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Here’s where you can see ‘Old Las Vegas’ glow again

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — In a modern world of blinding LED signs on casinos, hotels, and trucks, the city of Las Vegas has been working to celebrate the soft neon glow of days long gone in old Las Vegas.

On Monday night the city of Las Vegas will officially light eight refurbished and historic neon signs that have been resurrected along Las Vegas Boulevard. The newly refurbished signs include the Par-A-Dice Motel, Apache Motel, and Fun City Motel.

“Neon is our city’s native art form, and I cannot think of a better way to celebrate our 118^thbirthday and the completion of the city’s largest-ever public works project than by lighting these beautiful signs,” Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman said. “These signs have found a home where millions will be able to see and enjoy them along the world’s most famous roadway.”

The addition of the eight signs marks the completion of the $125 million Las Vegas Boulevard Improvement Project. This project included these signs, the new gateway arches near The Strat, and the 50-foot-tall showgirls. It was completed by YESCO (the Young Electric Sign Company).

“In a city known across the globe for its spectacular vintage neon signage, it is an honor to be part of this improvement project,” said Jeff Young, executive vice president of YESCO. “YESCO is thrilled with the results of the refurbishment and how we are lighting up Las Vegas Boulevard in true vintage style.”

“We are honored and grateful to partner with the city of Las Vegas and YESCO on this project that will preserve these beautiful neon signs – each of which is more than a half-century old – for generations to come,” Aaron Berger, executive director of the Neon Museum, said. “Our goal at The Neon Museum is to make Las Vegas history more accessible, and collaborations like this that exist beyond the museum’s walls help to achieve that. Installing these refurbished signs along the iconic Las Vegas Boulevard brilliantly showcases our city’s unique history to the millions of visitors we welcome every year.”

“We are honored and grateful to partner with the city of Las Vegas and YESCO on this project that will preserve these beautiful neon signs – each of which is more than a half-century old – for generations to come,” Aaron Berger, executive director of the Neon Museum, said. “Our goal at The Neon Museum is to make Las Vegas history more accessible, and collaborations like this that exist beyond the museum’s walls help to achieve that. Installing these refurbished signs along the iconic Las Vegas Boulevard brilliantly showcases our city’s unique history to the millions of visitors we welcome every year.”

Read the full article written by Duncan Phenix at 8newsnow.com

VEGAS MYTHS BUSTED: Howard Hughes Bought Silver Slipper Just to Dim its Sign

This is already our second Howard Hughes myth, and there are still a bunch left to bust. Supposedly, the world-famous aviator and movie tycoon began his famous buying spree of Las Vegas casino hotels — partially freeing the Strip from the shackles of mafia ownership and paving the way for the age of corporate ownership — all thanks to the giant shoe atop the Silver Slipper.

The 12-foot tall, 17-foot wide, rotating high heel was designed by Jack Larsen Sr., a former Disney animator who worked for the YESCO sign company, where he also created the pop-art lamp for Aladdin. Patterned after one of his wife’s pumps, Larsen’s Silver Slipper sign boasted 900 incandescent lightbulbs on the shoe and 80 on the bow. It was installed in late 1954 or early 1955 and was deployed until the resort closed in November 1988.

According to the story, the shoe, located directly across the Strip from the Desert Inn, where Hughes had taken up since arriving in Las Vegas the day before Thanksgiving in 1966, was too bright for Hughes to sleep at night.

The Silver Slipper refused Hughes’ requests to dim the shoe, the story goes, so he bought the casino hotel and dimmed it himself. This gave the eccentric billionaire a taste for acquiring Vegas hotels, and he bought a bunch more...

Read the full article written by Corey Levitan at casino.org

When it comes to getting attention, nothing beats a classic neon sign. Glowing with striking brightness, neon signs have been used for advertising in Napa Valley for decades. Yet with the advent of new kinds of lighting technology and signage, today traditional "exposed" neon signs in Napa are fewer and far between.

When you think Napa neon, the Uptown Theatre signs stand above all else. Literally. Six 3-foot-tall letters (U P T O W N) descend vertically along the second story of the venue. This downtown landmark dates back to the opening of the theater in 1937, said theater manager Erica Simpson.

"It's an honor" to be the caretaker of such a sign, said Simpson. She explained that various artists and electricians have worked on the Uptown sign located at 1350 Third Street, over the years. This past week Jeff Soares of YESCO tended to the Uptown sign. His task included replacing two new transformers, Soares explained, "One for the letter W and one for the letter N."

Soares said that neon is longer the first choice for signs. Today most people are replacing older neon with LED lights. Notably, LED lights are less expensive than neon, Soares explained. Yet northing looks quite like neon. "Neon has that bling look; that beautiful glassy look. They are not able to achieve that look with LED," Soares said.

In 2001, Jim Bertuzzi of Benn Signs in Napa completely refurbished about 1,000 feet of neon on the Uptown sign. "There's a tunnel inside, like a chimney, going all the way to the top," providing access to all the connections, wiring and transformers that are in the tower, explained Bertuzzi. "I made all the neon tubing from scratch," said Bertuzzi. "It looks really good when it's lit up," he said. "I'm proud of it."

Read full article at https://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/napa-valley-neon-lights-up-the-night/article_dd715c6c-d979-11ed-80cd-dbb0514586bf.html

Geopath, the not-for-profit organization that provides the industry-standard metrics for out-of-home (OOH) advertising, announced the appointment of Gina Stratford to its Board of Directors at its annual meeting during the OAAA/Geopath OOH Media Conference on Monday, March 27, 2023.

Throughout her tenure at YESCO, Gina has been actively involved in Geopath, having served on the Futures Council since its inception in 2019 as co-chair, as well as through her participation in the development of Geopath's strategic roadmap.

"Our industry's common goal is to increase the investment made in OOH, and I have long been a believer that Geopath's solid foundation of trusted audience insights is a critical component of how we do that," said Stratford. "I am honored to have the opportunity to support the organization in this new capacity on the Board and look forward to working together to bring more dollars to OOH."

Congratulations, Gina.

OAAA named five new members to its board of directors at the 2023 OAAA/Geopath OOH Media Conference held in Nashville, Tennessee. The full slate of the OAAA’s newly-elected board members is:

• Ari Buchalter, CEO, Place Exchange
• Bill Lodzinski, President & CEO, WV Outdoor
• Michael Provenzano, CEO & Co-Founder,Vistar Media
• Nathan Young, President, YESCO Outdoor Media
• Rod Rackley, President, OOH Division, Circle Graphics

OAAA’s Board of Directors is comprised of OOH media company executives representing all facets of the OOH industry, including billboard, street furniture, transit, and place-based companies. The Board is the governing body of OAAA which represents 800+ media companies, advertisers, agencies, ad-tech providers, and suppliers.

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YESCO announces the rehabilitation of the Park Theater's vintage marquee located in the historic town of Walden, Colorado. Now fully adorned in neon and resplendent in rich new colors, the Park Theater sign adorns Walden's Main Street, which is the site of highly visible improvements taking place throughout the region.

Originally opened in 1946, the Park Theater ran two shows per night during its prime. For decades, the centrally located movie house was a gathering place for residents throughout Jackson County, Colorado.  In 1982, the theater ceased operation and its original sign fell into an advanced state of disrepair.

To document and examine the sign’s former condition, YESCO’s service team completed a thorough site survey. YESCO then removed and replaced transformers and wiring, re-skinned the dented and damaged face of the sign with new metal cladding, updated the flanking on informational reader boards and created horizontal wings to extend the sign's reach across the facade for a more dramatic impact.

An important feat of “re-imagination” took place during the design phase as YESCO’s Denver creative director Herm Medina used a serifed Tuscan typeface for the new lettering, lending a fresh, yet period-themed, Western character to the project.

“The newly refurbished sign will deliver significant economic benefits to our customer,” said Stephen E. Young, senior vice president of YESCO Sign & Lighting. “With the improved aesthetic, the Park Theater marquee is now certain to catch the eyes of visitors walking along Walden’s Main Street.”