Famous People’s Eyeglass Museum

Information

Famous People’s Eyeglass Museum
61 E. Lake Mead Parkway
Henderson, NV
702-518-0934
website
Free
Mon, Wed, & Fri 8am-4pm
Tue, Thu 9am-5pm
Vegas4Visitors Grade: B

At a Glance

What is it?

A collection of eyeglasses that once belonged to famous people.

Where is it?

In Henderson near Sunset Station hotel.

Is it worth the cost?

It’s free, so yes.

What else do I need to know?

It’s located in an optometrist’s office so you might have to be in a waiting room full of patients when you are looking at it.

What’s the bottom line?

Silly fun if you happen to be in the neighborhood.

Full Review

Calling this a museum is stretching the definition of the word to the breaking point – display case in a doctor’s office is more accurate. And yet there is something utterly charming about this exhibit of eyeglasses from famous people that makes it worth a detour if you happen to be in the neighborhood.

I’m not joking about the doctor’s office. The display is in Henderson at the optometry office of Dr. Rhett Dadej and it fills a display case on one wall of the waiting room. You don’t need to be visiting to get your eyes checked – you can just go in to look at the specs, of which there are probably a hundred pairs or so from people of all celebrity walks of life. A few famous names: Noel Coward, Douglas Fairbanks, Norm Crosby, Walter Cronkite, Ronald Reagan, Mr. Rogers, Cole Porter, Betty White, Robert Kennedy, and even the President of Liberia, although that’s all that the sticker says – no name.

There is a big book full of letters from the people who sent in the glasses, usually assistants or PR people of the famous folk who donated a pair. Unfortunately there didn’t seem to be any correlation between the order of the glasses in the case and the order of the letters in the binder so finding the one for any specific specs seemed impossible.

Another bummer is that some of the glasses have seen better days – preservation doesn’t seem to be high on the list of priorities here.

Having said that, there is something kitchsy and fun about the display. It’s like those giant balls of twine or thimble museums that you might pull of the highway to get a look at on some road trip. This is totally not worth driving to Henderson to see on its own but if you happen to be in the area it is worth a five minute pit stop.