Daytime views of the Desert Oasis motel sign. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet. Site address: 4445 Diamond Head Dr Sign owner: Volunteers of America/HUD Sign details: The Desert Oasis Apartments is on the south end of the strip, south of the Pit Stop. The low rise tan stone structure of the apartments sits just east of the strip separated by a small parking lot. Sign condition: Structure 4 Surface 3 Lighting 3 Sign form: Pylon Sign-specific description: The Desert Oasis Apartments is on the south end of the strip, south of the Pit Stop. The low rise tan stone structure of the apartments sits just east of the strip separated by a small parking lot. Just outside the main entrance, extremely close to the building, facing north south, two brown, sculpted, steel legs, support an internally lit message center. The two legs look to be representative giant Tiki heads. In the space between the legs, and on the bottom edge of the message cabinet, a clear plastic box hold neon sculpted into the words "Vacancy" underneath the word "No." The cabinet is painted a rusted color and the face is fluted plastic with vinyl lettering. Two square posts rise out of the top of the cabinet, a short distance, before they support a larger double backed internally lit cabinet. A center pole resides between the two legs, rising into the center of the cabinet as well. The cabinet is crafted out of a polished gold metal. The face of the sign is a graphically treated surface. Desert Oasis is written in red cursive script across the top of the sign. A small graphically painted green palm tree, sits just to the right of the text. The middle of the board is occupied by large all capital text reading "Motel," in black text. Two black horizontal scrolls flank the text. A band of red runs horizontally across the bottom of the sign, with white painted text reading "Apartments." Sign - type of display: Backlit Sign - media: Steel; Plastic Sign - non-neon treatments: Graphics Sign animation: none Sign environment: The Desert Oasis is located between the Laughing Jackalope to the south and the Motel 8 establishment to the north. It stands very inconspicuous among the environment of the southern end of the strip, easily passed by the motorist or wandering pedestrian. Sign - thematic influences: Even though the establishment fits into the genre of a roadside motel, the sign itself doesn't quite fit in to the motif. The building itself is reminiscent of standard architecture of the era and location, the sign itself has elements of a Polynesian flavor. The legs of the sign appear to be Tiki like figures, but the details are quite vague. Surveyor: Joshua Cannaday Survey - date completed: 2002 Sign keywords: Pylon; Backlit; Steel; Plastic; Graphics
Nighttime views of the Diamond Inn signs on the Strip. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet. Site address: 4605 S Las Vegas Blvd Sign details: North of the Glass Pool Inn is the Diamond Inn. The motel is on the east side of the strip, and is one of the larger properties on the southern tip of Las Vegas Blvd The facility fits into the typical model of the roadside motel on this portion of the strip. An official building sits on the north side of the property and precedes a span of pavement centered with a pool, and backed by the flanking wings of rooms. A pylon side is on the north end of the property, across a span of pavement from a grass island with a rather large statue of an elephant made of fiberglass. In the near distance behind the island, the pool house for the said pool, is adorned with distinct neon as well. Sign condition: Structure 3 Surface 3 Lighting 3 Sign form: Pylon; Fascia Sign-specific description: The facility fits into the typical model of the roadside motel on this portion of the strip. An official building sits on the north side of the property and precedes a span of pavement centered with a pool, and backed by the flanking wings of rooms. A pylon side is on the north end of the property, across a span of pavement from a grass island with a rather large statue of an elephant made of fiberglass. In the near distance behind the island, the pool house for the said pool, is adorned with distinct neon as well. The pylon sign is a tall vertical rectangle with a large square internally lit cabinet in the center, a message cabinet on top of the rectangle as well as a small LED screen between the two. The large, double backed, internally lit cabinet, is bordered on the faces with purple neon, which closes in the yellow and black graphic text which advertises amenities for the motel. The cabinet on top is a six sided, horizontal, diamond-esque shape, which is double backed as well. The border of the surface of the sign is created using incandescent bulbs. Diamond Inn is spelled on the surface with two lined channel letter text. The letters are filled with incandescent bulbs and bordered in blue neon. The pool's treatment also utilizes the corresponding colors of purple and pink as well. Along the roofs edge a glowing entablature is created using a top border of purple neon as well as a bottom border of pink neon. Inside the border seven pink and star shapes are crafted out of neon tubing. They run horizontally across the length of the pediment, alternating pink, then purple. Sign - type of display: Neon; Incandescent; Backlit Sign - media: Steel; Plastic; Fiberglass Sign - non-neon treatments: Graphics Sign animation: Chasing, flashing, oscillating Notes: the letters inside of the letters of the tower actually oscillate. Sign environment: The Glass Pool Inn resides just to the north of the Diamond Inn. Boasting a newer, yet improperly functioning pylon sign, the larger Diamond Inn property is one of the more standout establishments in the area. Its expansive lot and pink sculpture of an elephant make the Diamond Inn conspicuous. Sign manufacturer: Diamond Head Sign Co. Sign - thematic influences: No specific theme seems to be related to the Diamond Inn other than the typical roadside motel, typical for the south end of the Strip. Surveyor: Joshua Cannaday Survey - date completed: 2002 Sign keywords: Chasing; Oscillating; Pylon; Fascia; Neon; Incandescent; Backlit; Steel; Plastic; Fiberglass; Graphics
Sign animation: Chasing, flashing, oscillating Notes: All of the bulbs, which reside in the fascia signs which designate entrances, oscillate rapidly. The entrance sign a bit closer to the north end of the property also contain the pan channel star shapes, with incandescent bulbs in the center. The bulbs which, reside on the widths edge of the small pole sign at the south end of the property, oscillate giving a twinkling effect. The main pylon's animation is rather simple considering the amount of lighting. Bulbs which create the dazzling background chase each other upward to the very point, then once they reach the top, each letter light up from left to right, one at a time, then off one letter at a time. The letters all turn on simultaneously while, while the background chases up, leaving the lights off in its trail. The text then shuts off as well. The small incandescent bulbs lacing the background of the main body of the sign oscillate subtly, twinkling themselves. Each letter of the text contains a single row of incandescent bulbs, just inside the border of the red neon. This row is always on in a chasing animation from left to right even when the letters are dark. The animation for the three sided, pole sign, at the north end of the property is adorned with sparkling animation as well. The purple bulbs, which create the border of the main base, chase each other from bottom to top, and the star shape in the center is filled with oscillating incandescent bulbs. The bulbs, which also encrust the bottom surface of the cabinet, oscillate as well. The incandescent bulbs, which adorn the background of the text portion of the sign, also sparkle with a soft random oscillating pattern. The stars which sit on top of the cabinet, animate in a random, non descriptive fashion. The inner star shaped pans oscillate with incandescent bulbs, and the neon borders flash on then off, in a clumsy random order. The three-sided sign also rotates, one of the few animatronic signs on the Strip.
Sign animation: Chasing, flashing, oscillating Notes: The V-shaped red channels on the silver main pylon chase each other downward toward the ground. The main text on the pylon animates as well. The letters light up one at a time with red neon from left to right as the arrows continue to chase downward. The logo/text sign located above the giant replica of the Harley Davidson, animate as well. The incandescent bulbs which fill the text, spelling the name of the establishment, oscillate, steady burn, then shut off, and then restarting the sequence. The letters that spell cafe on the lower portion of the sign animate in concert and with the same sequence as the main text.
Daytime and nighttime views of the ESPN Zone signs on the Strip. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet. Site name: New York-New York Hotel and Casino (Las Vegas, Nev.) Site address: 3790 S Las Vegas Blvd Sign details: Located in New York-New York Casino and Hotel Sign condition: Structure 5 Surface 5 Lighting 5 Sign form: Pylon; Fascia; Porte-cochère Sign-specific description: The northern end of the property is dominated by the signage for the ESPN Zone sports lounge, located inside the NY NY. The exterior signage is basically a theatre marquee entrance with a long overhang supporting an electronic message banner that reads from left to right. The majority of the theatre front is polished aluminum with thin tubes of red neon above and below the electronic reader board. Above the top edge of the actual front of the sign is a design of pan channels, crafted and shaped to form a complex background for the logo text spelling "ESPN." A wavy green crafted channel creates what looks like a horizon. The space between the marquee and the green channel is a black field laden with incandescent bulbs. Above the green channel an array of pan channels crafted into interlocking, swaying, pointed shapes. They are painted yellow and orange so the result is a bed of flames. These too are lined in the interior of the contour in red and orange neon. In the center of the entire face of the overhand in a black steel cabinet with the logo for the establishment spelling "ESPN Zone." The First portion of the two-word phrase is spelled in shallow channel letters lined with horizontal bars of white neon. The text is outlined in red neon as well. The second half spells "Zone," and is written in the same font with the "Z" being the largest letter in the sign, designed with the bottom horizontal leg underlining the rest of the letters in the word. The word is outlined with white neon as well. The latter portion is filled with horizontal bars of red neon. Situated along the middle of the sign, and against the vertical plane of the building, a blade sign repeats the design and colors of the bottom portion of the sign. The vertical cabinet is double sided spelling the "ESPN Zone" logo vertically with the same neon treatments for the respective words. The three toned background of black, green, red and orange on the bottom of the sign is interpreted on the blade. Running vertically, the black portion laden with bulbs runs against the wall, with the wavy channel next to that, disappearing temporarily behind the letters. The flames hang off of the outer edge of the sign. All of the neon treatments are seen here as well. Crowning the top of the blade sign two circular cabinets are arranged touching each other at one end, the faces pointing out to angled directions. Here the ESPN logo is arranged inside a circle. The bottom half below the letters is filled with horizontal bars of green neon, while the flames are present on the top half. The same cabinets can be seen mounted on the ends of the bottom overhang. Sign - type of display: Neon; Incandescent; Backlit Sign - media: Steel; Plastic Sign - non-neon treatments: Graphics Sign animation: Notes: The letters in the vertical blade portion of the ESPN Zone illuminate one at a time, starting from the top. Once the entire phrase is lit, in flashes off then on then off, before restating. The orange and red neon tubing which resides inside the pan channels that represent flames flash on and off in a relaxed manner as if to animate the flickering of the flames. The small incandescent bulbs on the black portions above the main matrix reader board flash on and off subtly. Surveyor: Joshua Cannaday Survey - date completed: 2002 Sign keywords: Chasing; Flashing; Oscillating; Pylon; Fascia; Porte-cochère; Neon; Incandescent; Backlit; Steel; Plastic; Graphics