September 1928
Ethel Guenter, owner of the Overland Hotel, is believed to have installed the first neon sign in Las Vegas in September of 1928. This was followed by famous examples, such as the Oasis Cafe sign in 1929 and the Las Vegas Club sign in 1930.
Even the 2,300 residents of Las Vegas at the time realized that the small tombstone shape announcing the name of Fremont Street’s Overland Hotel was special… Little did they know that the little neon beacon would birth the future neon jungle.
This 2-by-5 foot electric sign would ignite the boom that saw Las Vegas claim the world’s three tallest neon signs — the Stardust’s (188 feet), the Frontier’s (184 feet) and the Dunes’ (180 feet) — by 1968.
Featured image courtesy of Casino.org.
