Ken Hanlon was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1941. He attended 2nd grade through high school in Parkville schools. He took up his first instrument, the snare drum, at the age often, and by eighth grade had taken up baritone horn and trombone. His parents were very supportive of his interests. Ken developed a very strong work ethic early on, through the influence and example of his parents. He earned money in high school to pay for things he wanted by assisting on a paper route. He also took private lessons, which he paid for, and played in a dance band. After graduation, he attended Peabody Conservatory on a scholarship. He finished his last two years there with the principal of the Baltimore Symphony. He taught at Peabody Preparatory for seven years as undergraduate and graduate. He continued his Master's degree at Peabody Conservatory while working as a public school instrumental music teacher. He also played in the rock and roll band and worked in a city concert band. In 1968, Ken and his family moved to Las Vegas. He connected with the Si Zentner band and went on the road with him, then played in hotels up and down the Strip. Ken worked in bands that backed many famous headliners and has many anecdotes and memorable stories to share about those days. In 1970, Ken interviewed with Howard Chase, chair of the music department at UNLV. He was hired and his first UNLV job at the age of 29 was chair of the music department. He kept this position for 16 years, with one year off to establish residency for his doctorate. Dr. Hanlon has had a long and varied career, filled with people, places and events vital to the music industry. Today he continues to teach a graduate course, is currently Las Vegas president of the International Trombone Association, and runs the Arnold Shaw Popular Music Research Center.

The Economy Motel sign sits at 1605 Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Sheet.
Site address: 1605 Fremont St
Sign owner: Las Vegas Dragon Hotel LLC
Sign details: This building was constructed in 1953 for commercial living and motels and has been used for this since. This location was recently remodeled in 2016. The property previous to the Economy Motel was the Rangler Motel.
Sign condition: 5-looks newly restored
Sign form: Blade
Sign-specific description: The top of the sign is a red rectangular blade with the word "ECONOMY" in white skeletal neon tubes spelt out horizontally. Below the word Economy is the word "MOTEL" spelt out Vertically in channeled white letters with a blue border. Underneath this portion of the sign is a sign box where they have a plastic rectangular sign with their phone number on it. Under the sign box is "WELCOME" painted on the west side of the sign and "BIENVENDIO" on the east side. On the building side of the side box is a rectangular yellow arrow pointing down to the lobby of the motel.
Sign - type of display: Neon and plastic backlit sign
Sign - media: Steel and plastic
Sign - non-neon treatments: Plastic backlit sign
Sign environment: This location is on the East side of Fremont Street located close to many other motels some closed and some still open.
Sign - date of installation: Sign has been up but in a different form since at least 2007
Sign - date of redesign/move: Late 2016/ early 2017 repainted/ restored since it previously said Rangler Motel on the sign (had a plastic cover saying economy over that previous logo for a few years)
Sign - thematic influences: The arrow portion of this sign is a popular 1950's/60's motel sign theme.
Sign - artistic significance: It is a trend down on Fremont to take an old Motel sign and renovate it into the new motel's name and logo.
Survey - research locations: Owner's website http://www.1dragonhotel.com/about_us , assessor's map, Google map satellite view
Survey - research notes: The previous sign for the Rangler motel was repurposed for the Economy Motel, so the same MOTEL blade portion had the same font but channeled neon was added, as well as repainted.
Surveyor: Emily Fellmer
Survey - date completed: 2017-09-10
Sign keywords: Neon; Plastic; Steel; Pole sign; Electronic Message Center