Modern luxury condominiums communities like Juhl that offer high-rise residential living for those craving a contemporary urban lifestyle in downtown Las Vegas also offer proximity to the city’s best and most iconic museums. Here are six museums in Downtown Las Vegas you can’t miss!
The Mob Museum features artifacts, photos, interactive exhibits and a colorful look at the history of organized crime and how law enforcement worked to stop them. Located in the former Las Vegas Post Office, built in 1933, the Mob Museum traces the history of the mob, not only in Las Vegas, but from its roots in Chicago and New York. Be sure to check out the second-floor courtroom, which was the actual location of mob hearings in the 1950s. Don’t miss The Underground exhibit, including a basement speakeasy, where you can sample moonshine distilled on site.
In the mid-20th century, the Nevada desert was home to nuclear testing, so much so that casinos sponsored “detonation” parties and crowned Miss Atomic Bomb. As a crucial part of Nevada’s history, the Atomic Museum is packed with information and displays about atomic energy and the Cold War. Highlights include the new “SPY,” exhibit in partnership with the National Security Agency’s (NSA) National Cryptologic Museum; an atomic explosion simulator, and lesser-known nuclear weapons that the U.S. developed, such as the Davy Crockett XM-388 projectile, the B54 backpack bomb, and the AIR-2 Genie air-to-air rocket.
The Neon Museum is a treasure among Las Vegas’ many intriguing destinations. Founded in 1996 with the mission of collecting, preserving and exhibiting Las Vegas’ iconic signs, there’s no more rousing place to visually explore the city’s history and picture yourself in the midst of Las Vegas’ iconic days of glitz and glamour. Today, more than 250 signs in the museum’s Neon Boneyard beckon visitors to experience the sizzle of near and distant bygone eras from the 1930s through the early 21st century. Begin any trip to the museum at the visitor center, which is housed inside the former La Concha Motel lobby, designed by famed architect Paul Revere Williams.
A Smithsonian Institution Affiliate, the Natural History Museum has a mission to inspire a better understanding and appreciation of the natural world, the sciences, and ourselves through educational exhibits, programming, and research. It has more than 10 galleries boasting such exhibits as Treasures of Egypt, Prehistoric Life, Marine Life, African Savanna, Cretaceous Science, International Wildlife, Nevada Wildlife, Prehistoric Mammals and Geology. The museum recognizes and acknowledges that it is located on the traditional lands of the Southern Paiute, Ancestral Puebloans, and Lower Colorado River tribes.
Focusing on learning through interaction and play, the Discovery Children’s Museum is an educational experience where kids can be kids. The themed, hands-on, interactive zones include The Summit, a 70-foot tower with 12 levels of science fun and climbing/sliding structures, and EcoCity where kids can help build a community. Also make sure to check out Patents Pending devoted to experimentation, curiosity, invention, problem-solving, and tinkering, and Water World, a celebration of getting wet while learning about the power and movement of water.
For fans of the paranormal, or those who just like being scared, a visit to Zak Bagan’s The Haunted Museum is a must. As seen on the Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures and voted the #1 Best Haunted Destination in America by USA Today Readers’ Choice, the spooky museum features original collectibles from haunted sites and bone-chilling stories of paranormal activity. Guided tours navigate through creepy winding hallways, secret passageways, and over 30 themed rooms containing objects like Dr. Jack Kevorkian’s “Death Van,” Charles Manson’s bone fragments, The Conjuring 3 movie’s real-life, “Devil’s Rocking Chair,” Peggy the Doll and the “World’s Most-Haunted Object”…the Dybbuk Box.
These and other living in Las Vegas lifestyle tips are brought to you by Juhl, the modern loft-style high-rise condominium community on Bonneville Ave. in Downtown Las Vegas. For more information visit the Juhl website or call 702.816.5466.
