegas’ 100-year history, the commission is a group of appointed citizens who oversee grant distribution of funds raised through the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” commemorative license plate available through the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. If approved, it would be the largest grant awarded in the commission’s history. It awarded roughly the same amount to 11 grantees in 2023, city records show.

The grant would be contingent on museum officials raising a matching amount, according to the application. The museum will also rely on a $2 million contribution from the city of Las Vegas, fundraising from private and corporate support and contributions from its own coffers.

Berger estimates it will take two to three years of fundraising and site planning. Building relocation efforts will begin once the funding is secured, he said.

“We want to reassure the public that this preservation is important to us and historic preservation is our priority,” Berger said. “We feel like by asking for this funding and getting out in front of this, making this our first public ask is reassuring the community at-large that La Concha is ready to come with us. That building will not only endure in a new site, but it will also house a really significant installation about (architect) Paul Revere Williams.”

The museum previously announced its plans to relocate to two locations in the Arts District, citing the need for more space. The museum averages 250,000 annual visitors.

The first site is the surface parking lot that is expected to become a city parking garage. The top two floors will be dedicated to museum space. The secondary site identified for the relocation is 1054 S. Commerce St. Berger said preliminary plans include the relocated La Concha building with collection storage, office space, a possible live demonstration room and an educational installation about Williams’ history as the first African American architect in the western U.S. and his work.

La Concha Motel operated from 1961 to 2004. The Neon Museum moved the approximately 350-room motel’s lobby building from its original site, on Las Vegas Boulevard North between the Riviera and El Morocco, in 2006. It is on the Las Vegas Historic Property Register and the Nevada State Register of Historic Places, according to the grant application.

Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.