Monday, January 19, 2009

More Vegas signage

I've got another slideshow for you, with a few of the old motel signs I snapped on our bus ride downtown. Please pardon the presence of streetlights, etc., but it was a little tricky to try to get shots as we were moving! They have a mini version of the famous Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada sign on the way downtown, and it substitutes "downtown" for "fabulous." Super cool!

Some of the signs are in pretty good shape, which is more than I can say for some of the motels! Most of them looked like places you really wouldn't want to stay in, not if you wanted to walk out alive, uninfested, or both. There are a lot of sex shops and seedy-looking strip joints in this area, but also a lot of wedding chapels...which I found odd and interesting at the same time. A couple of my favorite motels we passed were the High Hat Motel (a great name, and the sign includes a boomerang) and the Tod Motor Motel. That was a pretty large sign, and I just liked the name. A motel named Tod. Of course, Tod (pronounced tote) is the German word for death, so I doubt if they get a lot of German visitors staying at the Tod Motor Motel!

I suppose there will come a day when Vegas tries to clean up the approach to the old downtown, but I hope it takes them a while. I thought it was kind of neat to see these signs and motels...although I don't think I'd want to walk around in the area. They're doing a lot of work on the area adjacent to the Fremont Street Experience, including expanding the sidewalks and adding some brand new neon signs, a couple of which I included in the slideshow. The martini glass is fabulous, with concentric circles lighting in sequence, then the olive! They've done a good job with these signs. But Las Vegas Boulevard, just north of the Strip, is probably what most people hate if they hate Vegas. It's seedy, dirty, and a little bit sleazy. I kinda like it, but then I have a fascination with the way buildings age, especially when contrasted with the glitter of the Strip. I still maintain that such buildings and signs will be the archaeological sites of the future.

I also included a couple more Boneyard signs in the slideshow, because I just knew I was missing a couple! I checked my camera, and there were about 10 that didn't download. One of the cutest signs was from a dry cleaners, and our guide Justin said it was his favorite growing up in Vegas. It's called Happy Shirt, and he would wave his arms and smile. There's a picture of a later incarnation of the Stardust sign (it went through several makeovers), which should give you an idea of how massive the Stardust sign always was. Justin said that the sign is in 9 pieces, and all of them are huge. He said they did a great job in dismantling the sign, as well, cutting along all the original welding lines. Yay!

By the way, although the movie "Casino" was mostly filmed at the Riviera, it's based on Franky "Lefty" Rosenthal and his management of the Stardust for a while, and his associate Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, played by Robert Deniro and Joe Pesci respectively. Ken and I watched "Casino" again not too long ago, and it's a great movie.

I still have lots of pictures of the Fremont Street casinos, and I'll save those for another day. Here's the slideshow, and again, you can click at any time to get the big picture.


16 comments:

  1. Great photos, Beth! I'm glad you two got to go & had such a great time!

    Dirk
    http://tsalagiman2.blogspot.com/

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  2. I thought all of Vegas was on the sleazy side of life, in spite of Wayne Newton.

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  3. Nine, Nine, Nine Pictures (to keep with the German theme :o)

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  4. Would you believe I didn't know there were Palm Trees in vegas. Learn something new every day :)

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  5. Nice photos! Thanks for posting them.

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  6. Thanks for sharing the photos. Someday I'll get to Vegas!

    Enjoy your evening.

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  7. Is there a giant googie of Wayne Newton?

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  8. Great pics!! I do remember when ALL of Las Vegas was seedy!! Most of it is much nicer now.

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  9. Good photos, Beth. Thank you for your get well wishes. I think it was a virus but I just decided enough was enough, so headache and all is disappearing. You always have an interesting blog. Been watching the inauguration. Good time to be down in my chair in front of the tv. Lucy

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  10. Thanks for sharing. I've never been to Vegas.

    Hugs, Rose

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  11. Hi Beth I havn't taken time to read your above journal...yet... Reason...well I am sitting here it is 4.30pm. glued to the TV watching every minute of the scene that I expect you are watching as well. Just wanted to say I am thinking of you all over there and sending much Love today Sybil xx

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  12. I've never been to Vegas. I actually worked with a lady who, in her fifties, married her fiance in a Vegas wedding chapel. They had an Elvis impersonator sing for them and everything. The video was wonderful. They were married for 10 years, until he died two years ago, a second marriage for both of them. I meant to tell you in your previous post that I really like your blog design -- love the green Formica color!

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  13. Great pics and so nice to hear about your trip x

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  14. Thanks for bringing a part of home back with you. Happy to hear you and yours enjoyed yourselves. Take care

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  15. Ah yes, way behind as usual. I loved the Happy Shirt sign. I don't know, something about it just made me smile. I think when it comes to Vegas there will always be a seedier downside to it. Seldom do you see the glamor in life, without the other riding it's shirttails. (Hugs)Indigo

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  16. Yes!!! I like the martini glass too - that is so cool. That would be a great light to have (smaller of course) in a home rec room. I enjoyed the slideshow, thanks for putting it up.

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