Wanna Have some fun? Hang around and talk with the folks lined up at the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada sign.” The original design for the sign is attributed to Betty Willis, while working as a commercial artist for the Western Sign Company. YESCO, eventually purchased Western Sign and continues to own and maintain the iconic sign. The design was was never trademarked–in fact it was put in the public domain so that anyone could use it. Note the logo for Living-Las-Vegas.com. You will find, as I did recently, that folks come to the sign from all over the world: On Wednesday in about a 45-minute period, I met folks from Germany (three groups from Germany), Austria, England (two groups from England), Scotland, Australia, Nepal (now Pennsylvania), Mexico and Costa Rica. Had I stayed longer, I’m sure many more countries would have been mentioned. As a local who patronizes “local” casinos, the trip to the sign actually reminded me that my new “home town” really is an international tourist destination.

Every one of the folks I talked with was friendly and seeming more than happy to be in Las Vegas. Some of the visitors had children with them; others were adults, some single, some in groups. A newly married couple showed up as well. Everyone came to the sign to get a photo. A couple of men were on hand to be friendly; asking folks where they were from and then volunteering to use the visitors’ cameras to take photos. They encouraged their photo subjects to raise arms, give a thumbs up sign or a hug and accepted the tip that followed.

The weather was warm, but large overhead signs in the area provided some shade which was comfortable. Most of the visitors initially stood in a long line so that they could pose directly in front of the sign, but others came to the sides of the sign and got their photos without having to wait in line.

In some previous trips, I had seen costumed characters at the sign–an Evis character, that volunteered to pose with the visitors, but no costumes on Wednesday. I gather the “helpers” had found that simply taking photos was more lucrative than asking to pose in photos.

When I left, the line had shrunk, but the cars kept coming into the large lot. Most locals driving by the sign see folks at the sign morning, noon and night. Often the sign is used to note special occasions, with celebrities, showgirls ad maybe even animals posing in front of the sign for publicity.

The original “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign made its debut in 1959. Reproduction of the sign is seen all over town in casinos, gift shops and in advertisements. I even saw a replica sign in last week in my nail salon. And there is a version of it on the Boulder Strip. In recent years, Clark County had built two parking lots to enable visitors to the sign easier access and there is even a Regional Transportation Commission bus service to the lot. The best time to visit is early morning, in terms of shorter lines, but visitors can be found at the sign just about anytime.

Clark County maintains the sign and the parking lots and they love having people stop by for photos.

The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign is located at 5271-5753 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89119

A few more photos are below: