The designer of the iconic "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign - Betty Willis - has passed away.
The news was shared by the Neon Museum where four of Willis' pieces were on display. The designer from southern Nevada was 91 years old.
"We're saddened to announce that yet another giant in the sign design history has passed. Betty Whitehead Willis was born in 1924 in Overton, Nevada, 60 miles northwest of Las Vegas. She is one of the few women sign designers from the heyday of Las Vegas neon and designed the town's most famous sign - Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas," announced the Neon Museum in a Facebook post.
Photo: Goynang | Flickr
Not many people would know that Willis was the one behind the iconic sign that welcomes visitors to Las Vegas. She attended art school in L.A. and it was during her stint with Western Neon that Willis designed the famous neon Las Vegas sign.
It was in 1959 that her design was complete and finally installed on the Vegas strip.
"We thought the town was fabulous, so we added the word," Willis had revealed to the New York Times in an interview 2005.
Willis did not trademark her work as she meant for it to be a gift to the city.
"The fact that everyone loves that sign and its design after all these years is a testament to Betty's talents," said Clark County Commission Chair Steve Sisolak. "It has to be the most-photographed sign in the world and one of the top spots in Las Vegas to get your picture taken. There is probably no bigger Las Vegas icon than that sign."
Willis was also the designer behind other famous signs such as the Moulin Rouge casino, Del Mar Motel, Blue Angel Motel, City Center Motel, the Riviera pylon, the Normandie and the Bow and Arrow Motel.
The service for Willis is slated to be held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Overton. Her burial will be at the Moapa Valley's Pioneer Hill Memorial Cemetery.
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Photo: Håkan Dahlström | Flickr
