The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign is a Las Vegas landmark funded in May 1959 and erected soon after by Western Neon. The sign was designed by Betty Willis at the request of Ted Rogich, a local salesman, who sold it to Clark County, Nevada.
The "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" Sign | |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
 The sign, just to the south of the Las Vegas Strip, welcoming visitors to the city in 2015 | |
    | |
| Location | 5100 Las Vegas Boulevard South Paradise, Nevada, U.S. 89119 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 36°4′55.4″N 115°10′22″W / 36.082056°N 115.17278°W |
| Built | 1959 |
| Architect | Betty Willis |
| Architectural style | Googie |
| NRHP reference No. | 09000284 |
| Added to NRHP | May 1, 2009 |
The sign is located in the median at 5100 Las Vegas Boulevard South, north of the historic stone pillars of the old McCarran Field on the east side, and level with the Bali Hai Golf Club on the west side. Some consider the sign to be the official southern end of the Las Vegas Strip. The sign, like most of the Strip, sits in Paradise and is located roughly 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the actual city limits of Las Vegas. Such distinctions are usually ignored by both locals and tourists, who refer to the entire metro area as "Las Vegas".
Design
The sign is a 25-foot-tall (7.6 m) classic roadside pole design, mounted offset on two flat poles which are joined by a cross piece at the top. The poles extend above the top of the sign. The sign is a horizontally stretched diamond shape, with the top and bottom angles pointed while the side angles are rounded. It is double-backed, internally lit, with a border of flashing and chasing yellow incandescent bulbs outside around the perimeter. In a nod to Nevada's nickname as "the Silver State," across the top of the sign are white neon circles, designed to represent silver dollars. The circles each contain a red painted letter, outlined in neon, which together form the word "Welcome." Crowning the sign, located between the two poles and just under the crosspiece is an eight-pointed, red-painted metal star outlined with yellow neon.
The intersecting vertical and horizontal lines of the star extend over and wrap around the frame that is created by the two poles and the cross piece, which give the star a dynamic, explosive appearance. The cabinet is faced with translucent white plastic and covered with blue and red painted text. The south side of the sign reads "Welcome" inside the silver dollars, with "to Fabulous" in blue, in a 1950s-style cursive, underneath. The words "Las Vegas" are on the next line in red, all capitalized, and large, almost filling the width of the sign. Under "Las Vegas" is the word "Nevada" in blue, all capitalized, in a much smaller font. On the back or north side, which is less frequently photographed and thus is lesser known, the sign reads "Drive" on the top line and "Carefully" on the second in red capital letters, with "Come Back" in blue on the third line, in script, and "Soon" all capitalized in blue on the fourth line. The design is characteristic of the Googie architecture movement.
History
The sign was built and installed in 1959 by Las Vegas-based Western Electric Displays (aka Western Neon) under contract with Clark County. Betty Willis, an employee of Western Neon, designed the sign. It cost $4,000 to build the sign.
Legend has been written that "Willis considered this her gift to the city and wanted it to be in the public domain." She has been quoted in saying, "If I had copyrighted the sign, it probably wouldn't have been used as much and wouldn't be as famous. But, it would be nice to have a dime for every time it's been used." However, the Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO) has owned the sign since their purchase of Western Neon in the early 1960s, and the company leases the sign to Clark County. In 2007, Clark County installed decorative artificial turf underneath the sign.
In late 2008, Clark County employees sought to have the sign listed on the National Register of Historic Places; the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office officially nominated it, and the National Park Service approved the designation on May 1, 2009. On December 6, 2013, the State Historic Preservation Office for the State of Nevada announced that the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign had been added to the State Register of Historic Places. After Willis died on April 19, 2015, Clark County commissioners declared May 5, 2015, "Betty Willis Day" and issued a proclamation to her daughter Marjorie Holland.
Site improvements
Prior to 2008, access to the iconic sign for photo opportunities was risky. There was no legal place for visitors to park, and visitors had to cross travel lanes of Las Vegas Boulevard and hop up onto a median to reach the sign. Although there had been no known traffic fatalities involving pedestrians attempting to access the sign, rising traffic at the south end of the Strip presented an increasingly dangerous situation.
After control of Las Vegas Boulevard was transferred from the state to Clark County, county officials decided to improve access and increase safety around the sign for photo-seekers. On December 8, 2008, site improvements were completed in the median allowing official public access to the welcome sign for the first time. The $400,000 project included a parking lot with 12 parking spaces and two loading areas for buses and limousines, as well as a paved walkway leading from the parking to the sign viewing area.
The improvements were successful, and the small parking lot was soon overwhelmed by an ever-increasing number of visitors to the sign. In April 2012, the Clark County Commission authorized the expenditure of $500,000 to add 20 more spaces to accommodate visitor traffic.
On April 23, 2015, a second site enhancement project was completed at a cost of $900,000. This project added 21 additional parking spaces to the parking lot and completed additional cosmetic and safety improvements, including new marked crosswalks with traffic signals to allow safer pedestrian access to the sign.
Notable events involving the sign
On January 31, 2008, the sign turned red in support of National Wear Red Day. The American Heart Association's Go Red for Women campaign sought to educate the public on women's risk of cardiovascular disease and promote the importance of women getting screened for heart disease.
On March 28, 2009, the sign along with much of the Las Vegas Strip was darkened for one hour as the city took part in Earth Hour.
On May 14, 2009, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and the Playboy personality Holly Madison coincided the start of summer with the sign's 50th anniversary. Part of the celebration was making it in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest bikini parade, followed by pool parties throughout the city. The event kicked off in front of the sign with a runway-style retrospective featuring bathing suits from the 1950s to today.
April 28, 2010, marked the first time the text of the sign has ever been changed. Mayor Oscar Goodman unveiled the new marketing campaign "Camp Vegas." The sign was adorned with a cover that read "Welcome to Fabulous Camp Vegas." The event was hosted by Holly Madison, Wayne Newton, Oscar Goodman, and a slew of showgirls and skydivers. The Camp Vegas cover remained over the sign for 36 hours.
On October 5, 2017, following a mass shooting four days earlier, 58 crosses with hearts on them, all made by Greg Zanis, were placed behind the sign. Each cross represented a victim killed in the shooting.
On August 18, 2020, the sign was the site of the Nevada delegation's state roll-call at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
Replica signs
In 2002, the Las Vegas City Council erected a similar sign for the city proper reading "Welcome to Fabulous Downtown Las Vegas" at Las Vegas Boulevard and 4th Street, just within the city limits of the City of Las Vegas. This sign was destroyed in 2016 when a pickup truck crashed into it. After much debate over whether to replace the sign, the city council decided that the city needed its own unique entrance marker. The Gateway Arches, featuring a 7-ton (6,350 kg) "City of Las Vegas" YESCO sign over Las Vegas Boulevard, opened next to the Strat on November 18, 2020.
On March 6, 2007, another replica of the sign was installed on Boulder Highway just north of Tropicana Avenue, the result of casinos along the "Boulder Strip" uniting to have their own welcome sign. Like the original, it does not mark the border with Las Vegas; instead, it "represents the understood gateway from the Boulder Highway to Las Vegas" according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
In 2013, the SlotZilla Zipline attraction was built at the Fremont Street Experience. A "Welcome to Fabulous Downtown Las Vegas" sign was added to one of its towers.
In 2022, the Chapel of the Flowers erected a sign reading "Married in Fabulous Las Vegas" to celebrate the five million couples who were married in Las Vegas. The city of Las Vegas, Clark County, and the LVCVA launched a ten-month-long campaign promoting couples who were married in Las Vegas to take a photo in front of the sign to win monthly prizes and one grand prize,
Use in souvenirs
In 2004, souvenir replicas of the sign that light up were sold to benefit the Nevada Cancer Institute.
In 2005, the image of the sign was featured on the Nevada license plate that was issued to commemorate the centennial of the City of Las Vegas.
On March 1, 2012, a business selling photos in front of a replica of the sign opened at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. This features an actual, physical sign located in the airport.
As of 2023, YESCO provides maintenance of the sign, and sells the replaced light bulbs as Official Las Vegas Lights, packaged in a wood box along with a letter of authenticity indicating the date lit.
See also
- List of public art in Las Vegas
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Clark County, Nevada
- Vegas Vic, another famous symbol of Las Vegas
- Reno Arch (The Biggest Little City in the World), the famous "welcome sign" of Reno
References
- "Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties". National Park Service. May 8, 2009. Archived from the original on May 31, 2009. Retrieved May 8, 2009.
- Carlson, Jeffrey (January 2, 2019). "Put a Star on It: A Brief History of the Welcome Sign". The Neon Museum Las Vegas. The Neon Museum. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- Roeben, Scott (May 10, 2023). "Surprising Things You Probably Didn't Know About the Las Vegas Sign". Vital Vegas. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
- "Betty Willis, Designer of 'Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas' Sign, Dies". Las Vegas: NBC News. April 21, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
- "Learning from 'Fabulous' Las Vegas". University of Nevada, Las Vegas. December 2, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
- "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form" (PDF). National Park Service. October 2008. p. 17. NPS Form 10-900.
- nvshpo.org - Rebecca Palmer 775-684-3443
- "Betty Willis Day: Commissioners honor creator of Welcome To Las Vegas sign". Las Vegas: KXNT-FM. May 5, 2015. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
- Wyland, Scott (December 9, 2008). "Iconic sign more welcoming". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
- Schoenmann, Joe (April 17, 2012). "County to expand parking lot at Las Vegas welcome sign". Las Vegas Sun.
- "New traffic, pedestrian signals lit at Vegas welcome sign". Las Vegas: Las Vegas Review-Journal. April 23, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
- "Welcome to Las Vegas Sign Turns Red". LasVegasVegas.com. January 31, 2008.
- "Las Vegas Goes Dark For Earth Hour". Las Vegas: KLAS-TV. March 28, 2009.
- Arseniuk, Melissa (May 14, 2009). "Goodman, Holly Madison welcome summer, set bikini record". Las Vegas Sun.
- "Las Vegas becomes Camp Vegas". Las Vegas: KTNV-TV. April 29, 2010. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
- "58 crosses and a vigil on the Las Vegas Strip — PHOTOS". October 6, 2017.
- "Tuesday's DNC roll call was a quirky, unexpected delight". August 19, 2020.
- "Ask Mr. Sun: The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign". Las Vegas Sun. November 25, 2008. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
- "'Welcome to Fabulous Downtown Las Vegas' sign destroyed by truck". July 17, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
- Forgione, Mary (November 19, 2020). "Can Sin City's new Gateway Arches outshine the Welcome to Las Vegas sign?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- "Slotzilla - 10 Coolest Things You Didn't Know You Could Do In Las Vegas - Forbes". Forbes. April 9, 2013. Archived from the original on April 9, 2013.
- "'SlotZilla' zip line opens in downtown Las Vegas". LasVegasSun.com. April 29, 2014.
- "SlotZilla Zipline Las Vegas Gets Lit at the Fremont Street Experience | Vital Vegas Blog". Vital Vegas Blog. December 8, 2013.
- "Find out how Las Vegas become wedding capital of the world". Las Vegas Review-Journal. April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
- "Lucky in Love Contest for Couples | Visit Las Vegas". www.visitlasvegas.com. February 15, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
- "Souvenir Replica of Famous 'Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas' Sign Now Available for Purchase". Las Vegas Review-Journal. October 1, 2004.
- "Las Vegas Centennial license plate".
- Wingert, Gregan (March 13, 2012). "New business banks on tourists, Las Vegas sign, studio in McCarran's baggage claim area". The Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
- "Official Light Bulb". Official Las Vegas Light. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
External links
- Welcome to Las Vegas sign, from VEGAS.com
- Iconic Neon Sign Survives Vegas Makeover NPR's radio interview with Betty Willis, October 3, 2006
- Live view of the sign
The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign is a Las Vegas landmark funded in May 1959 and erected soon after by Western Neon The sign was designed by Betty Willis at the request of Ted Rogich a local salesman who sold it to Clark County Nevada The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas SignU S National Register of Historic PlacesThe sign just to the south of the Las Vegas Strip welcoming visitors to the city in 2015Show map of Las Vegas BoulevardShow map of NevadaShow map of the United StatesLocation5100 Las Vegas Boulevard South Paradise Nevada U S 89119Coordinates36 4 55 4 N 115 10 22 W 36 082056 N 115 17278 W 36 082056 115 17278Built1959 66 years ago 1959 ArchitectBetty WillisArchitectural styleGoogieNRHP reference No 09000284Added to NRHPMay 1 2009 15 years ago 2009 05 01 The sign is located in the median at 5100 Las Vegas Boulevard South north of the historic stone pillars of the old McCarran Field on the east side and level with the Bali Hai Golf Club on the west side Some consider the sign to be the official southern end of the Las Vegas Strip The sign like most of the Strip sits in Paradise and is located roughly 4 miles 6 4 km south of the actual city limits of Las Vegas Such distinctions are usually ignored by both locals and tourists who refer to the entire metro area as Las Vegas DesignThe sign at night with the lights illuminated in 2007The back of the sign at night in 2009 The sign is a 25 foot tall 7 6 m classic roadside pole design mounted offset on two flat poles which are joined by a cross piece at the top The poles extend above the top of the sign The sign is a horizontally stretched diamond shape with the top and bottom angles pointed while the side angles are rounded It is double backed internally lit with a border of flashing and chasing yellow incandescent bulbs outside around the perimeter In a nod to Nevada s nickname as the Silver State across the top of the sign are white neon circles designed to represent silver dollars The circles each contain a red painted letter outlined in neon which together form the word Welcome Crowning the sign located between the two poles and just under the crosspiece is an eight pointed red painted metal star outlined with yellow neon The intersecting vertical and horizontal lines of the star extend over and wrap around the frame that is created by the two poles and the cross piece which give the star a dynamic explosive appearance The cabinet is faced with translucent white plastic and covered with blue and red painted text The south side of the sign reads Welcome inside the silver dollars with to Fabulous in blue in a 1950s style cursive underneath The words Las Vegas are on the next line in red all capitalized and large almost filling the width of the sign Under Las Vegas is the word Nevada in blue all capitalized in a much smaller font On the back or north side which is less frequently photographed and thus is lesser known the sign reads Drive on the top line and Carefully on the second in red capital letters with Come Back in blue on the third line in script and Soon all capitalized in blue on the fourth line The design is characteristic of the Googie architecture movement HistoryDrive Carefully Las Vegas The sign was built and installed in 1959 by Las Vegas based Western Electric Displays aka Western Neon under contract with Clark County Betty Willis an employee of Western Neon designed the sign It cost 4 000 to build the sign Legend has been written that Willis considered this her gift to the city and wanted it to be in the public domain She has been quoted in saying If I had copyrighted the sign it probably wouldn t have been used as much and wouldn t be as famous But it would be nice to have a dime for every time it s been used However the Young Electric Sign Company YESCO has owned the sign since their purchase of Western Neon in the early 1960s and the company leases the sign to Clark County In 2007 Clark County installed decorative artificial turf underneath the sign National Register of Historic Places plaque October 2021 In late 2008 Clark County employees sought to have the sign listed on the National Register of Historic Places the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office officially nominated it and the National Park Service approved the designation on May 1 2009 On December 6 2013 the State Historic Preservation Office for the State of Nevada announced that the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign had been added to the State Register of Historic Places After Willis died on April 19 2015 Clark County commissioners declared May 5 2015 Betty Willis Day and issued a proclamation to her daughter Marjorie Holland Site improvements Prior to 2008 access to the iconic sign for photo opportunities was risky There was no legal place for visitors to park and visitors had to cross travel lanes of Las Vegas Boulevard and hop up onto a median to reach the sign Although there had been no known traffic fatalities involving pedestrians attempting to access the sign rising traffic at the south end of the Strip presented an increasingly dangerous situation After control of Las Vegas Boulevard was transferred from the state to Clark County county officials decided to improve access and increase safety around the sign for photo seekers On December 8 2008 site improvements were completed in the median allowing official public access to the welcome sign for the first time The 400 000 project included a parking lot with 12 parking spaces and two loading areas for buses and limousines as well as a paved walkway leading from the parking to the sign viewing area The improvements were successful and the small parking lot was soon overwhelmed by an ever increasing number of visitors to the sign In April 2012 the Clark County Commission authorized the expenditure of 500 000 to add 20 more spaces to accommodate visitor traffic On April 23 2015 a second site enhancement project was completed at a cost of 900 000 This project added 21 additional parking spaces to the parking lot and completed additional cosmetic and safety improvements including new marked crosswalks with traffic signals to allow safer pedestrian access to the sign Notable events involving the sign On January 31 2008 the sign turned red in support of National Wear Red Day The American Heart Association s Go Red for Women campaign sought to educate the public on women s risk of cardiovascular disease and promote the importance of women getting screened for heart disease On March 28 2009 the sign along with much of the Las Vegas Strip was darkened for one hour as the city took part in Earth Hour On May 14 2009 Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and the Playboy personality Holly Madison coincided the start of summer with the sign s 50th anniversary Part of the celebration was making it in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest bikini parade followed by pool parties throughout the city The event kicked off in front of the sign with a runway style retrospective featuring bathing suits from the 1950s to today April 28 2010 marked the first time the text of the sign has ever been changed Mayor Oscar Goodman unveiled the new marketing campaign Camp Vegas The sign was adorned with a cover that read Welcome to Fabulous Camp Vegas The event was hosted by Holly Madison Wayne Newton Oscar Goodman and a slew of showgirls and skydivers The Camp Vegas cover remained over the sign for 36 hours On October 5 2017 following a mass shooting four days earlier 58 crosses with hearts on them all made by Greg Zanis were placed behind the sign Each cross represented a victim killed in the shooting On August 18 2020 the sign was the site of the Nevada delegation s state roll call at the 2020 Democratic National Convention Replica signsReplica Fabulous Las Vegas sign on Boulder Highway in 2015 In 2002 the Las Vegas City Council erected a similar sign for the city proper reading Welcome to Fabulous Downtown Las Vegas at Las Vegas Boulevard and 4th Street just within the city limits of the City of Las Vegas This sign was destroyed in 2016 when a pickup truck crashed into it After much debate over whether to replace the sign the city council decided that the city needed its own unique entrance marker The Gateway Arches featuring a 7 ton 6 350 kg City of Las Vegas YESCO sign over Las Vegas Boulevard opened next to the Strat on November 18 2020 On March 6 2007 another replica of the sign was installed on Boulder Highway just north of Tropicana Avenue the result of casinos along the Boulder Strip uniting to have their own welcome sign Like the original it does not mark the border with Las Vegas instead it represents the understood gateway from the Boulder Highway to Las Vegas according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority In 2013 the SlotZilla Zipline attraction was built at the Fremont Street Experience A Welcome to Fabulous Downtown Las Vegas sign was added to one of its towers In 2022 the Chapel of the Flowers erected a sign reading Married in Fabulous Las Vegas to celebrate the five million couples who were married in Las Vegas The city of Las Vegas Clark County and the LVCVA launched a ten month long campaign promoting couples who were married in Las Vegas to take a photo in front of the sign to win monthly prizes and one grand prize Use in souvenirsIn 2004 souvenir replicas of the sign that light up were sold to benefit the Nevada Cancer Institute In 2005 the image of the sign was featured on the Nevada license plate that was issued to commemorate the centennial of the City of Las Vegas On March 1 2012 a business selling photos in front of a replica of the sign opened at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas This features an actual physical sign located in the airport As of 2023 YESCO provides maintenance of the sign and sells the replaced light bulbs as Official Las Vegas Lights packaged in a wood box along with a letter of authenticity indicating the date lit See alsoNational Register of Historic Places portalNevada portalList of public art in Las Vegas National Register of Historic Places listings in Clark County Nevada Vegas Vic another famous symbol of Las Vegas Reno Arch The Biggest Little City in the World the famous welcome sign of RenoReferences Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties National Park Service May 8 2009 Archived from the original on May 31 2009 Retrieved May 8 2009 Carlson Jeffrey January 2 2019 Put a Star on It A Brief History of the Welcome Sign The Neon Museum Las Vegas The Neon Museum Retrieved November 15 2019 Roeben Scott May 10 2023 Surprising Things You Probably Didn t Know About the Las Vegas Sign Vital Vegas Retrieved May 11 2023 Betty Willis Designer of Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign Dies Las Vegas NBC News April 21 2015 Retrieved April 21 2015 Learning from Fabulous Las Vegas University of Nevada Las Vegas December 2 2015 Retrieved July 21 2022 National Register of Historic Places Registration Form PDF National Park Service October 2008 p 17 NPS Form 10 900 nvshpo org Rebecca Palmer 775 684 3443 Betty Willis Day Commissioners honor creator of Welcome To Las Vegas sign Las Vegas KXNT FM May 5 2015 Retrieved May 23 2015 Wyland Scott December 9 2008 Iconic sign more welcoming Las Vegas Review Journal Retrieved August 7 2016 Schoenmann Joe April 17 2012 County to expand parking lot at Las Vegas welcome sign Las Vegas Sun New traffic pedestrian signals lit at Vegas welcome sign Las Vegas Las Vegas Review Journal April 23 2015 Retrieved April 23 2015 Welcome to Las Vegas Sign Turns Red LasVegasVegas com January 31 2008 Las Vegas Goes Dark For Earth Hour Las Vegas KLAS TV March 28 2009 Arseniuk Melissa May 14 2009 Goodman Holly Madison welcome summer set bikini record Las Vegas Sun Las Vegas becomes Camp Vegas Las Vegas KTNV TV April 29 2010 Retrieved May 1 2010 58 crosses and a vigil on the Las Vegas Strip PHOTOS October 6 2017 Tuesday s DNC roll call was a quirky unexpected delight August 19 2020 Ask Mr Sun The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign Las Vegas Sun November 25 2008 Retrieved April 21 2010 Welcome to Fabulous Downtown Las Vegas sign destroyed by truck July 17 2016 Retrieved July 17 2016 Forgione Mary November 19 2020 Can Sin City s new Gateway Arches outshine the Welcome to Las Vegas sign Los Angeles Times Retrieved April 8 2023 Slotzilla 10 Coolest Things You Didn t Know You Could Do In Las Vegas Forbes Forbes April 9 2013 Archived from the original on April 9 2013 SlotZilla zip line opens in downtown Las Vegas LasVegasSun com April 29 2014 SlotZilla Zipline Las Vegas Gets Lit at the Fremont Street Experience Vital Vegas Blog Vital Vegas Blog December 8 2013 Find out how Las Vegas become wedding capital of the world Las Vegas Review Journal April 6 2022 Retrieved April 6 2022 Lucky in Love Contest for Couples Visit Las Vegas www visitlasvegas com February 15 2022 Retrieved April 6 2022 Souvenir Replica of Famous Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign Now Available for Purchase Las Vegas Review Journal October 1 2004 Las Vegas Centennial license plate Wingert Gregan March 13 2012 New business banks on tourists Las Vegas sign studio in McCarran s baggage claim area The Las Vegas Sun Retrieved January 30 2013 Official Light Bulb Official Las Vegas Light Retrieved May 11 2023 External linksWikimedia Commons has media related to Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign Welcome to Las Vegas sign from VEGAS com Iconic Neon Sign Survives Vegas Makeover NPR s radio interview with Betty Willis October 3 2006 Live view of the sign
