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REPLACE OUT OF SIGHT
THE MOST FAVORITED TRADITIONAL CACHE ON LAS VEGAS BLVD, AKA "THE STRIP!"
TOP 1000 MOST FAVORITED CACHES IN THE USA!
Replacement cache for the archived Blue Eagles' old cache: "Welcome To This Fabulous Cache" (GC1K1AQ) 1,013 Founds; 54 DNFs
The "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign is a Las Vegas Strip 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.
Some consider the sign to be the official southern end of the Las Vegas Strip. The sign, like most of the Strip, sits in the town of Paradise and is located roughly four miles 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".)
The sign is a 25-foot-tall (7.6 m). 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." Willis intended to design a sign that was unique in its shape, style and content.
Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO) currently owns the sign, which leases it to Clark County, while the design itself is in the public domain. The design of the sign was never copyrighted since Willis considered this her gift to the city and wanted it to be in the public domain. This has resulted in the image being ubiquitous on Las Vegas souvenirs.
On October 4, 1999, the sign went dark for about a month when the company that had been paying the power bill was bought by another company who did not pay the bill. When the problem was discovered, payment of the past due amount, under $60, was made, and power was turned back on.
With the sign so far away from the city itself, in 2002, the Las Vegas City Council erected a Welcome to Fabulous Downtown Las Vegas sign on Las Vegas Boulevard just within the city limits of the City of Las Vegas proper. On March 6, 2007, another replica of the sign, larger than the original, was installed on Boulder Highway just north of Tropicana Ave. 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."
Later in 2007, Clark County installed decorative artificial turf inlaid with four playing cards underneath the sign. On December 8, 2008, a small parking lot was opened in the median of Las Vegas Boulevard to allow official public access to the sign for the first time. The artificial turf was replaced, but without the playing cards. Prior to the parking lot's construction, visitors to the sign were forced to cross the northbound or southbound lanes of Las Vegas Blvd. without the benefit of any traffic signal or crosswalk. While no one is known to have been killed while trying to access the sign, increasing traffic at the south end of the Strip has made a crossing increasingly dangerous. The new parking lot provides 10 standard parking spaces, two handicapped spaces, and two large spaces for buses or limousines.
On March 13, 2009 Clark County nominated the sign for listing on the National Register of Historic Places with the listing receiving approval on May 1, 2009. 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, 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.
The lights from the sign are removed and offered as a commemorative souvenir. OfficialLasVegasLight.com donates a portion of the proceeds from the sales to local charities. In 2005, the image of the sign was featured on the Nevada license plate that was issued to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the City of Las Vegas. On March 1, 2012, a business selling photos in front of a replica of the sign opened at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada. This features an actual, physical sign located in the airport. The small 10-space parking lot installed in December 2008 had been completely overwhelmed by the ever-expanding number of visitors to the sign. Therefore, in April 2012, the Clark County Commission authorized the expenditure of $500,000 to add 20 more spaces to accommodate visitor traffic. 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. Clark County commissioners approved a plan that will install solar trees nearby, putting that alternative energy into the sign’s lights.
On October 5, 2017, following a mass shooting four days earlier, 58 crosses with hearts on them, all made by Greg Zanis, were placed following the sign. Each cross represented a victim killed in the shooting. On May 28, 2018, the sign was temporarily changed to remove all capital letters in order to show support for the Vegas Golden Knights in the team's 2018 Stanley Cup Finals appearance against the Washington Capitals.
FTF: Congrats to culbers2 for being so heads up!
Big thanks to Allyn56 for the huge maintenance assist!
Also, thanks to Clan Griffith for another cache replacement!
Also, thanks to Joke C for another great, and unique cache replacement!
Also, thanks to my good geo-buddy Hells Bell for another replacement! Thanks so much Michelle!
Also, thanks to Jomarg for the replacement of the waterproof log!
Also, thanks to Running Jayhawks for the long distance cache replacement!
Also, thanks to Donkey Walloper for the European replacement!
Also, thanks to dtsydnal for the cache replacement!
Also, thanks to Skyecat for the cache replacement!
Also, thanks to dmpt53 for the cache replacement!
Also, thanks to spiritwolf922 for the cache replacement!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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