updated May 29, 2023
The first "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign was an archway erected over Fremont Street in the 1920s as a welcome symbol for the Secretary of the Interior, who was visiting Las Vegas during the early surveys of Hoover Dam. It remained in place for almost a decade.
The iconic sign on the southern Strip, however, with its almost equally famous "Drive Carefully, Come Back Soon" reverse message, was the brainchild of Ted Rogich (father of Sig Rogich, a major Las Vegas mover and shaker and confidante of Ronald Reagan). In the mid-'50s when he had the idea, Rogich was employed as a salesman for a small Las Vegas outfit called the Western Neon Company. His idea was realized by his colleague, local designer and typographer Betty Willis.
The sign, which has been featured in just about every movie and TV show ever set in Las Vegas, was sold to Clark County for $4,000 and erected in 1959, but the design was never copyrighted. As a result, the famous image now graces everything from T-shirts and fridge magnets to belt buckles and Nevada license plates. You can also buy a couple of battery-operated desktop versions that retail in the $30-$40 range.
In 2002 Oscar Goodman had a "Welcome to Fabulous Downtown Las Vegas" version installed at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and 4th Street.
In 2007, another replica sign was put up on the median on Boulder Highway just north of Tropicana Avenue.