Daytime views of the Tourist Bureau signs near the Las Vegas Strip. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet.
Site address: 5191 S Las Vegas Blvd
Sign owner: John Morris
Sign details: The Las Vegas Tourist Bureau is the first establishment on the strip after the McCarran Gates. It located in the south end of the property that is also occupied by the Klondike Motel Casino.
Sign condition: Structure 4 Surface 3 Lighting 3 Notes: Some of the lighting no longer works, and the surface seems to be deteriorating in spots. The structural integrity is good.
Sign form: pylon, fascia
Sign-specific description: The Las Vegas Tourist Bureau is the first establishment on the strip after the McCarran Gates. It located in the south end of the property that is also occupied by the Klondike Motel Casino. Upon the small low-rise structure, white, internally lit message centers wrap the flat roofline of the north and west sides of the building. The cabinet's steel housing is painted yellow to match the borders of the doors below. The cabinets form a giant entablature with giant black vinyl lettering. The north face reads "Show Tickets" in all capitals, and the west face reads "Grand Canyon" in smaller all caps lettering on the left hand side. Three words in the large all caps text reads "Tours," "Rooms," and weddings. Above the internally lit cabinets, the roof rises up several more feet, and is finished in red steel siding, with vertical panels made to look like wood. It is the same as the treatment seen on the Klondike. On the surface of this upper extension and above the cabinets, yellow raceways form a series of arches all along the fascia. They are lined with yellow incandescent bulbs. Standing right next to the entrances on the west face is the giant, double pole, pylon sign. The giant blue poles telescope up three levels, before a horizontal, rectangular, internally lit, yellow cabinet, lined with incandescent bulbs on the widths edge. The plastic face is white with red text. "Las Vegas" is written on the left-hand side at an angle in two lines, and "Tourist Bureau," written horizontally in two lines, in all capital text. A steel grated platform sits just above the cabinet on two extensions of the poles. The platform runs well beyond the edges of the backlit cabinet. On top of the grate a black LED message center runs the length of the platform. Next to the driveway into the small parking lot, a small internally lit sign stands street side. The small sign is two yellow steel cabinets, with white plastic faces, and incandescent bulbs running along the width's edge. They are treated to match the message cabinet on top of the main pylon sign. On top of a thin blue, steel post, a smaller cabinet supports another slightly larger one. The top cabinet reads "Entrance" in faded, red, all capital text. Just below the text on the face of the cabinet, a faded red arrow points east toward the parking lot. Neon tubing is crafted to create a reproduction of the shape, hovering over the surface. The bottom cabinet reads "Parking" in the same text, and condition. The three signs together form a cohesive, matching set of signage appropriate for the property. The sign is actually cohesive with the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign on the median just west of the actual structure.
Sign - type of display: neon, incandescent, backlit
Sign - media: steel, plastic
Sign animation: Chasing
Notes: The incandescent bulbs chase each other around the perimeter of the sign.
Sign environment: Just to the west on the median is the famous "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign, and the Klondike to the north. An expanse of field reaches south, past an attached structure on the south side of the building. That field is the airfield. The structure is highly visible from the north, but a bit less from the south due to heavy foliage placed directly south of the giant pylon. The Giant pylon is highly visible, but has high competition in it's midst. The Klondike when illuminated is very bright, and the Welcome to Las Vegas sign's popularity attracts a great amount of attention. The Las Vegas Tourist Bureau is sort of an afterthought.
Sign - thematic influences: The theme associated around these signs is not so evident. Yes they are the typical elements such as the internally lit cabinet and the border of incandescent bulbs. It is a roadside pole sign design, but it is a bit unique to it's area for it is extremely tall in its surroundings, and it is a double pole supporting internally lit cabinet. The thematic influence is also evident in relation to it's surroundings. It's coloring, and basic principle of design is based on the neighboring welcome to Las Vegas sign. The are both double poled, internally lit, and have incandescent bulbs which chase each other around the outside edge. The coloring of the Tourist Bureau sign parts corresponds with the same parts as the Welcome to Las Vegas sign as well.
Surveyor: Joshua Cannaday
Survey - date completed: 2002
Sign keywords: Pylon; Fascia; Neon; Incandescent; Backlit; Steel; Plastic; Chasing