Designer of the Las Vegas Welcome Sign Passed Away

Betty Willis,  an American graphic designer and a Las Vegas native best known for having designed the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign,  died at the age of 91 at her home in Overton, Nevada on April 19, 2015

Betty was the daughter of Stephen R, Whitehead, the first assessor of Clark County, Nevada. She went to an art school at Los Angeles in 1942, and returned to Las Vegas for she first job at the courthouse. She designed the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign in 1959 when she worked for the Western Neon sign company. She considered the sign "my gift to the city," and never trademarked the sign, which made many derived arts possible and thrived.

Postcard US-2995494 to Belarus shows the iconic sign among the various landmarks in Las Vegas. It has become one of the most photographed signs in the world. The word “fabulous” reflects what Betty always used to describe Las Vegas: "We really thought Las Vegas was a fabulous place." The sign was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 1, 2009.

Better Late than Never

Postcard US-2849028 to China was a Welcome to Las Vegas card from the tropical themed Margaritaville casino inside the Flamingo in Las Vegas. It was mailed directly from USPS' Philatelic Center in Kansas City after it was sent in to obtain a first-day-of-issue postmark on the Nevada Statehood Forever stamp by mail on July 26, 2014, along with other cards. Due to the initial delay in selecting a card on my part and a longer-than-usual-processing time at the Philatelic Center in Kansas City, it took exactly 100 days for the card to arrive. Yet it is an encouraging sign, and I hope the rest of those postcards in that order will soon reach their intended recipients.

The Circus Is In Town

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus came to town yesterday, with elephants and performers of the circus posing for pictures in front of the fabulous Welcome Sign. It will perform LEGENDS from their all-new Blue Tour at the Thomas and Mack Center from Thursday June 19 to Sunday June 22, 2014.

Photo: Steve Marcus via @LasVegasSun

Outgoing postcard US-2813947 to Taiwan, with the Vintage Circus Poster stamps, shows the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus train in Safety Harbor, Florida in January, 1992. Photo credit: © James G. Howes 1992.

Monuments Go Green

Postcard US-1770581 to Belarus shows the iconic "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign with other famous Las Vegas landmarks. In honor of Irish heritage, the famous sign had gone green from March 13 to March 18 as the Las Vegas Convention Center and Visitors Authority, teaming up with Tourism Ireland for its annual "Global Greening" initiative, changed the sign's yellow bulbs to green.

Other landmarks that went green include the Castle at Disneyland, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the Sydney Opera House.

High Roller Ferris Wheel at LINQ on March 17, 2014

Welcome to Las Vegas, Powered by Solar Energy

As seen in the postcard US-1728444, the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign has been an icon at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip since 1959. It has witnessed the evolution of the Strip throughout the history. Soon, it may undergo changes itself by switching to solar power, stepping into the future.

 

According to a Las Vegas Sun article, several non-profit environmental organizations including the Clean Energy Project and Green Chips, and Bombard Electric company are proposing to install solar panels for the sign.

The Clark County commissioners will hear the proposal in their next meeting Tuesday on July 2, 2013. If approved in a subsequent meeting, solar panels will be installed to power the neon lights of the sign and the 89 light bulbs around the sign's edge.

Welcome to Las Vegas, and welcome to the future.