Look closely at the star design above you — silver dollars, in a starburst pattern typical of atomic-age America. The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign was created in 1959 by Betty Willis, a graphic designer who worked for Western Neon. Willis was paid a flat fee and never sought a copyright, which is why the image has been freely reproduced on everything from postcards to television shows for more than sixty years. She considered it her gift to the city.
The sign is planted in the median of Las Vegas Boulevard, which means you have to dodge traffic to reach it — or use the dedicated parking lot that was added decades later after tourist casualties became a concern. Notice the silver dollars on the star design at the top. The back of the sign reads: Drive Carefully, Come Back Soon.
Willis's design uses a starburst pattern that was fashionable in atomic-age America, a visual language borrowed from the nuclear tests happening 65 miles north at the Nevada Test Site. In 1959, mushroom clouds were still rising over the desert, and Las Vegas leaned into the imagery rather than away from it. The sign is, in its own way, a product of the Cold War — stylish, optimistic, and built on the edge of the abyss.