Fabulous Las Vegas Sign soon to be 50!

Our good friend Betty Willis had no idea when she designed the "little sign" almost 50 years ago that it would become such an endearing icon.

From our friend Kristen Petersen at the Las Vegas Sun:

Tourists from all over the world pose for photos under the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign.

The iconic image of mid-20th century Las Vegas, designed to greet visitors driving into town from California, has been reproduced on, well, nearly everything.

It turns 50 next year.

To show that it has become far more than a clever marketing tool, Clark County officials are working to have the sign listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The mostly honorary title would link it to other listed relics and sites in Clark County, including Hoover Dam, the Huntridge Theatre, the Spanish Trail and the Las Vegas Mormon Fort.

The listing wouldn’t protect the sign, which is owned by Young Electric Sign Co., but it would bring attention to one of the city’s greatest cultural heritages: neon.

“It’s a good way to make people aware of historic resources in this town, especially signs, which are so few and so precious,” says Dorothy Wright, program administrator for the county’s parks and recreation department, who is heading the project.

In some cases, she says, they are the only physical evidence of our past.

Wright says paperwork for the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign, designed in 1959 by Betty Willis, will be submitted next month to the State Historic Preservation Office.

Staff members at that office will look over the submission, then send it to the National Park Service, which oversees the program that recognizes sites, structures and other elements of historical, architectural, archaeological or cultural significance.

“It certainly has national, if not international significance,” Wright says of the sign.

Owners of structures listed as national historic sites are not required to preserve them. Green Shack — the area’s oldest restaurant when it closed in 1999 — was listed when it was demolished. Moulin Rouge, also listed, was never restored and preserved.

Young Electric Sign, however, ardently maintains the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign, and the county is building a small parking lot on the median to allow for safer photo shoots.

Entertainers of Classic Las Vegas

The Nevada State Museum , Las Vegas and Friends of Classic Las Vegas will host an evening reception and panel discussion with noted entertainer Betty Bunch and several of her Friends from the Golden Age of Las Vegas entertainment in the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s.

Betty came to Las Vegas in the 1950s to dance in the opening line for Donald O’Connor, and later performed at such venues as the El Rancho Vegas, the Dunes, and the Rivera. Betty also headlined the original production of the popular afternoon show, Bottoms Up. Betty and her fellow entertainers promise an evening filled with intimate tales of Las Vegas show business and personalities, as well as many “stories behind the stories.”

The Entertainers of Classic Las Vegas Panel will include:

Betty Bunch, long-time dancer on the Las Vegas Strip

Louis Prima, Jr will talk about his father and the Prima legacy

Papote will talk about the Latin influence on the Las Vegas Strip

Mike Weatherford, Las Vegas Review Journal columnist, Entertainer Writer and author of "Cult Vegas"

and Special Guests

Wednesday, Sept. 17th

Nevada State Museum

700 Twin Lakes Dr

Lorenzi Park

6:00 - 7:00 pm Reception

7:00 - 8:30 pm Discussion

Admission $3

We hope to see you there!

Las Vegas 5th Street School Dedication

This is the old 5th Street School on Las Vegas Blvd at Lewis.  I went to Kindergarten here.  In the right hand corner of the picture you can see a rounded room with windows.  That was the Kindergarten Room.  My mother enrolled me in September 1962 and Miss Tucker was the teacher.  She was almost 6 feet tall and thin as a rail.  She was likely what they called an old maid back then but I didn't care.  I thought she was wonderful.  She taught us more than just our ABCs, she taught us to ask questions, to read and to have fun.  Every day there were cookies and milk and nap time with our little pieces of carpet.  In May, we got to dress up in western wear for the Helldorado celebration.

This was actually the third Grammar school.  The first two burned.  The first one was built in 1908 and burned in 1910.  The cornerstone for the second (at this location) was laid in 1910 and the school opened in 1911.  Students from around the Valley were invited to attend.  Those who lived outside of town boarded with local families for the school year.  The second school burned down in 1935 and this school was built.

It remained a school until the late 1960s when the school was closed and the space was used as government offices and a Metro substation.

However, today it is undergoing a $13.4 million dollar restoration by the City of Las Vegas.  From Uncle Jack at www.veryvintagevegas.com:

More than $13.4 million in funding for this building’s transformation was provided by the Redevelopment Agency.

Billed as a “cultural oasis” in the midst of downtown Las Vegas’ office and legal corridors, the revitalized building will be home to an assortment of local arts and architectural organizations. The primary tenants are the University of Nevada Las Vegas Fine Arts Program, including the Downtown Design Center for the School of Architecture; the Nevada School of the Arts (a music education organization); the American Institute of Architects; and the city of Las Vegas Cultural Affairs Division.

Many of the common areas of the Historic Fifth Street School will be available for public or private functions. These areas include a multi-purpose performance area/auditorium capable of accommodating up to 400 people, a gallery space for exhibitions and smaller meetings able to hold up to 200 people and a 30-person conference room. In addition, there will also be open courtyards available for outside activities, as well as the 16,000-square-foot Centennial Plaza that can be used for outdoor gatherings.

There is a rededication ceremony on Monday, Sept. 22nd.  Alumni are invited to attend beginning at 4:30 with the dedication ceremony following at 5:30 pm.

I hope to see you there!

Las Vegas: A Pictorial Look Back

Continuing our walk down Memory Lane:

Here is a row of houses in early Las Vegas.  The idea that no one lived here is just a myth.  People came to Las Vegas for the land auction in May, 1905 and began carving a community out of the harsh desert almost immediately.

The Las Vegas Grammar School.  The cornerstone was laid in 1910 and the school opened in 1911.  Students from across the Valley were invited to attend.  The school burned down in 1935 and was rebuilt as a sturdier structure that is currently being restored by the City of Las Vegas.

Before Vegas Vic became the iconic neon sign on Fremont Street a similar image was used by the
Chamber of Commerce and businesses around town to promote the city.  Here is a postcard from the
Old West Motel on South Fifth Street.  Today Fifth Street is better known as Las Vegas Blvd. South.

Special thanks to the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas for letting us use these images.