Search Results
Slide of a neon Bonanza Gift Shop sign, Las Vegas, circa 1980s
Date
1980 to 1989
Archival Collection
Description
A color image of neon signs for Bonanza Gift and Souvenir Shops. Transcribed on signs: "General Store, Gift Store, Mini Market, Liquor Store."
Image
Photographs of Don't Tell Mama signs, Las Vegas (Nev.), June 28, 2017
Date
2017-06-28
2017-08-14
Archival Collection
Description
Photos show the signs for Don't Tell Mama at 517 Fremont Street Suite 110 in Downtown Las Vegas. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Sheet.
Site address: 517 Fremont St
Sign owner: Assessor's page stated T-Breo II LLC (possibly owner of the property, but no owner of the bar/business was found.
Sign details: Don't Tell Mama originally opened in 2008/9 as a New York style piano bar. The name is inspired by the 1966 song "Don't Tell Mama" in the Broadway show "Cabaret". They are known for their bartenders that double as entertainers as well as having open mic every night.
Sign condition: 3- The sign does show some aging and some of the neon piano keys currently do not work
Sign form: Hanging sign and entrance sign
Sign-specific description: The hanging sign is a rectangle sign is outlined in red neon with lower case letters "don't tell mama" is spelt out in a painted white font, but at night the letters are in red cursive skeletal neon. Below the font there is a piano key design. On the building right above the entrance the sign is an image of a closed grand piano neon sign. The body of the piano during the day has blue tubes and illuminates blue at night. Some of the keys are blue and others are red. Both signs are also plastic back lit so people can see the black and white piano keys with the neon on top of it.
Sign - type of display: Neon and backlit plastic
Sign - media: Steel and plastic
Sign - non-neon treatments: Plastic backlit sign
Sign animation: There may have been animation with the neon piano keys lighting up to look like the piano was being played but since many of these keys are not working it can not be confirmed.
Sign environment: Located in the East Fremont District in between Las Vegas blvd and 6th St. This bar has the Beauty Bar to the west of it and Le Thai restaurant to the east. Across the street is Therapy and the Emergency Arts center.
Sign manufacturer: Valley Signs and Lighting
Sign - date of installation: Sign has been up since at least 2014
Sign - thematic influences: The sign portrays the New York piano bar vibe they are going for, and since Neon is and was prominent New York it plays along with their theme as well.
Sign - artistic significance: Piano bars were prominent in the 1950's.
Survey - research locations: Don't Tell Mama website http://www.donttellmama.com/Dont_Tell_Mama/About.html, Asessor's page
Survey - research notes: There is a Don't Tell Mama in New York, but did not find an affiliation or a real connection.
Surveyor: Emily Fellmer
Survey - date completed: 2017-08-14
Sign keywords: Neon; Steel; Plastic; Backlit; Hanging; Building-front design; Fascia; Cantilever construction
Site address: 517 Fremont St
Sign owner: Assessor's page stated T-Breo II LLC (possibly owner of the property, but no owner of the bar/business was found.
Sign details: Don't Tell Mama originally opened in 2008/9 as a New York style piano bar. The name is inspired by the 1966 song "Don't Tell Mama" in the Broadway show "Cabaret". They are known for their bartenders that double as entertainers as well as having open mic every night.
Sign condition: 3- The sign does show some aging and some of the neon piano keys currently do not work
Sign form: Hanging sign and entrance sign
Sign-specific description: The hanging sign is a rectangle sign is outlined in red neon with lower case letters "don't tell mama" is spelt out in a painted white font, but at night the letters are in red cursive skeletal neon. Below the font there is a piano key design. On the building right above the entrance the sign is an image of a closed grand piano neon sign. The body of the piano during the day has blue tubes and illuminates blue at night. Some of the keys are blue and others are red. Both signs are also plastic back lit so people can see the black and white piano keys with the neon on top of it.
Sign - type of display: Neon and backlit plastic
Sign - media: Steel and plastic
Sign - non-neon treatments: Plastic backlit sign
Sign animation: There may have been animation with the neon piano keys lighting up to look like the piano was being played but since many of these keys are not working it can not be confirmed.
Sign environment: Located in the East Fremont District in between Las Vegas blvd and 6th St. This bar has the Beauty Bar to the west of it and Le Thai restaurant to the east. Across the street is Therapy and the Emergency Arts center.
Sign manufacturer: Valley Signs and Lighting
Sign - date of installation: Sign has been up since at least 2014
Sign - thematic influences: The sign portrays the New York piano bar vibe they are going for, and since Neon is and was prominent New York it plays along with their theme as well.
Sign - artistic significance: Piano bars were prominent in the 1950's.
Survey - research locations: Don't Tell Mama website http://www.donttellmama.com/Dont_Tell_Mama/About.html, Asessor's page
Survey - research notes: There is a Don't Tell Mama in New York, but did not find an affiliation or a real connection.
Surveyor: Emily Fellmer
Survey - date completed: 2017-08-14
Sign keywords: Neon; Steel; Plastic; Backlit; Hanging; Building-front design; Fascia; Cantilever construction
Mixed Content
Photographic slide of a sign at Tule Springs, Nevada, January 17, 1962
Date
1963-01-17
Archival Collection
Description
A sign in the Tule Springs area that reads, "Alley Oop 4 miles." January 17, 1963
Image
Silver Slipper Casino sign, Las Vegas, Nevada: photographic print
Date
1986
Archival Collection
Description
Sign for the Silver Slipper Casino with lit neon (previously known as Golden Slipper) prior to demolition.
Image
M&M sign at Showcase Mall, Las Vegas, Nevada: digital photograph
Date
2016-11-08
Archival Collection
Description
Commercial signage and use of neon has become more expressive over the years in Las Vegas including this M&M's themed sign at Showcase Mall on the Las Vegas Strip.
Image
Photographs of Safari Motel sign, Las Vegas (Nev.), April 18, 2017
Date
2017-04-18
2017-09-01
Archival Collection
Description
The Safari Motel sits at 2001 Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet.
Site address: 2001 Fremont St
Sign owner: Harold and Wendy Property Trust, Yeh Wendy Linh, Trs.
Sign details: The current building was constructed in 1956 (Assessor; RoadsideArch, n.d.), although several commentators state that the motel opened in 1954 (Glionna, 2017; VintageVegas, 2017). In its early years the motel was registered with the Automobile Club of America, which vouched for its quality (Glionna).
Sign condition: The condition is 3, fair. The reader board and cabinets are intact. The plastic panels on the east side of the reader board are buckling. The paint on the reader board is fading. The paint on the "MOTEL" letters is peeling slightly. The paint on the "SAFARI" letters and background is peeling moderately. Ten to fifteen percent of the light bulbs on the "MOTEL" cabinet are missing. Almost all of the light bulbs on the reader board cabinet are gone. The neon tubes on the lower third of the sign have shifted position. The neon tubes on the upper two thirds of the sign appear to be in good condition. The neon which spells out "MOTEL" appears to be intact, except for the broken letter "L" on the east side of the sign. Between the reader board and the letter" L" of "MOTEL" is an oblong metal cabinet which is missing all of its former neon.
Sign form: Pylon sign
Sign-specific description: The lower metal pylon is painted black. It supports a black metal framed reader board which is cantilevered toward the street. A rectangular blue metal pole aligned with the center of the pylon rises out of the reader board. To the street side of the pole is a vertical arrangement of three open panels of yellow skeleton neon, the tubes set in a diamond pattern. On the street side of the neon panels is a blue metal cabinet. "MOTEL" runs vertically down the cabinet in white cartoon style sans serif letters which are outlined in white skeleton neon. A row of yellow incandescent light bulbs runs down the street side of the cabinet. Between the reader board and the letter "L" of "MOTEL" is an oblong blue metal cabinet. The top of the blue metal cabinet intersects an irregular oblong shaped black metal cabinet. The black cabinet tops the neon panels and the rectangular pole. Rustic African safari style letters spell out "SAFARI" horizontally across the black cabinet in blue paint and white skeleton neon
Sign - type of display: Neon, LED and Incandescent
Sign - media: Steel and Plastic
Sign - non-neon treatments: LED screen
Sign environment: This location is on East Fremont neighboring many other motels though many of them are currently closed.
Sign - date of installation: Possibly 1960's (Garofalo, 2011; VintageVegas, 2017)
Sign - date of redesign/move: The current sign shows only minor variations from the version displayed on a 1969 postcard (Garofalo, 2011). The pylon previously featured "VACANCY" spelled out in red or pink skeleton neon. AAA and what appears to be another automobile club badge are painted below "VACANCY". The pole and "MOTEL" cabinet were painted red. The oblong cabinet between the reader board and the "MOTEL" cabinet was painted navy blue with "AAA" letters painted in white. A postcard which might come from a slightly later date (the auto club badges on the pylon have been replaced with a sign that states, "AMERICAN EXPRESS CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED HERE" shows the full neon and incandescent display at night (David, 2010). A photograph from 2011 shows the sign looking almost exactly as it is today (Garofalo, 2011).
Sign - thematic influences: The sign conveys African Safari adventure themes. Also the older advertisements on the sign are remnant of the motor courts and automobile clubs.
Survey - research locations: Clark County Assessor, Parcel No. 139-35-802-002. Retrieved from http://www.clarkcountynv.gov/assessor/Pages/PropertyRecords.aspx?H=redrock&P=assrrealprop/pcl.aspx David, Heather. (2010 September 5). Safari Motel Las Vegas. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/14696209@N02/4962785104/ Garofalo, M. (2011 November 1). Still standing-Safari Motel. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/vintageroadtrip/6305057788/in/photostream/ Glionna, J. M. (2017 April 23). Motel, once a haven, now a crime-ridden jungle in downtown Las Vegas. Las Vegas Review Journal. Retrieved from https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/downtown/motel-once-a-haven-now-a-crime-ridden-jungle-in-downtown-las-vegas/ RoadsideArchitecture. (n.d.). Safari Motel. Retrieved from http://www.roadarch.com/sca/extension3.html Rodgers, L. T. (2016 December 14). No vacancy: The last motels on Fremont Street. Retrieved from http://dtlv.com/2016/12/14/no-vacancy-last-motels-fremont-street/ VintageVegas. (2017 April 23). Safari Motel. Retrieved from http://vintagelasvegas.com/post/159911346449/safari-motel-2001-fremont-st-opened-1954
Surveyor: Mitchell Cohen
Survey - date completed: 2017-09-01
Sign keywords: Neon; Incandescent; Steel; Plastic; Pole sign; Reader board
Site address: 2001 Fremont St
Sign owner: Harold and Wendy Property Trust, Yeh Wendy Linh, Trs.
Sign details: The current building was constructed in 1956 (Assessor; RoadsideArch, n.d.), although several commentators state that the motel opened in 1954 (Glionna, 2017; VintageVegas, 2017). In its early years the motel was registered with the Automobile Club of America, which vouched for its quality (Glionna).
Sign condition: The condition is 3, fair. The reader board and cabinets are intact. The plastic panels on the east side of the reader board are buckling. The paint on the reader board is fading. The paint on the "MOTEL" letters is peeling slightly. The paint on the "SAFARI" letters and background is peeling moderately. Ten to fifteen percent of the light bulbs on the "MOTEL" cabinet are missing. Almost all of the light bulbs on the reader board cabinet are gone. The neon tubes on the lower third of the sign have shifted position. The neon tubes on the upper two thirds of the sign appear to be in good condition. The neon which spells out "MOTEL" appears to be intact, except for the broken letter "L" on the east side of the sign. Between the reader board and the letter" L" of "MOTEL" is an oblong metal cabinet which is missing all of its former neon.
Sign form: Pylon sign
Sign-specific description: The lower metal pylon is painted black. It supports a black metal framed reader board which is cantilevered toward the street. A rectangular blue metal pole aligned with the center of the pylon rises out of the reader board. To the street side of the pole is a vertical arrangement of three open panels of yellow skeleton neon, the tubes set in a diamond pattern. On the street side of the neon panels is a blue metal cabinet. "MOTEL" runs vertically down the cabinet in white cartoon style sans serif letters which are outlined in white skeleton neon. A row of yellow incandescent light bulbs runs down the street side of the cabinet. Between the reader board and the letter "L" of "MOTEL" is an oblong blue metal cabinet. The top of the blue metal cabinet intersects an irregular oblong shaped black metal cabinet. The black cabinet tops the neon panels and the rectangular pole. Rustic African safari style letters spell out "SAFARI" horizontally across the black cabinet in blue paint and white skeleton neon
Sign - type of display: Neon, LED and Incandescent
Sign - media: Steel and Plastic
Sign - non-neon treatments: LED screen
Sign environment: This location is on East Fremont neighboring many other motels though many of them are currently closed.
Sign - date of installation: Possibly 1960's (Garofalo, 2011; VintageVegas, 2017)
Sign - date of redesign/move: The current sign shows only minor variations from the version displayed on a 1969 postcard (Garofalo, 2011). The pylon previously featured "VACANCY" spelled out in red or pink skeleton neon. AAA and what appears to be another automobile club badge are painted below "VACANCY". The pole and "MOTEL" cabinet were painted red. The oblong cabinet between the reader board and the "MOTEL" cabinet was painted navy blue with "AAA" letters painted in white. A postcard which might come from a slightly later date (the auto club badges on the pylon have been replaced with a sign that states, "AMERICAN EXPRESS CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED HERE" shows the full neon and incandescent display at night (David, 2010). A photograph from 2011 shows the sign looking almost exactly as it is today (Garofalo, 2011).
Sign - thematic influences: The sign conveys African Safari adventure themes. Also the older advertisements on the sign are remnant of the motor courts and automobile clubs.
Survey - research locations: Clark County Assessor, Parcel No. 139-35-802-002. Retrieved from http://www.clarkcountynv.gov/assessor/Pages/PropertyRecords.aspx?H=redrock&P=assrrealprop/pcl.aspx David, Heather. (2010 September 5). Safari Motel Las Vegas. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/14696209@N02/4962785104/ Garofalo, M. (2011 November 1). Still standing-Safari Motel. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/vintageroadtrip/6305057788/in/photostream/ Glionna, J. M. (2017 April 23). Motel, once a haven, now a crime-ridden jungle in downtown Las Vegas. Las Vegas Review Journal. Retrieved from https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/downtown/motel-once-a-haven-now-a-crime-ridden-jungle-in-downtown-las-vegas/ RoadsideArchitecture. (n.d.). Safari Motel. Retrieved from http://www.roadarch.com/sca/extension3.html Rodgers, L. T. (2016 December 14). No vacancy: The last motels on Fremont Street. Retrieved from http://dtlv.com/2016/12/14/no-vacancy-last-motels-fremont-street/ VintageVegas. (2017 April 23). Safari Motel. Retrieved from http://vintagelasvegas.com/post/159911346449/safari-motel-2001-fremont-st-opened-1954
Surveyor: Mitchell Cohen
Survey - date completed: 2017-09-01
Sign keywords: Neon; Incandescent; Steel; Plastic; Pole sign; Reader board
Mixed Content
Slide of Cactus Jack's Senator's Club sign, Carson City, Nevada, 1986
Date
1986
Archival Collection
Description
A color image of the neon sign for Cactus Jack's Senator Casino, located in Carson City, Nevada. The illuminated, red sign has an outline of a man with a cowboy hat holding a sign that reads "Howdy."
Image
Photograph of the assembly of the sign in front of the Sands (Las Vegas), circa 1953
Date
1952 to 1953
Archival Collection
Description
Workers assemble the sign for the Sands Hotel that stood along the Las Vegas Strip.
Site Name: Sands Hotel
Address: 3355 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Image
Slide of neon signs at McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas, circa 1980s
Date
1980 to 1989
Archival Collection
Description
A color image of neon signs for the Executive Terminal at McCarran International Airport.
Image
Photographs of Sky Ranch Motel sign, Las Vegas (Nev.), April 18, 2017
Date
2017-04-18
2017-08-12
Archival Collection
Description
The Sky Ranch Motel sign sits at 2009 Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Sheet.
Site address: 2009 Fremont St
Sign owner: Sky Ranch Motel INC
Sign details: .57 acre lot, original constructed in 1954.
Sign condition: 3 - seems in one piece, broken neon tubing, sun damaged paint (faded), lettering is still legible. No lettering on reader board.
Sign form: back to back pylon sign/monument sign
Sign-specific description: Abstract design, has a crescent moon form on top. Stars painted on and framed with skeleton neon tubing, skeletal neon around "sky ranch motel" and "no vacancy". Primary colors used, yellow for moon and star details, blue for the abstract bubble framing the name of the motel, yellow on sides of the bubble, red for the sides of the moon, reader board and its frame, and the base of the sign. Moon on top would internally light up on its own.
Sign - type of display: Neon, readerboard, internally illuminated moon
Sign - media: Steel and Plastic
Sign environment: Property is surrounded by motels and residential
Sign - date of redesign/move: Repainted in 2006, was a darker blue previous
Sign - artistic significance: Celestial theme popular during the Space Race era of the 1950s and 1960s.
Survey - research locations: Motel website, assessor's website
Survey - research notes: Approached office staff, owner was not in but I left my number and email at the front desk, no response.
Surveyor: Danny Jacobs
Survey - date completed: 2017-08-12
Sign keywords: Neon; Steel; Plastic; Reader board; Back to back; Internally illuminated; Pole sign
Site address: 2009 Fremont St
Sign owner: Sky Ranch Motel INC
Sign details: .57 acre lot, original constructed in 1954.
Sign condition: 3 - seems in one piece, broken neon tubing, sun damaged paint (faded), lettering is still legible. No lettering on reader board.
Sign form: back to back pylon sign/monument sign
Sign-specific description: Abstract design, has a crescent moon form on top. Stars painted on and framed with skeleton neon tubing, skeletal neon around "sky ranch motel" and "no vacancy". Primary colors used, yellow for moon and star details, blue for the abstract bubble framing the name of the motel, yellow on sides of the bubble, red for the sides of the moon, reader board and its frame, and the base of the sign. Moon on top would internally light up on its own.
Sign - type of display: Neon, readerboard, internally illuminated moon
Sign - media: Steel and Plastic
Sign environment: Property is surrounded by motels and residential
Sign - date of redesign/move: Repainted in 2006, was a darker blue previous
Sign - artistic significance: Celestial theme popular during the Space Race era of the 1950s and 1960s.
Survey - research locations: Motel website, assessor's website
Survey - research notes: Approached office staff, owner was not in but I left my number and email at the front desk, no response.
Surveyor: Danny Jacobs
Survey - date completed: 2017-08-12
Sign keywords: Neon; Steel; Plastic; Reader board; Back to back; Internally illuminated; Pole sign
Mixed Content