What happened to Stardust’s ‘showstopper’ neon sign?

The start of July marked the 65th anniversary of the opening of the now-defunct Stardust resort, although its history can still be seen through its neon sign.

The Stardust neon sign was once called the “Queen of the Strip,” according to Johann Rucker, the research and content delivery manager for the Neon Museum, since its massive 188 feet tall and 90 feet wide original frame with its letters were surrounded by bright stars. Now just the letters, which are roughly 17 feet tall, still get lit up at the Neon Museum, at 770 Las Vegas Blvd. North.

The sign — first installed in 1968 — was designed by Paul Miller and modeled after the space theme of the Stardust hotel, Rucker said.

“It’s kind of playing with that sort of space age, like sort of retro futurism aesthetic, in a similar style of that cartoon ‘The Jetsons,’” Rucker said.

Stardust memories

The Stardust opened in 1958 with 1,000 hotel rooms and was at the time the world’s largest hotel. It also housed the famous Lido de Paris club which hosted shows from 1958 to 1991 and included renowned acts like Siegfried and Roy. The multi-colored Lido sign was added to the Neon Museum at the start of 2023 and is 56 feet wide.

Both the Stardust and its entertainment options set the standard for Las Vegas resorts in the later half of the 20th century, according to Michael Green, associate professor of history at UNLV.

“The Stardust, when it opened, set a standard for size, more than 1,000 rooms and the big neon sign,” he said. “At the time, it seemed enormous. Today it would look like a wing at one of the Strip hotels. But it tells us in a sense, how much things have changed over what is, for a lot of people, the course of one lifetime.”

The site of the Stardust is now occupied by Resorts World, a property that has over 3,500 rooms, and opened in 2021.

The Stardust also holds a special place in the cultural history of Las Vegas since the story of its management team during the 1970s was the inspiration for the 1995 film “Casino.” Although the film only looked at certain figures of organized crime in Las Vegas such as Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal and Tony Spilotro, the hotel’s ties to organized crime were present from its opening until it was acquired by the Boyd Group in 1985, Green said.

“The Stardust holds a special place in pop culture,” he said. “And in the cultural mindset of the mob in Las Vegas, it became so central. It also ended up being symbolic of the state and the Las Vegas Strip cleaning up their act, eventually driving out organized crime and the Boyd Group, taking it over and running it cleanly.”

Although the Stardust operated for years after organized crime was largely removed from Las Vegas, it eventually closed in 2006 and imploded in 2007 since the property couldn’t keep up with other offerings and amenities brought on by other resorts on the Strip, Green said.

“It would be nice if tourists came to Las Vegas thinking, I want to stay in a hotel that reminds me of the 1950s,” he said. “But that isn’t why they come here.”

Stardust’s legacy

Now the Stardust’s neon sign and the neon sign of the the Lido de Paris provide tangible ties to the historic property and provide a “grand finale” to the Neon Museum’s tour, Rucker said.

“In addition to being like a pretty killer photo opportunity, the Stardust signs are an object of fascination for a lot of people because it’s just kind of a showstopper,” Rucker said.

Both Green and Rucker think that even though the Stardust has been gone for 16 years it will remain an important part of the history and story of Las Vegas.

“The Stardust looked to the future from its founding, it looked to the stars, it looked to the excitement of science and human ingenuity,” Rucker said. “I think Las Vegas is nothing but emblematic of that, where the city itself is always looking to the future, always looking to be a forerunner in many, many different ways.”

Contact Sean Hemmersmeier at shemmersmeier@reviewjournal.com or on Twitter @seanhemmers34.