The Moulin Rouge sign is seen reilluminated at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
Rob McCoy, president and CEO of the Neon Museum,ʣenter, watches alongside Dee Dee Jasmine, a dancer who performed at the Moulin Rouge in 1955, center left, and Las Vegas City Councilman Cedric Crear, upper right, as the Moulin Rouge sign is reilluminated at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
Rob McCoy, president and CEO of the Neon Museum,ʣenter, watches alongside Dee Dee Jasmine, a dancer who performed at the Moulin Rouge in 1955, left, and Las Vegas City Councilman Cedric Crear, right, as the Moulin Rouge sign is reilluminated at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
People take photos as the Moulin Rouge sign is reilluminated at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
People take photos and record video as the Moulin Rouge sign is reilluminated at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
Claytee White, director of the Oral History Research Center at UNLV, talks before the reillumination of the Moulin Rouge sign at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
Dee Dee Jasmine, a dancer who performed at the Moulin Rouge, center left, leads the countdown to its reillumination at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
The Moulin Rouge sign is seen reilluminated at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
The Moulin Rouge sign is seen before being reilluminated at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
People take pictures before the reillumination of the Moulin Rouge sign at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
Rob McCoy, president and CEO of the Neon Museum,ʳpeaks before the reillumination of the Moulin Rouge sign at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
Claytee White, director of the Oral History Research Center at UNLV,ʳpeaks before the reillumination of the Moulin Rouge sign at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
Las Vegas City Councilman Cedric Crear attends the reillumination of the Moulin Rouge sign at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
The Moulin Rouge sign is seen reilluminated at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
The Moulin Rouge sign is seen reilluminated at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
The Moulin Rouge sign is seen reilluminated at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
For the first time since arriving at The Neon Museum Boneyard, the iconic Moulin Rouge sign has been brought to life again.
The monumental Moulin Rouge letters, weighing in at as much as 1,200 pounds, have been rearranged to more accurately portray how the sign was originally displayed in 1955.
In total, it took 293 hours and 832 feet of neon tubing to complete the project.
The relighting Wednesday night was a private event with Cedric Crear, Las Vegas city councilman, and Claytee White, director of UNLV’s Oral History Research Center.
The marquee now joins the growing number of illuminated Las Vegas neon signs on display in the Boneyard.
The Moulin Rouge Hotel was famous for being the first major racially integrated casino, and in March of 1960, it played a crucial role in ending segregation in Las Vegas.
Its sign was designed by one of the few female sign designers of the era, Betty Willis, who also designed the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign.
“We are thrilled to re-electrify the historic Moulin Rouge sign and illuminate this monumental piece of Las Vegas history,” said Rob McCoy, president and chief executive officer of The Neon Museum, in a statement.
Contact Janna Karel at jkarel@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jannainprogress on Twitter.