When the Neon Goes Dark

There was a time when a drive down the Strip meant passing under miles of glowing tubes bent into stars, arrows, and cowboys. Neon wasn't decoration in old Las Vegas. It was the language the city spoke after dark, and every casino tried to shout the loudest.

One by one, those signs have gone dark. Some were saved and moved to museums. Many more were simply scrapped when the building behind them came down. A sign that took skilled hands weeks to build can be hauled off in an afternoon, and with it goes a small piece of the city's voice.

We photograph these signs while they still burn because a working neon sign is a living thing. The flicker, the hum, the way the color pools on the pavement below, none of it survives in a parts bin. Our hope is that even after a sign goes dark for good, these pictures keep a little of that glow alive.