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Evening and nighttime views of the Happi Inn signs on the Strip. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet.
Site address: 3939 S Las Vegas Blvd
Sign details: The Happi Inn resides on the corner of Mandalay and Las Vegas Blvd, stretching east, ending at Gilles street. The property is the largest of the small roadside sites. The signage, however, is limited. Three pole signs and an internally lit cabinet comprise total signage. The two pole signs, being the tallest, reside on the north end of the property while a small vertical pole sign resides on the top of the building's roofline. The small internally lit cabinet sits over the drive, next to the main office.
Sign condition: Structure 3 Surface 4 Lighting 3 Notes: The structure of all the signs appear to be intact, with no visible, severe damage. Various lighting is out an all the signs, with the small roof line pole sign, no longer being lit. The internally lit cabinets on the sign within the pole sign furthest east, are no longer lit as well. The surfaces of the sign are intact, but are worn.
Sign form: Pylon; Fascia
Sign-specific description: Two pole style pylons, reside on the north end of the property. On the rear of the property on the corner of Mandalay Bay and Gilles Street, is a simple design. A single white, steel pole, supports three, two- sided cabinets stacked on top of each other to create the shape. A small white, horizontal, rectangular, cabinet, has a white face with "Office" painted in red text, and a red arrow pointing to the west. It sits slightly off center the center pole. A tall, thin, vertical, rectangular cabinet, is painted orange, and has the world "Motel," spelled in all capital, white neon letters. Centered on top of this cabinet, another internally lit cabinet, white cabinet, crowns the sign. The cabinet has a green face with white text spelling "Happi Inn" in all capital letters. The main pole sign for the property is similar to the previous piece, but a bit more elaborate. As the white pole rises up from the ground it is met with a pair of black, cabinets, sandwiching the north and south sides of the pole. The sign itself faces north south. The cabinets are white faced with text painted upon the surface. Above the two cabinets, a double-backed cabinet is crafted into an "L" shape, facing north, and facing south it would be a "J" shape. Either way it is a horizontal cabinet, which makes a horizontal turn to the east. The foot of the character curves down to a point, while the vertical section, runs up the west side of the white pole, which continues upward. The vertical surface contains the text "Motel" that is written horizontally downward in all capital, white, painted text. The graphic text is shadowed over with neon tubing. The horizontal section has the words "vacancy" written in white all capital text, with red neon lying over the surface. The top of the sign is crowned with a double backed, six sided, geometric cabinet. The surface is green written in capital, white text, with the word "Happi" written in an arched pattern, with "Inn" written horizontally below that. Over the entrance to the driveway, stretching into the east-end of the lot, is a small, internally lit cabinet, with rounded ends. The face of sign is green plastic with "Happi Inn" written in all capitals, in a two lined text. White, scroll-type designs, flank, both sides of the text. Just past the Psychic Sessions, palmistry establishment, actually standing on the corner of the building, a vertical pole sign, rises in the sky. I single red pole shoots upward a short distance, with five double-backed square cabinets being speared through the center. Each cabinet, also red, contains 1 letter from the word "Motel, in all capitals." The letters are overlaid with neon as well/ Pointing down toward the property, an angled arrow, crafted in the same fashion and material as the cabinet, is positioned just below the east side of the cabinet containing the letter "E."
Sign - type of display: Neon; Incandescent; Backlit
Sign - media: Steel; Plastic
Sign - non-neon treatments: Paint
Sign animation: Chasing, flashing, oscillating
Notes: the letters inside of the letters of the tower actually oscillate.
Sign environment: The Happi Inn is part of the distinctive section of the Strip comprised of older roadside motels, met with a few of the larger resort casinos. Facing west on the corner of Las Vegas Blvd and Mandalay Rd., the property resides in the shadow of Luxor. To the north, vacant land reaches until ended by the Tropicana property.
Sign - thematic influences: There appears to be no apparent theme associated with the Happi Inn other than the fact that it belongs to the style and genre of the roadside motel design seen throughout the southern end of the strip.
Surveyor: Joshua Cannaday
Survey - date completed: 2002
Sign keywords: Chasing; Pylon; Fascia; Neon; Incandescent; Backlit; Steel; Plastic; Paint

Daytime and nighttime views of the Arco ampm sign on the Strip. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet.
Site address: 2728 S Las Vegas Blvd
Sign details: Amid the few smaller properties that compose the area north between the Circus Circus and Sahara Boulevard, the Arco AM/PM is located on the west side of the Strip between the Guiness/Arby's parking lot to the north and the Fantasia gift shop to the south. Like many other everyday institutions located on Las Vegas Blvd, it's roadside advertisement fits into the neon picture with ease. The structure itself is nothing like the treatment of the pylon, which sits on the eastern most edge of the property, in close proximity to the street. The actual mini-mart, customer facility is located in the background, on the western end of the lot, and faces east. The standard array of fuel pumps occupy the majority of the remaining space on the lot.
Sign condition: Structure 4 Surface 4 Lighting 4 notes: The structure, surface and lighting all are around the same condition. Several neon bars have come loose at the base of one of the legs, and the neon on the north side of the pylon is not functioning properly. The surface of the sign is in good shape, in need of a thorough cleaning.
Sign form: Pylon
Sign-specific description: The pylon sign for Arco AM/PM resides on the southeastern corner of the property, near the street, sitting in a planter of rocks. It sits on the west side of the strip, and faces north/south. The basic shape of the double-backed roadside pylon is a simple design, similar to any other sign at a typical gas station. Two square posts support a cabinet wider in diameter with the lettering and logos for the property. Between the two posts are three, descending, square, internally lit, message boards, advertising the price for gas. It stands in a bed of rocks, in close proximity to the street and faces north/south. The two legs are finished in a polished, silver, reflective surface. The three internally lit, white plastic, cabinets advertise for the prices of fuel, and begin approximately six feet or so from the ground up into open space inside the legs. At this height, neon wraps the poles, creating a pattern up the sides. Tubes of white neon wrap the three outer sides of the pole, repeating every two inches or so, striping the surface. The legs actually support two smaller cabinets stacked on top of each other to create a larger surface. The two cabinets are the same in general dimensions with the top section having rounded corners. The bottom cabinet is black on the exterior with the inner face a giant white channel pan lined horizontally with tubes of white neon. Two sets pan channels are set onto this field. The first is the two letters "am" and the other being the finishing portion "pm" The "am" section is painted two-tone orange and red, and the "pm" is a two-tone purple and blue. The letters are lined on the inside edge with neon. The white field is bordered in neon as well. The top cabinet is a blue pan channel lined horizontally with blue neon. White channel spell "Arco" in the middle of the field, and four triangular shapes converge to form the diamond shaped Arco symbol.
Sign - type of display: Neon; Backlit
Sign - media: Steel; Plastic
Sign - non-neon treatments: Graphics; Paint
Sign animation: Chasing
Sign environment: The fueling station resides on the northern edge of the strip before Sahara Avenue. Directly to the east, across the street is the Sahara Hotel Casino, but is flanked by smaller non-resort related properties. Along with the other two properties to the north and to the south, they seem as functional aspects for tourists and patrons of the larger properties of the Circus Circus and the Sahara. Almost dwarfed by the two nearby giants the properties can easily go unnoticed without the treatment of the illumination
Sign manufacturer: Larsen Sign
Sign - date of installation: 31758
Sign - thematic influences: The property and sign has no real thematic influence other than being an everyday facility influenced by its environment. The surroundings of abundant neon influence the sign to its treatment in order to have an impact.
Sign - artistic significance: The sign is significant artistically for it represents a piece of everyday life, dressed up to fit in on the Las Vegas Strip. The structure of a two-legged pylon so often seen at other non neon treated gas stations is the same, yet the coat of neon turns it into a unique piece of the Las Vegas strip. Other facilities seen with the same treatment are the Walgreen's, Arby's, McDonalds, and Fatburger.
Surveyor: Joshua Cannaday
Survey - date completed: 2002
Sign keywords: Chasing; Pylon; Neon; Backlit; Steel; Plastic; Paint; Graphics

Daytime and nighttime views of the Fantasia gift shop on the Strip. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet.
Site address: 2800 S Las Vegas Blvd
Sign details: Fantasia on the Strip is located north of the Circus Circus, among the smaller properties located the northern end of the Strip before Sahara Avenue. The building faces east, only separated from the street by a small parking lot, which runs along the front of the property. The two-story building is adorned with a building length message cabinet, and sculpted, patterned raceways. The sign extends north across a drive designating parking in the rear. A small pole sign also sits on the east edge of the property.
Sign condition: Structure 3 Surface 4 Lighting 4 The Fantasia establishments signage looks decently weathered up close, for the colors and paint treatments are in good condition. The structure of the sign has a couple of anomalies that are apparent. The pole sign on the street side of the property has no face on the triangular portion of the surface. The far right hand side of the building fascia makes an uncomfortable transition into the support structure from the ground.
Sign form: Pylon; Fascia
Sign-specific description: The design is a building front, message cabinet running the length of the facade of the building, facing east. The white, steel, paneled front cabinet contains Blue and red plastic text. The larger fonts run the entire length of the sign and read "Souvenirs, T-shirts, Gifts, Indian Jewelry, Moccasins, Liquor," in an "old west" style text seen on properties such as the Frontier. This arrangement's color is blue. The bottom line of text is smaller and is broken up into three separate phrases and distributed evenly across the surface. The left side reads, " Jewelry, Belts, Hats, Cactus" in red cursive. The center is blue western font, reading "Las Vegas Souvenirs." The right hand side is red cursive again reading "Sundries, Food, Beer Wine, Ice." The bottom and top edges are lined with yellow raceways with incandescent bulbs. The top edge is created by a repeating series of raceway arches, matching the finish of the other edges. The top edge of repeating arches continues north past the edge of the cabinet onto a smaller, much thinner cabinet. The thinner cabinet looks as is if it is a continuation of the main sign with pieces cut out of it. The arches continue to the end of the extension and down connecting to a steel I-beam linked to the ground. The smaller plane reads "park in rear" in red, plastic, all capital, letters. Raceway arrows protrude through the bottom of the sign, pointing through the entrance it creates for traffic. The arrows are arranged on the bottom edge as if they are extensions of the imaginary points created by the meeting of the downward strokes two sides of two arches. Across the very top of the main banner, a narrow, red, steel cabinet reads the word "Fantasia" in white script. The script is surfaced with neon. Near the street, on the northern portion of the property, a pole sign holds an internally lit cabinet. The frame of the cabinet is a blue raceway whose western edge is fashioned into an arrow shape. White plastic comprises the face of the sign, which faces north south, and does not reach into the arrow section. It is a skeleton of a frame, with nothing in the middle. Translucent vinyl lettering is present on the face of the sign and reads "Liquor, Moccasins, Indian Jewelry 1/2 off," in all capital letters.
Sign - type of display: Neon; Incandescent; Backlit
Sign - media: Steel; Plastic
Sign - non-neon treatments: Paint
Sign animation: Chasing
Notes: The only animation present is the animation of the incandescent bulbs on all the raceways surrounding the signs. The bulbs chase each other from left to right.
Sign environment: The fueling station resides on the northern edge of the strip before Sahara Avenue. Directly to the east, across the street is the Sahara Hotel Casino, but is flanked by smaller non-resort related properties. Along with the other two properties to the north and to the south, they seem as functional aspects for tourists and patrons of the larger properties of the Circus Circus and the Sahara. Almost dwarfed by the two nearby giants the properties can easily go unnoticed without the treatment of the illumination.
Sign manufacturer: YESCO
Sign - thematic influences: There is no real theme associated with the property other than being a typical Las Vegas strip shopping establishment. The unique array of raceways and chasing incandescent bulbs are reminiscent of the countless canvass of the same design technique seen all of the strip, yet retain a hint of originality with it's arched pattern. Another widely used element , present in the design, is the internally lit message center. These two simple elements are used in conjunction to create a unique display typical to the Las Vegas Strip. It fits into the context of the Las Vegas strip as one of the many gift shops, but stands out as one of the larger ones, with the most vibrant signage.
Surveyor: Joshua Cannaday
Survey - date completed: 2002
Sign keywords: Chasing; Pylon; Fascia; Neon; Incandescent; Backlit; Steel; Plastic; Paint