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Wendover Will is a giant neon cowboy that looms large against the inky black Nevada sky, waving to travelers on Interstate-80 pointing to the last gambling stop before the Utah border. The sign is the first glittering sight you see when you enter Nevada and the last when you leave. Underneath Will’s red cowboy boots and silver spurs the sign reads, “Where the West Begins,” letting people know that they’re in Nevada, a hard and fast land of gambling, drinking, wide open country--and neon. Wendover Will is a classic cowboy decked out with a hat, bandana, belt buckle, gun belt and six shooter, and boots. Standing right where Nevada begins on its eastern border, Wendover Will represents the mythos of the American West. He harkens back to the days of the Wild West, while also representing the glitzy casino culture that still permeates the state. Wendover Will, erected in 1952, is not the only cowboy of his kind in Nevada, he actually has two “twin” brothers in Las Vegas and Laughlin respectively.
Vegas Vic was the first larger than life neon cowboy in Nevada, Wendover Will the second. Thomas Young, founder of the Young Electric Sign Company in Nevada, designed the neon version of Vegas Vic, mascot of the Pioneer Club in Las Vegas, which was installed for $90,000 in 1951 on the corner of First and Fremont street. Vegas Vic already existed in illustrated form, mainly on postcards sent out to advertise for the Pioneer Club. The mascot was created to draw in visitors and was so popular that the owners of the club commissioned YESCO to bring Vegas Vic to life in neon form. The neon cowboy was complete with a moving mechanical arm and cigarette and a recorded voice that boomed, “Howdy Podner!” the same greeting printed on the postcards with the original Vegas Vic, every 15 minutes. Vegas Vic’s arm stopped moving in 1991 and his voice stopped in 2006. When the Pioneer Club closed in 1995 Vegas Vic looked worse for wear, the Neon Museum offered to repair and maintain the sign if the owner paid for the electricity bill. The proposal stipulated that the sign would remain under the ownership of the building owner but if the building was sold it would become property of the Neon Museum. Ultimately the owner declined the offer and repaired the sign themselves. After the Pioneer Club closed a souvenir shop took its place, but Vegas Vic still stands tall greeting passerby with his cigarette grin, an iconic mainstay of Las Vegas even as it continually shifts and changes. According to company lore, Thomas Young lost money on Vegas Vic and went looking for another location for a neon cowboy where he could make money, eventually settling on Wendover--thus Wendover Will was born. It wouldn’t be until 30 years later that the third giant neon cowboy in Nevada, named River Rick, came to be. He stands outside the Nevada Pioneer Hotel and Gambling Hall in Laughlin, Nevada and was erected in 1981. River Rick is considered to be the twin of Vegas Vic--he is essentially the same design with a few minute differences. Located on the banks of the Colorado River, the Pioneer Hotel was the sister property of the Pioneer Club. The owner, Margaret Elardi, commissioned YESCO, the same makers of Vegas Vic, to build River Rick for $1.5 million in 1981. Presumably she wanted River Rick to be strikingly similar to Vegas Vic to keep the same old-timey western aesthetic as the Pioneer Club, banking on the popularity of Vegas Vic to attract visitors to the Pioneer Hotel in Laughlin. Though times have changed, neon has gone in and out of style many times, all three of Nevada’s giant neon cowboys are still standing, greeting travelers and locals alike. They may be dated and in need of repairs, but these iconic signs will hopefully stay in place because they are iconic historical landmarks in Nevada that represent the state in all its neon western glory.
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Traffic often slows a bit as you approach the glitzy Reno Arch on South Virginia Street. People from all over the world can be seen darting into the street and posing beneath it or snapping pictures with the gateway to Downtown Reno.The world-famous arch has had a few makeovers, this is one being the third arch that has occupied the space. The arch, that was first built as part of the celebration to promote the completion of the Lincoln and Victory highways in 1926, is a seminal marker of Reno’s identity. The arch is synonymous with Reno and so deeply embedded in the city that it is almost unbelievable that it was not originally meant to be a permanent fixture.The first Reno Arch was neon and very much in line with the aesthetics of the west in the 1920s. Neon represented a kind of freedom that could be found in casinos on late nights. Neon was a beacon for a city that hardly sleeps, glamour, high rollers, boom and bust.That familiar buzzing of neon can almost be heard in the air, that crackle of energy, a stirring of excitement. The landmark links Reno to its past while ushering in the future. The first arch read, “RENO” in green neon lettering. The city’s slogan, “The Biggest Little City in the World” was added to the arch in 1934, after a man from Sacramento won a slogan contest for the city of Reno. In 1963, there was an urge to modernize the arch and ditch the neon which was increasingly seen as dated, which might surprise us today since neon is so iconic and revered. A new arch was erected in 1964, featuring backlit plastic, each letter of “RENO” was placed on an orange or yellow octagon, the arch’s lights flashed on on New Years Eve to much applause. The second arch started looking tired to people as well in the 1980s, and in 1987 yet a third arch took its place. Neon made a triumphant return, this time in red and gold, very much in line with the glitzy casino aesthetic of the era. That same arch still stands today, although it has undergone yet another transformation; the red and gold neon was replaced with silver and blue LED in 2018, a modern rebrand that aligned with the colors of the state and probably the continual expansion of the University of Nevada, Reno. Because so many people have emotional ties to the arch, as with every update of the arch some people love it, some people hate it. The Reno Arch will continue to change, to shift with the times, but one thing’s for sure—it’s not going anywhere. The city wouldn’t be recognizable as Reno without this proud little landmark.
Neon and Nevada are inextricably linked. Nevada is the state that never sleeps, with bars and casinos open all hours of the night, lit up with glowing neon. Neon dazzles against the inky black skies of the Nevada desert. The panoply of these beautiful neon signs, with their artful typography and masterful designs, were, and still are, beacons of the Modern American West. Neon is almost synonymous with the west, with the boom and bust of casinos, and the bustling nightlife. From the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas and Reno to the glow in more rural towns such as Winnemucca, Elko, and Tonopah, the western mythos is illuminated with neon.
Neon was first invented in France in the 1920s, and became very popular around the world, especially in America. But no other state has quite the same associations to neon as Nevada. Since Nevada was for a time the only state that allowed gambling, and casinos were all illuminated in buzzing neon, neon is representative of that hard and fast drinking and gambling lifestyle. Neon made drinking and gambling glamorous. Today, you can walk into a grocery store or gas station in Nevada and play slot machines, and it’s lit up in neon. The distinct historical visual style of neon that has influenced design and commerce for decades, that was most popular in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, was constructed by elite neon craftsmen using cutting-edge technology. These signs combine typography and symbols related to socioeconomic happenings, natural landmarks, and western lore, signifying to locals and visitors alike that they are in fact in Nevada. This visual style was developed locally in the American West and spread coast to coast in the United States. From truck stops to motels to storefronts to casinos—neon is everywhere in Nevada. Or it was. The glow of neon is fading. Sadly, these iconic signs are increasingly under threat of demolition, or removal from their context. Their and rich largely unknown history could very well be lost in the wind, which is why the University of Nevada, Reno Libraries has partnered with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Libraries, the Nevada Historical Society, and other experts and neon enthusiasts to create a digital archive to preserve and document Nevada’s iconic neon signs found far and wide across the state before they’re gone. The archive will live on a website that will be easily accessible to anyone interested in learning about the rich history of neon in Nevada. For over a year members and partners of the Neon in Nevada project have been working to collect images of neon across the state for the digital archive. This project is the brainchild of Katherine Hepworth, former associate professor of Visual Journalism in the Reynold’s School of Journalism, and Chris Church, associate professor of History at UNR. The two approached then Art Librarian, Amy Hunsaker, in 2018 about collecting images of neon signs in Nevada and creating a digital archive. They thought of Hunsaker because she had just worked on the Reno Street Art Project which documented street art across Reno in order to preserve it in a digital archive that was interactive and accessible to the general public. Church and Hepworth wanted to do something similar with the vintage neon signs found all over the state of Nevada. The project didn’t get off the ground until early 2020 when it received a grant from the Nevada State Library to fund the project. Hunsaker believes this is a project many people will love, since there is something so unique about the artistry and history of neon in Nevada. “It’s vintage neon! What’s not to love?” Hunsaker said. Some of Hunsaker’s favorite signs are those of the downtrodden motels on Fourth Street in Reno, like the Stardust Lodge. The typeface for the Stardust sign was actually invented specifically for that sign. Creators of neon are skilled artisans, known as “tube benders,” and they don’t just create signs to advertise businesses, they also create art. This is the art and history that Neon in Nevada is invested in protecting. Neon enthusiast Will Durham is a key member of the Neon in Nevada team, he has been traveling across the state for the past year collecting hundreds of pictures of neon signs for the digital archive. Durham, director of the Nevada Neon Project, is also a fifth and sixth grade teacher at Carson Montessori School. He worked with his fifth and sixth grade class to get a bill passed by the Nevada Legislature designating neon as the state element. While teaching his students about the history of neon, as well as the chemistry of it, he taught them about proposing and getting a bill passed by the legislature. Neon was recognized as the state element in April of 2019. While Nevada may be known as the “Silver State” nothing is more quintessentially Nevadan than neon signs. The digital archive of Nevada’s wonderful neon signs will go live in August 2021. People will be able to interact with and explore this rich visual history like never before. This will be a living archive that preserves these ephemeral signs, vestiges from the 30s, 40s, and 50s, meaning more pictures of signs can and will be added as they are collected. Neon in Nevada will also be hosting two virtual ARTown events on July 29th ahead of the website launch. One of the events will be a panel discussion featuring members of the Neon in Nevada team as well as neon experts and enthusiasts. The second event will be an interactive kids’ event hosted by Will Durham. |