Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign

The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign stands in the median of Las Vegas Blvd at 5200 S Las Vegas Blvd, at the southern end of the Strip in Nevada. Designed by Betty Willis and erected in 1959, the sign is a Googie-style landmark with a diamond-shaped silhouette, a scalloped crown and a row of bold lettering, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is among the most photographed objects in the city, and it works as a greeting to arriving visitors, which is why many tourists treat it as the first stop of a trip. There is no ticket and no building to enter, so the visit consists of walking up to the sign, taking photos and perhaps waiting in line for a turn in front of it. A small parking lot in the median serves the sign and is reached from southbound Las Vegas Blvd only, so drivers heading north need to turn around first. The Deuce bus also stops nearby on the southbound route. Most visits take 20 to 40 minutes, with most of that spent in the photo queue. The best photo angle is from slightly below, framing the full sign against the sky, and the sign is also lit after dark, which creates a different look from daytime shots. Crowds are worst in the middle of the day and on weekends, when the queue can be long and traffic around the lot is heavy. Sunrise and early morning offer the shortest waits and soft light. Because the sign sits in a busy roadway median, visitors should take care when crossing and following traffic signals.