Wendover Will is a sign created for the Stateline Casino in West Wendover, Nevada in 1952. It is now a landmark for the town of West Wendover. [1]
Wendover Will is a sign created for the Stateline Casino in West Wendover, Nevada in 1952. It is now a landmark for the town of West Wendover. [1]
Pat Denner was commissioned to design the sign for the Stateline Casino in 1952. Denner had just completed the Vegas Vic sign that was erected in 1951. The sign was constructed by The Young Electric Sign Company.
Wendover Will was named after the town of Wendover and William Smith, who founded the Stateline Casino. The 63-foot-tall (19 m) sign was intended to draw travelers in from US Highways 40 and 50, later known as Interstate 80. The sign includes 1,184 feet (361 m) of neon tubing. [2] When driving east on Interstate 80 a caption under the sign reads, "This is the place," apparently in homage to Brigham Young. When driving west the caption reads, "Where the West begins".
When the Stateline Casino changed ownership, the sign was donated to Wendover. The town spent approximately $200,000 to restore the sign; the restoration was done by The Young Electric Sign Company. [3] Wendover Will was moved to Wendover Boulevard in the town's center and a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on June 9, 2005.
Wendover Will is a Registered Trademark of the City of West Wendover.
When the town of West Wendover was incorporated in 1991, the sign was included on the city's seal. Wendover Will was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the "World's Largest Mechanical Cowboy". [2]
West Wendover is a small city in Elko County, Nevada, United States. The population was 4,410 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Elko micropolitan area. West Wendover is located on the eastern border of Nevada and the western edge of the Great Salt Lake Desert and is contiguous with Wendover, Utah, with which it is sometimes confused. Interstate 80 runs just north of the cities, while Interstate 80 Business runs through the two cities.
Wendover is a city on the western edge of Tooele County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,400 at the 2010 census.
U.S. Route 93 (US 93) is a major north–south United States highway in the western United States. The southern terminus is at US 60 in Wickenburg, Arizona. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border north of Eureka in Lincoln County, Montana, where the roadway continues into Roosville, British Columbia, as Highway 93. Major cities that US 93 travels through include: Las Vegas, Nevada; Twin Falls, Idaho; Missoula, Montana; and Kalispell, Montana.
Primm is an unincorporated community in Clark County, Nevada, United States, primarily notable for its position straddling Interstate 15 where it crosses the state border between California and Nevada. It sits on Ivanpah Dry Lake, which extends to the north and south of town.
The Stardust Resort and Casino was a casino resort located on 63 acres (25 ha) along the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada.
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.
Fremont Street is a street in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada that is the most famous street in the Las Vegas Valley, and Nevada, besides the Las Vegas Strip. Named in honor of explorer John Charles Frémont and located in the heart of the downtown casino corridor, Fremont Street is today, or was, the address for many famous casinos such as Binion's Horseshoe, Eldorado Club, Fremont Hotel and Casino, Golden Gate Hotel and Casino, Golden Nugget, Four Queens, The Mint, and the Pioneer Club.
Interstate 80 (I-80) traverses the northern portion of the U.S. state of Nevada. The freeway serves the Reno–Sparks metropolitan area and passes through the towns of Fernley, Lovelock, Winnemucca, Battle Mountain, Carlin, Elko, Wells and West Wendover on its way through the state.
Vegas Vic is a neon sign portraying a cowboy which was erected on the exterior of The Pioneer Club in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA in 1951. The sign was a departure in graphic design from typeface based neon signs, to the friendly and welcoming human form of a cowboy. The sign's human-like abilities of talking and waving its arm received an immediate acceptance as the unofficial welcoming sign, reproduced thousands of times over the years and all over the world. The sign can still be found at 25 E Fremont Street, where it has been since 1951 on the exterior of what used to be The Pioneer Club but is currently a souvenir shop. The trademark is currently owned by Pioneer Hotel, Inc., which owns and operates the Pioneer Hotel and Gambling Hall on the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nevada. Laughlin has a twin of the Vegas Vic image on another large sign referred to as River Rick.
Pat Denner was the designer of Vegas Vic. In 1951, the Young Electric Sign Company in Salt Lake City commissioned Denner to design an illustration for the manufacturing of the neon sign. He also was commissioned to design Wendover Will for The Stateline Casino in West Wendover, Nevada in 1952.
YESCO is a privately owned manufacturer of electric signs based in Salt Lake City, founded by Thomas Young in 1920. The company provides design, fabrication, installation and maintenance of signs.
Interstate 80 Business (BL-80) is an unofficial business loop of Interstate 80 (I-80) that is 2.26 miles (3.64 km) long and serves as the main street for the US cities of West Wendover, Nevada, and Wendover, Utah, along a roadway named Wendover Boulevard. Wendover Boulevard was originally part of U.S. Route 40 (US 40), which connected California to New Jersey via Nevada and Utah. A portion of the Nevada segment is concurrent with U.S. Route 93 Alternate (US 93 Alt.), and the entire portion in Utah is coterminous with Utah State Route 58 (SR-58). The Nevada Department of Transportation applied for the business loop designation in the early 1980s but the designation has never been approved; nevertheless, signs are posted in both states. Between July 1976 and 1993, BL-80 was concurrent with State Route 224 (SR 224) in Nevada.
Pioneer Hotel & Gambling Hall is a hotel and casino located on the banks of the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nevada. It is known for its neon cigarette-puffing "River Rick" marque. It was a sister property of the Pioneer Club in Las Vegas until both properties were sold to separate parties.
In the U.S. state of Nevada, U.S. Route 93 Alternate is an alternate route of U.S. Route 93 located in the northeast part of the state. It connects Lages Station to Wells via the town of West Wendover.
Pioneer Club Las Vegas was a casino that opened in 1942 and was located in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, at 25 East Fremont Street. It ceased operating as a casino in 1995, the same year the Fremont Street Experience was completed.
Stateline Hotel and Casino was located in West Wendover straddling the Nevada/Utah border.
A-1 Club was a gas station and coffee shop originally and then in 1948 expanded to include a casino. This was located in West Wendover, Nevada.
Wendover Nugget is a hotel and casino located in West Wendover, Nevada. In addition to the Montego Bay Resort, it is located right on the border line between Utah and Nevada. There is a connecting skyway between the Nugget and the Montego Bay. Both establishments' buildings are almost directly abut the state line; their parking lots are in Utah.
Montego Bay Resort is a hotel and casino located in West Wendover, Nevada. In addition to the Wendover Nugget, it is located right on the border line between Nevada and Utah just south of Interstate 80. This casino as well as Rainbow and the Peppermill are owned and operated by Peppermill Casinos, Inc.
The 1950s was a time of considerable change for Las Vegas. By the 1950s, there were 44,600 living in the Las Vegas Valley. Over 8 million people were visiting Las Vegas annually in 1954, pumping $200 million into casinos, which consolidated its image as "wild, full of late-night, exotic entertainment". The population grew dramatically from 8,422 during World War II to over 45,000. From 1952 to 1957, through money and institutional lending provided by the Teamsters Union and some Mormon bankers they built the Sahara, the Sands, the New Frontier, the Royal Nevada the Showboat, The Riviera, The Fremont, Binion's Horseshoe, and finally The Tropicana. Gambling was no longer the only attraction by the 1950s; the biggest stars of films and music like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, Andy Williams, Liberace, Bing Crosby, Carol Channing, and others performed in intimate settings and brought a whole new brigade of Hollywood film stars and others in the entertainment business to the city. In 1957, the first topless show "Minsky's Follies" was started here.
Coordinates: 40°44′25″N114°04′22″W / 40.740196°N 114.072911°W