For over six decades, the 25-foot-tall Las Vegas sign has remained an iconic landmark for many visitors. It was designed by a commercial artist named Betty Willis in 1959 under a company called Western Neon Signs. It is under the Googie architectural style which was popular in the 1950s and 1960s. The style consists of elements such as starbursts, exposed steel beams, and organic yet geometric shapes, which can be seen through the Las Vegas sign’s design. The Googie style was influenced by the car culture at the time and designs were made to look futuristic.

Currently, the sign is owned by a neon sign company, Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO) and is leased to Clark County. In 2009, the Las Vegas sign claimed its place on the National Register of Historic Places for its architecture and engineering.

In 2017, ARC assisted with the documentation of the sign though the use of 3D laser scanning (3DLS). The scan data was also used to create the annual 3D print giveaways for the 2018 USIBD Symposium which was held in Las Vegas that year.

To learn more about USIBD and their Annual Symposium, please visit www.usibd.org.