Take a picture with a piece of history, the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign. Directions to the location and parking information at the Las Vegas Sign.
Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign
No visit to Las Vegas is complete until you’ve had your picture taken in front of the ironic sign at the south end of the Vegas strip.
The “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign, has been welcoming tourist to Las Vegas since 1959 and is one of the most iconic signs in the world. A snapshot with the iconic “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign will definitely go down in your memory books.
About twenty-five feet tall, the diamond shaped neon sign that is topped with a red neon star can be found in the median at 5100 Las Vegas Blvd. South. To get there, drive south on Las Vegas Blvd. just past Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino. You can easily park your car, hop out and get the perfect shot. The sign is also a favorite spot to take wedding and engagement pictures and the site of numerous proposals.
There is a small parking lot nearby where you can park the car while you get your souvenir picture taken.
Location:
The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign is located in the center median of Las Vegas Blvd. South across from the Bali Hai Golf Club on the west side. It is .3 miles south of the Russell Road exit from Interstate 15.
Admission: Free
Hours: Daily 24 hours
Getting there by bus:
A great way to visit the Welcome to Las Vegas sign is to ride the Las Vegas Deuce bus or Bus Route 104, both of which stop at the “Welcome to Las Vegas Sign” where you will find a pedestrian crosswalk for safe access.
Parking: There is a small adjacent parking lot, also in the center median, that is accessible only from the southbound lanes of Las Vegas Blvd.
Official Address:
“Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” Sign
5100 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
Las Vegas, NV 89119
Phone: (702) 455-8242
Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign Facts
The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009, its 50th anniversary.
When the “Welcome” sign was built in 1959, the closest hotel-casino was Hacienda, which was a one-story rambling building on the site of the current Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino. There was no Interstate 15 until the early 1970s and traffic from Los Angeles traveled along the Las Vegas Strip, which was then U.S. Highway 91.
Young Electric Sign Company owns the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” Sign
There have been reports that the sign was moved but there is no documentation to support this statement either with Clark County or with the sign owner.
The “Welcome” sign was designed by Nevada native, Betty Whitehead Willis. Willis sign repertoire also included the Blue Angel Motel sign and the Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino sign. In 1955 the Moulin Rouge became Las Vegas’ first racially integrated casino and its opening night was featured on the cover of Life Magazine.
The “Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas” Sign is Truly for Everyone
Step into any chintzy gift shop on Fremont Street or the Strip, and it’s there. Visit the Facebook page of a local small business, it’s there. Look at the invitation for the conference you’re going to in Vegas, it’s there.
Much like the Hollywood sign or the Statue of Liberty, the Welcome sign has been copied, re-appropriated, and parodied many times … perhaps too many times. Just as it’s shorthand for the city, it can quickly signal a lack of creativity.
But in the 1950s, the Welcome sign was incredibly innovative. The diamond shape was unusual, as most signs were rectangular to make wiring the lamps easier. And even today those curves along the top would drive any manufacturer crazy.
That unique design came from the mind of Betty Willis, a commercial artist for famed YESCO and Western Neon, two companies behind many of the famous signs in Las Vegas.
While the physical sign itself is now owned by YESCO (and leased to Clark County), neither Willis nor Western Neon ever trademarked her design. As John Katsilometes wrote in Willis’s obituary, “[she] wanted it to belong to the masses, a decision that has led to widespread use.” That collective ownership is why the sign has become a source of hometown pride, with many adorning their desks with scale models and Vegas’ first major league team paying homage to the signature starburst.
UNLV professor and gaming historian David G. Schwartz recommended that if Clark County really wanted to pick a new namesake that everyone could approve of, the Las Vegas airport should be rechristened Betty Willis International. And after watching this charming video produced by the County around 2000, it’s hard not to instantly have a deep appreciation for the lifelong Nevadan.
Willis passed away in 2015, but I like to think she keeps an eye on things through one of her other famous designs, the Blue Angel: a guardian angel for a fabulous city.
Fun fact: If you look closely, the circles for “Welcome” are actually giant silver dollars, likely meant to entice gamblers. That was back when you could still use coins, of course.
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