Welcome to Las Vegas Sign
5200 Las Vegas Boulevard South,
Las Vegas, Nevada
89119
Driving down Las Vegas Boulevard heading from the airport to the Las Vegas Strip, you will pass the famous "Wecome to Las Vegas" sign standing in the median of the road. This now heavily visited landmark is a local icon that has been standing there since 1959.
The "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign stands 25 feet tall and like many former signs in town is neon, having been created by Betty Willis, creator of several other former signs in town. It was constructed by Western Neon, more formerly known as Western Electric Displays, and came to a price of $4,000.
The "WELCOME" part is depicted with each letter in a silver dollar due to Nevada being the Silver State. It says "Drive Carefully, Come Back Soon" on the back of it. Technically, it doesn't even stand in Las Vegas, but instead in Paradise, and is actually located about four miles south of the actual Las Vegas city limits.
Several improvements have been done on it in more recent years, including adding a parking lot, crosswalks, etc around it during 2008. Before the actual parking lot went in, people would dash across the road avoiding traffic to get to the median area where the sign is located. In early 2014, solar panels were installed in the median and the sign is now solar powered.
The sign became part of the National Register of Historic Places on May 1st, 2009, and was later added to the State Register of Historic Places on December 6th,2013.
Today, the sign is now owned by YESCO, who purchased Western Neon, and they maintain it. There are often long lines to pose in front of it, although you can go over to one of the sides and photograph it at an angle if you wish.
In 2020, the city of Las Vegas erected some arches over Las Vegas Boulevard just right of the Stratosphere, signifying the actual beginning of the city of Las Vegas, roughly four miles north of the Welcome Sign.
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First Created: 2022-08-10
Last Edited: 2022-08-10
