Liberace Museum Collection Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Liberace Museum
Shuttle and museum exterior (2009)
Established	15 April 1979 (1979-04-15)
Dissolved	17 October 2010 (2010-10-17)
Location	1775 E Tropicana Ave Paradise, Nevada
Founder	Liberace
Owner	Liberace Foundation for the Creative and Performing Arts

The Liberace Museum Collection holds many amazing items that belonged to the famous American entertainer and pianist, Wladziu Valentino Liberace, known simply as Liberace. This collection includes his dazzling stage costumes, fancy cars, sparkling jewelry, and beautifully decorated pianos. It also shows how much he cared about helping others through charity.

The main part of Liberace's collection of outfits is now kept at Thriller Villa, which used to be Michael Jackson's home in Las Vegas. You can also see Liberace's cool cars and other special items at the Liberace Garage in Las Vegas. These places continue to share his unique style and legacy.

History of the Liberace Museum
Liberace Piano Competitions
Amazing Pianos and Cars
Museum Closure
Where to See the Collection Now
- Thriller Villa
- Liberace Garage
Images for kids
See also

History of the Liberace Museum

Liberace Plaza and Museum roadside sign (2003)

The Liberace Foundation for Creative and Performing Arts was started in 1976. Liberace gave the Foundation his entire collection and $4 million. He hoped the Foundation would use this money to help young musicians begin their careers. The Foundation bought a whole shopping area, which was later named the Liberace Plaza. This Plaza was home to both the Museum and Tivoli Gardens, a restaurant that Liberace himself designed and ran.

Liberace opened the Liberace Museum on April 15, 1979, in Paradise, Nevada. Paradise is a town near Las Vegas. It cost $3.50 to get into the museum. Liberace's brother, George, became the first director, and later George's wife, Dora, took over.

The museum had several buildings. They showed off Liberace's amazing costumes, pianos, cars, jewelry, and other special items. At its busiest, the museum welcomed 450,000 visitors each year. It was the third most popular tourist spot in Nevada, after the Las Vegas Strip and the Hoover Dam.

The museum grew bigger in 1988, tripling its size. It took over office, library, and apartment spaces in the Plaza. The collection was spread across three buildings:

The main building displayed most of the pianos and cars.
The Annex showed Liberace's bedroom (just like his house in Palm Springs), jewelry, personal items, a mirrored Baldwin grand piano, and his stage capes and costumes. Many of these were designed by Michael Travis.
The Library held Liberace's music, his personal records, and a tribute to his family.

Liberace Piano Competitions

In 1993, the Foundation started the Liberace "Play-A-Like" Competition to celebrate Liberace's birthday. Contestants had to show Liberace's "joyful spirit of showmanship" through their music and costumes. This competition was held at the Liberace Museum.

In 2006, the competition grew and became the Liberace Piano Competition. It included traditional piano performances. Young musicians could choose to play either a regular Steinway grand piano or Liberace's famous rhinestone-covered Baldwin grand. By 2008, the competition became too big for the museum. The final rounds were held at the Community Lutheran Church.

Amazing Pianos and Cars

In 1995, the museum had 18 pianos on display. Some were very old and important. They included pianos once played by famous composers like Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, and George Gershwin. There was also a very old piano from 1788. Liberace's rhinestone-decorated Baldwin grand piano, which he first played at his sold-out concerts in Radio City Music Hall in 1986, was also a highlight. By then, admission cost $6.50 for adults.

Liberace Museum, Las Vegas (2003)
Neon signs for the Liberace Museum and Tivoli Gardens restaurant.
Exterior "Wall of Music" decoration (c. 2000s)
Museum annex interior with mirrored Baldwin (2007)
Liberace's costumes (2007)
Rhinestone Baldwin and candelabra, by Carol Highsmith
Mirrored upright piano (2009)
Sign at the Neon Museum boneyard (2019)

All the money earned by the museum went to the Liberace Foundation. This Foundation gave out over $6 million in scholarships to 2,700 college and graduate students. In 2000, the Foundation spent $2 million to make the plaza and museum even better. They added 6,000 square feet (560 m²) to the museum for special traveling exhibits, making it 21,000 square feet (2,000 m²) in total. They also added a cool glass entrance, neon signs, a cafe, and a "Walk of Honors." Famous entertainers Siegfried & Roy hosted the grand re-opening in 2002.

Museum Closure

Over time, fewer people visited the museum. In 2002, only 100,000 people visited, which was much less than before. By October 2010, only 36,000 people had visited that year. Because of fewer visitors and other money problems, the Liberace Foundation decided to close the museum.

In January 2010, the museum director said it would move to the Las Vegas Strip. However, the Liberace Foundation announced it would close the museum in September. On October 17, 2010, the Liberace Museum closed "indefinitely," meaning for an unknown time. The Foundation said they would still show parts of the collection as a traveling exhibit.

Where to See the Collection Now

The Liberace Foundation is still active in Las Vegas and takes care of the collection. In November 2013, they showed some of Liberace's items at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. This exhibit was called "Too Much of a Good Thing is Wonderful: Liberace and the Art of Costume." It featured 15 performance costumes, the rhinestone Baldwin piano, and a rhinestone-covered Excalibur car. This exhibit ended in October 2014.

The old sign for the Liberace Museum was fixed up and lit again in 2014. You can now see it at the Neon Museum boneyard, which is a place for old neon signs.

Thriller Villa

In 2015, the Liberace Foundation announced that the Museum Collection is now kept inside one of Michael Jackson's old homes in Las Vegas. This place is called Thriller Villa and has a 5,000-square-foot (460 m²) space for exhibits. You can arrange private visits by appointment. Michael Jackson rented this house from 2007 until he passed away in 2009.

Liberace Garage

On April 7, 2016, a new public place called "The Liberace Garage" opened. It features all 8 vehicles from the original Liberace Museum. This garage is part of the Hollywood Cars Museum. You can also see the rhinestone-covered Radio City Baldwin piano and some of Liberace's stage costumes there.

For the 2019 Grammy Awards, musician Chloe Flower played the rhinestone Baldwin piano. It was brought to Los Angeles just for the award show, where she performed with Cardi B.

Liberace vehicle collection
Year	Make	Model	Notes
1901	Oldsmobile	Curved Dash	A replica, which is a smaller copy (3/4 size).
1931	Ford	Model A	A replica used on stage during his shows in Las Vegas in the 1970s. It's painted red.
1954	Rolls-Royce	Silver Dawn convertible	Custom painted in red, white, and blue. It's known as the "Bicentennial" or "Stars and Stripes" car.
1957	Austin	FX3	Liberace used this special London Taxi to pick up friends from the Palm Springs Airport.
1962	Rolls-Royce	Phantom V	This car has a special Landau top and mirrored tiles added by John Hancock. It even had a full bar and a mobile phone!
196x	Excalibur	Roadster	This is a kit car covered in rhinestones, sometimes called the "Rhinestone Roadster."
1971	Volkswagen	Beetle	This "VolksRolls" was customized by George Barris to look like a Rolls-Royce. It had a special California license plate: "VWRR JR".
1972	Bradley	GT	This car was finished in shiny gold with silver candelabra symbols on the sides.