Attractions
Liberace Museum |
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Liberace Museum Details
- Hours of operation: Tuesday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sunday, noon - 4 p.m. Closed Mondays, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
- Cost: $15 for adults, $10 for seniors 65 and older and students 11 and older, children 10 and younger free when accompanied by an adult. Guests with wheelchair accessibility also receive free admission. Special group rates available to parties of 25 or more.
- Payment options: Cash, MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover.
- Reservations: For private events.
- Location: 2.5 miles from the Strip. Take Tropicana east from the Strip past Maryland Parkway to Spencer Street. A free shuttle to and from the Liberace Museum is also available. Shuttle picks up guests from the following hotels: Treasure Island, Mirage, Flamingo, Bally's, Bellagio and Excalibur. Please call for shuttle schedule.
- Age/Height/Weight restrictions: Not applicable.
Liberace Museum Review
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Featured exhibit
18: Number of rare and antique pianos on display at the museum 6,000: Number of notes Liberace could play in under two minutes 200 lbs.: Weight of the "King Neptune" costume, Liberace's heaviest 2: Number of Moser crystal sets ever made: one is on display at the museum, the other belongs to Queen Elizabeth. 125 lbs.: Weight of pink turkey feathers worn during Liberace's 1985 Easter performance 6 months to a year: Length of time it took to create the elaborate costumes 40-50 lbs.: Average weight of the jackets and capes worn by Liberace 4: Number of books Liberace wrote 6: Number of songs Liberace wrote $5,000,000+: Amount of money given in scholarships by the Liberace Foundation 40,000: Number of rhinestones in the "Blackglama" mink cape 500: Number of mink tails on the "Blackglama" cape 150,000: Number of Swarovski crystals on the 7-foot Baldwin piano 115,000 carats: Weight of the world's largest Austrian rhinestone, on display at the museum 260: Number of diamonds in Liberace's white and gold piano-shaped ring |
Before Cher, before Elton, there was Liberace.
The king of musical extravagance, Liberace pioneered the use of outrageous costumes, over-the-top staging and a titanic amount of bling long before any of today's rock stars picked up a guitar. Now you can see the flamboyance firsthand at the Liberace Museum.
With a fluorescent pink entrance sign as ostentatious as Liberace himself, it's not likely you'll miss the museum, located 2.5 miles east of the Strip at the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Spencer Street. Composed of two buildings, the main museum houses Liberace's costumes, jewelry, a selection of home furnishings, gift shop, cafe and performance hall while the second building (located across the parking lot) displays his cars and pianos.
Liberace earned the moniker "Mr. Showmanship" in part from the amazing costumes he wore on stage. At the museum, you can get an up close look at several of these flamboyant constructions including the 200-pound, sable-trimmed Neptune costume worn for the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans. Also on display is the "Lasagna" costume, which Liberace joked he wore while cooking because "it didn't show the stains," and the completely outrageous red-white-and-blue hot pants outfit Liberace wore for a bicentennial concert. These remarkable costumes required a tailor, three seamstresses and four sewers to create.
Take some time to check out Liberace's jewelry collection, which would make even the most bejeweled pimp daddy jealous. On display is Liberace's trademark candelabra ring, with platinum "candlesticks" and diamond "flames," a white and yellow gold piano-shaped ring with 260 diamonds and Liberace's spectacular piano-shaped wristwatch covered in diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds.
While the jewelry is amazing, the biggest bling in the building has to be the 115,000-carat Austrian rhinestone, the largest in the world and just one piece in Liberace's collection of rhinestone items. A rhinestone-studded piano and roadster (the perfect combination for when you really need to make an entrance) are housed in the museum's second building. Other cars and unique pianos on display include a mirrored Rolls Royce, a French Pleyel piano owned by Chopin and a Chickering piano once owned by George Gershwin.
Before you leave, stop by the small display located adjacent to the museum gift shop. While it's Liberace's extravagance that is on display at the museum, this exhibit represents his greatest gift. Here you will see photographs and testimonial letters from creative art students around the United States who have received scholarships from the Liberace Foundation. A portion of all proceeds from the museum, gift shop and cafe go to fund the foundation, which has bestowed more than $5 million in scholarships since 1976.
-- Jennifer Whitehair
