The first time I heard about the Boneyard, I assumed it was a cemetery of some sort, and I soon found out I wasn’t far from the truth. The Boneyard is where old neon goes when it dies—if it’s lucky. Actually, it goes there if we’re lucky, because otherwise it vanishes entirely.

Not too many decades ago, the death of old neon signs was not a matter of concern for most people. Old casino façades and burnt-out motel arrows held about as much allure as worn-out mattresses and old tires. If it weren’t for the business practices of the Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO), the company that built—and still builds—many of the large neon signs all over Las Vegas, many of the vintage signs of yesteryear would have long since disappeared into landfills.

Instead of selling signs outright to the properties that commissioned them, YESCO routinely leased the signs and performed continuing maintenance on them. When a sign needed to be removed or replaced, YESCO carted off the unwanted hardware and stored it in a lot on its own property. YESCO’s collection of obsolete signs became the basis for the Neon Museum, a nonprofit entity formed in 1996 to preserve and restore vintage Las Vegas signs. Now located on North Las Vegas Boulevard next to Cashman Center, the Neon Museum has steadily progressed from a repository for old signs into a place where those who love them can visit and learn about the sparkly side of Las Vegas culture and history.

On Tuesday, the Hampton Hotels’ “Save-a-Landmark” program joined the effort to take the Neon Museum to the next level. Now in its ninth year of helping to restore roadside icons all over North America, the “Save-a-Landmark” program provided money and volunteers to spruce up the two existing Boneyards and paint the La Concha Motel lobby, an enchanting shell-shaped bit of Googie architecture that used to reside on the Strip. Thanks to major efforts and donations by lovers of mid-20th-century kitsch, the La Concha’s lobby was saved from destruction and moved north to become the Neon Museum’s visitor center.

I thought I was showing up early this morning when I pulled into the Boneyard’s parking area around 8:30, but volunteers had been hard at work far earlier. Under the direction of Las Vegas artist and muralist Jerry Misko, volunteers were painting a mural inspired by the old Stardust sign on the temporary walls of the La Concha. The mural will be on display for about two years, Misko explained, until restoration is complete and the temporary walls are replaced with plate glass windows. When the center is finished, a painting by Misko of the La Concha in its glory days will cover the back interior wall.

Cultural historian Chris Epting, author of The Birthplace Book and a number of other books about America’s pop culture icons and landmarks, is the spokesperson for the “Save-A-Landmark” program. When I asked him, he said his favorite sign is the silver slipper from the old hotel/casino of the same name. I was happy to see the slipper in its new location on a tall pole on the median of Las Vegas Boulevard. The last time I saw it, it was on the ground in the Boneyard, studded with broken and burnt-out light bulbs. Now, all those light bulbs are in working order, and the slipper’s toe points at the La Concha. Howard Hughes once bought the Silver Slipper in order to extinguish its lights, the legend goes, because they kept him awake in his suite across the street at the Desert Inn. It’s impossible to know if he would approve of the slipper’s rebirth, but I think I speak for most of us when I say it’s a charmingly nostalgic sight to see it twinkling again.

More vintage signs will soon join the three that have already been refurbished and installed on North Las Vegas Boulevard. Like the Strip, Las Vegas Boulevard between Sahara and Washington Avenues was named a “National Scenic Byway” in October. The City of Las Vegas has partnered with the Neon Museum to install more restored signs along the corridor. Thanks to donations, grants, and the Hampton Hotels’ Save-A-Landmark Program, the Neon Museum is well on its way to making the vintage neon of Las Vegas accessible to visitors, whether they’re just driving by or stopping to take a closer look.

Chris Epting told me that when he was driving to the museum this morning before dawn, he caught sight of the silver slipper from a distance, sparkling on its new pole. “It was sweet,” he said, and I think that sums up the appeal of all the old signs in the Boneyard. Each one has its own story, and together they form a neon timeline of Las Vegas history. The Moulin Rouge sign is there, and the Stardust, and the old drugstore sign that offered “Free Aspirin and Tender Sympathy.” The signs can make you smile, make you sad, make you think. They are, just as Epting said, sweet.

It’s also sweet to see the Neon Museum growing into something more and more people can enjoy.