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YESCO (Young Electric Sign Company ) Las Vegas Division702-876-8080http://www.yesco.com 5119 South Cameron Street Las Vegas, Nevada 89118 (Downtown Scene | In or around North Vegas) South of Tropicana |
More about YESCO (Young Electric Sign Company ) Las Vegas Division:
The neon of Las Vegas which is like a public art museum stretched across city streets. The history of the Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO), a Mormon company, parallels the story of Vegas in many ways. Thomas Young Sr., owned a sign company in Ogden, Utah, and expanded into Las Vegas in 1932.YESCO has been in business since 1920 beginning in Ogden, Utah, but quickly moving to Salt Lake City. In 1945 the Downtown Vegas "Boulder Club" sign was installed. Las Vegas' first spectacular, marking the beginning of the "golden age of neon". Sign crane trucks introduced and YESCO acquired Nevada Outdoor Sign Company and set up a branch office in Las Vegas. In 1948 YESCO installed neon spectaculars for the Pioneer Club, Golden Nugget, Las Vegas Club and Eldorado Club creating the famous "Glitter Gulch." In 1951, Vegas Vic, a 75'-tall, 12,000-pound sign was added to Glitter Gulch. In 1955 the Rainbow Sign Company of Southern Utah was acquired and the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" landmark sign (designed by Betty Willis) and built for the Clark County Commission was installed. In 1958 the Mint, Silver Slipper, Stardust and Golden Nugget neon spectaculars were designed and built by YESCO.
In 1964 YESCO hosted the National Electric Sign Association (NESA) convetion in Las Vegas and later acquired 2 more companies: Sierra Neon and Western Neon. YESCO installed the Circus Circus clown sign in 1969 and opened a new Vegas plant in 1975. They installed the world's tallest (222.5') freestanding sign at the Sahara Hotel & Casino in 1980.
A new generation of four-color, computerized electronic message centers began in 1984 when the Caesar's Palace sign installed. In 1990 they won awards for the Rio Hotel & Casino sign followed by the Hard Rock neon guitar sign in 1991. And during their 75th anniversary year (1995) YESCO participated in the building of The Fremont Street Experience.
In addition to the Neon Museum's boneyard, you can see a few vintage neon signs sitting in the YESCO boneyard just behind their current main Las Vegas offices. Their historic archives of over 5,000 photographs and 15,000 documents were donated to the University of Nevada in 1996.
About Neon
Neon was brought to the United States from France in 1923. The first commercial use was a car dealership in downtown Los Angeles, CA. The art form was quickly adopted as an ideal media for advertising and found a golden age in the 1930s at New York City's Times Square.
But back in Las Vegas, YESCO the artists and craftsmen in their employ had the city to themselves for thirty odd years before any real competition showed up. They created early masterpieces on Fremont Street for the original Golden Nugget, Boulder Club, El Dorado Club, the swooping animated arch of pink and white neon at Del Webb\'s Mint (Hermon Boernge and Kermit Wayne 1957) and the most famous and enduring Vegas Vic. They helped establish the character and moniker of "Glitter Gulch." Although much of their art is physically gone from the world, their imagery is alive and well in 1950's iconography, from the Desert Inn (Boernge) and Stardust (Wayne) to the tallest sign on the strip for years, the 1950's Flamingo's Champagne Tower.
By the late 1950s and 1960s, companies like AD ART, Federal Sign, Heath and Co., Larsen Signs and Sign Systems Inc. started to arrive on the scene and created a competitive atmosphere for who could build the most lavish and exciting signs. 1964 Federal Sign Co. erected the Dunes sign. Designed by Lee Klav, it was the tallest freestanding sign in the world. The Ad Art created the Aladdin lamp, the Frontier pylon and a 1960's version of the Flamingo sign.
To this day, YESCO is still creating historical neon masterpieces such as the New York, New York Casino and World of Coke, but the field is wide open for all sign artists to create the next new and exciting work of electronic art.
Listed under:
Special Ratings: Just Good to Know AboutPreservation Status: Intact for Now
Era: Pre-Mid century Modern Era | Post War 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s
Categories: Classic | Business | Neon Sign | Flicker Bulbs | Backlit Plastic | Other Sign | Sign Museum
Related Links:
Neon Sign MuseumNeon Sign Museum boneyard
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