When Will Durham realized Nevada’s iconic neon signs were going dark, he started collecting them. Decades later he’s opening the Light Circus Nevada Neon Museum in Reno.
RENO—The streets of Reno and Las Vegas once glowed with buzzing neon signs beckoning visitors to casinos, bars, and restaurants. Neon is embedded in the culture of Nevada and the American West, though it has faded as businesses close and buildings get demolished. Reno local Will Durham has been preserving and restoring neon signs across Nevada since the 1990s, amassing a large collection including signs from casinos like Harold’s Club, the Mapes Hotel, Sahara, and the Nevada Club.
Durham’s long-held vision for a neon museum is finally coming to fruition. Located inside the National Bowling Stadium in downtown Reno, the Light Circus Nevada Neon Museum will feature a display of iconic signs from his collection. The museum preserves the history of the signs while giving them new life in a modern setting. The only lighting will be the neon signs themselves, their colors interplaying across the space.
Over twenty-five years ago Durham began noticing that legendary businesses in Reno, Las Vegas, and other parts of the state were closing.
“I started thinking it was an important part of our history,” Durham says, “but… people didn’t really think of neon signs as important at the time, they were just necessary aspects of businesses. I thought they were worth saving and I realized if I really wanted that to happen, I would be the one to have to do it.”
The first sign Durham rescued was the Zephyr Motel sign on Fourth Street in Reno which features an animated swimmer. Ever since, he has worked to save as much neon as possible across Nevada and the Southwest.
“It’s funny because at the start people would always ask me, ‘Why are you doing this?’ It made me think, ‘Is it ridiculous to want to do this?’ But I just felt like it was something that I had to do.”
As Durham gathered more and more signs, he realized his collection represented a chunk of Nevada history.
“Neon was really how people thought of Nevada,” he says. “When you saw Nevada in movies, TV, or magazines they always showed neon to establish that it was in Nevada. I thought these signs should be in a museum.”
In 2013 Durham put together an exhibition at the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno bearing the name of his future museum: The Light Circus: Art of Nevada Neon Signs. The popularity of the show—its attendance approached 23,000—was proof to Durham that the concept could work.
Originally planned for early 2026, permitting and power issues have caused delays in the museum’s grand opening. When I visit this winter, the space still has neon tubing, tape, wiring, boxes, and tools scattered around, but Durham and his small team are working tirelessly to finish.
Though many still need installation, the signs are roughly in position. When you enter you’re greeted by a blue neon maître d’ welcoming you in.
“I thought he was the perfect host for the show,” Durham says. “He’s also very mischievous, he welcomes you in with one hand but the other hand looks like his fingers are crossed behind his back, which makes you think, ‘What does he have in store?’”
The next thing you see is Bucky, the winking Nevada-shaped, cowboy-hat-wearing mascot from the Nevada Club, whom Durham also sees as the mascot for the Light Circus.
Durham avoided heavy thematic organization, instead creating what feels like little galleries within the larger space with a variety of signs with different origins, sizes, and colors—mirroring a streetscape. Some signs sit on modular islands that break the large room into smaller pockets.
A striking piece is the blue and white skunk with an animated tail that Durham rescued from Stinker’s Truck Stop on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. Other highlights include the flaming Diablo’s Casino sign from Las Vegas, contrasting with the calming blue silhouette logo from Zephyr Books, and the El Cholo sign featuring a man in a sombrero sleeping under a cactus. The sign was originally between a peep show and an Elvis wedding chapel in Las Vegas.
“I always wondered what he would see if he woke up,” Durham said.
Durham doesn’t have an opening date yet, but he hopes to launch in the next couple of months. A major bowling tournament runs at the stadium from March 14 to July 19, and Durham hopes to be open for most of it.
“I see the Light Circus as being part of what gives people a reason to show off downtown. Reno is evolving, we’re part of something bigger,” Durham said.
When it opens, the Light Circus promises a lively celebration of neon’s artistry and history, offering locals and visitors alike a new experience.
“There’s gonna be so many different colors in here,” Durham said, “and the weird thing about this is that it’s impossible to know what it’s gonna look like until everything is installed and lit up.”
