Welcome to Fabulous Downtown Las Vegas Sign

Famously reading, “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada” on the front and “Drive Carefully” and “Come Back Soon” on the back, the iconic Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign is a tourist destination in itself. Located on the Las Vegas Strip just south of Russell Road and the Mandalay Bay hotel casino, the historic sign was inspired by Las Vegas pioneer S.R. Whitehead, Clark County’s first tax assessor and designed by his daughter, Betty Willis, at the Western Neon Company for $4,000 from build to install 18 years after this death. When it was created in 1959, access to the sign was very limited, which made it challenging to reach for symbolic photograph opportunities and caused traffic backups as people jaywalked or parking in the travel lanes. Today, the iconic Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign has its own 12-car parking lot with enough space to park two buses to improve pedestrian safety and provide access for the disabled. The sign was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 1, 2009.

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