The Trader Bills gift shop-turned-motorcycle shop sits at 328 Fremont Street inside the Fremont Street Experience. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Sheet.
Site address: 328 Fremont St
Sign owner: Marshall Family, LP
Sign details: The current building was constructed in 1943 (Assessor). Trader Bill's was a Western style leather and gift shop (RoadsideArch.com). The business has been located downtown at least since the 1930's or 1940's (UNLV digital photo collection) but possibly longer (Shemeligian, 1997). The store moved to its present location by the 1950's (RoadsideArch.com). It later became the Jewelry Outpost and Las Vegas Harley-Davidson (Shemeligian).
Sign condition: Condition 3-4. Cabinet and lights are in good condition. The paint on the street side of the sign is extremely faded.
Sign form: Blade
Sign-specific description: The metal cabinet is shaped like an upside down "L" which points toward the building. The cabinet is painted red. On the side of the sign facing Las Vegas Boulevard the paint has faded almost completely to reveal the earlier blue paint. An arrow-shaped metal cabinet runs along the Fremont Street side of the sign. The sides of the arrow are painted yellow. Three rows of yellow incandescent light bulbs cover the shaft of the arrow and nine rows cover the feathers and head. "Trader" is spelled out in yellow san serif channel letters which run horizontally across the top of the sign. The interiors of the letters are outlined in white neon tubing. "BILLS" (no apostrophe) runs vertically down the sign in the same channel lettering. Rungs run along the spine of the sign and what appears to be a ladder is located under "Trader" at the top of the sign. A plaque on the back of the arrowhead near the last "S" in "BILLS" has a YESCO logo and states "THIS SIGN IS THE PROPERTY OF THE YOUNG ELECTRIC SIGN COMPANY-{illegible] 876-8080
Sign - type of display: Neon and incandescent
Sign - media: Steel
Sign - non-neon treatments: Incandescent
Sign environment: This location is in the Fremont Street Experience on the corner of Fremont street and Fourth Street. It is across the street from Neonopolis and surrounded by other gift shops.
Sign manufacturer: It has the YESCO logo and states that it is the property of YESCO though it is not confirmed if they manufactured it.
Sign - date of installation: Circa 1960's
Sign - date of redesign/move: The sign is probably from the 1960's (Roadside Architecture). A photograph circa 1960 shows the sign painted dark blue with yellow letters (Classic Las Vegas, n.d.). A photograph from 1991 shows the color scheme unchanged (Classic Las Vegas). The sign was painted its current red color by 2006 (RoadsideArch.com).
Sign - thematic influences: The building is Western style brick and weeping mortar.
Survey - research locations: Clark County Assessor Classic Las Vegas. (n.d.). A brief history of Fremont Street, North side of the street, Third to Fourth. Retrieved from http://classiclasvegas.squarespace.com/downtown-history/2007/5/3/a-brief-history-of-fremont-street-cont.html RoadsideArcitecture. Las vegas Signs, Trader Bill's. Retrieved from http://www.roadarch.com/signs/nvvegas3.html Shemeligian, B. (1997 June 19). Landmark downtown shop changes focus. Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved from https://lasvegassun.com/news/1997/jun/09/landmark-downtown-shop-changes-focus/ UNLV Digital Collections. (n.d.). Film transparency showing Trader Bill's souvenir shop in Las Vegas, circa 1930s-1940s. Retrieved from http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/d1nk2c
Surveyor: Mitchell Cohen
Survey - date completed: 2017-08-14
Sign keywords: Blade; Neon; Incandescent; Steel