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Henry Schutte oral history interview
Oral history interview with Henry Schutte conducted by an unknown collector on an unknown date in approximately the 1980s for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Schutte discusses working on trains since childhood and explains the type of maintenance he performed. Schutte then describes his career at the Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO).
Archival Collection
Neon in Nevada Photograph Collection
The Neon in Nevada Photograph Collection contains black-and-white and color photographic slides of neon signs from cities and towns in Nevada dating from 1913 to 1989. The collection includes slides from Las Vegas, Reno, Boulder City, Laughlin, Henderson, Lovelock, Winnemucca, Elko, Wells, McGill, Ely, Eureka, Austin, Hawthorne, and Carson City. The collection also includes slides from the Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO) that depict the "sign graveyard" in Las Vegas, Nevada of broken and retired neon signs.
Archival Collection
Film transparency of a sketch for the Golden Nugget neon sign (Las Vegas), circa 1984
Inverted negative transparency. Partially freehand, annotated plan for the neon sign for the Golden Nugget on the southwest corner of Fremont and Second Streets. The original sign was installed by YESCO in 1948.
Site Name: Golden Nugget Las Vegas
Address: 129 East Fremont Street
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Photographs of Pabst Blue Ribbon sign, Las Vegas (Nev.), June 28, 2017
Site address: Fremont St and Las Vegas Blvd
Sign owner: PBR Donated, but a part of Fremont Street East
Sign details: PBR held a revealing party when installed in 2015, right next to The Park on Fremont. YESCO manufactured the 30 feet tall sign is nicknamed Cool Blue. Previous to this sign in this location the Maharaja Hookah Cafe had their signage in the same location previous to 2013.
Sign condition: 5, just installed in 2015 so neon and paint are still in great condition
Sign form: Free Standing Sign
Sign-specific description: 30 feet tall, the sign is nicknamed Cool Blue. A 30 foot waiter holding his arm out with 3 beers on his arm and one in his hand. The beers are animated with them lighting up in order starting with the one closest to his body. His arm is resting on a PBR can. The waiters shirt and cheeks illuminate red neon while the rest of his body illuminates blue argon. The PBR beer can illuminates red and blue as well.
Sign - type of display: Neon
Sign - media: Steel
Sign animation: The Beer cans on the waiters arm light up in order, starting with the one closest to his body.
Sign environment: This is located in the parking lot on the corner of Las Vegas Blvd. North and Fremont St. East next to the Park on Fremont. This marks the beginning of the Fremont Street East District were other freestanding Neon signs are as well.
Sign manufacturer: YESCO
Sign - date of installation: 2015
Sign - thematic influences: The retro theme makes it look like a throwback to 1950s/60s advertisement. Also since it is for a beer company it shows that Neon does not always have to be for the Casinos here in Vegas. This is one of the first freestanding signs you see in the Fremont Street East District, thus showing that the Neon community downtown still is thriving and still defines our culture here.
Survey - research locations: YESCO website http://www.yesco.com/news/yesco-installs-pabst-blue-ribbon-neon-sign/ , Vital Vegas website https://vitalvegas.com/downtowns-fremont-east-gets-a-new-neon-sign-courtesy-of-pbr/ , google map roadside view
Survey - research notes: Since this is a freestanding sign it is difficult to find any specific information on a single owner or why this sign was placed there specifically.
Surveyor: Emily Fellmer
Survey - date completed: 2017-07-22
Sign keywords: Neon; Steel; Back to back; Monument sign
Mixed Content
Slide of the 5th Street Liquor Store sign, Las Vegas, 1986
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Chris Spotted Eagle oral history interview
Oral history interview with Chris Spotted Eagle conducted by Claytee D. White and Stephen Pastorino on January 16, 2025 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Spotted Eagle recalls growing up on the Paiute Reservation in Las Vegas, and shares that part of his family is from the Moapa Band of Paiutes. Spotted Eagle's paternal grandfather, Raymond Anderson, was a fabricator and ironworker for YESCO where he helped create the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign designed by Betty Willis. He shares how the reservation began as a 10-acre plot of land and is now over 4,000 acres. Growth followed various successful enterprises: a smoke shop, three 18-hole golf courses with a wedding chapel, and now, the cannabis industry.
Archival Collection
Thomas Young Jr. oral history interview
Oral history interview with Thomas Young Jr. conducted by Stefani Evans on October 20, 2017 for the Building Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Young Jr. discusses his early life in Ogden, Utah and his father’s sign manufacturing business, Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO). Young Jr. recalls the company’s growth, the management style that his father used, and the early signs they designed. He talks about the jobs he held at the company, the use of neon gas in signs, and bringing their company to Las Vegas, Nevada. Lastly, Young Jr. describes the early signs that were done for Las Vegas properties, moving neon figure signs, and building a headquarters in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Dave Pugsley oral history interview
Oral history interview with Dave Pugsley conducted by Stefani Evans and Claytee D. White on October 21, 2016 for the Building Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Pugsley discusses his early life in Salt Lake City, Utah and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1963. He talks about his father’s employment with Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO) and the Nevada Test Site. Pugsley recalls his initial interest in architecture, drawing a construction document for the Home Builders Association while in high school, and attending the University of Utah for a degree in architecture. Pugsley then talks about building planning for schools in Clark County, the process of designing a school, and the challenges that arise. Lastly, Pugsley discusses building planning for Lied Library and the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).
Archival Collection
Slide of Hacienda Hotel sign, Las Vegas, 1986
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Photograph of unfinished portions of Vegas Vic's body sign (Salt Lake City), 1951
Two men look at the unfinished body of Vegas Vic (for the Pioneer Club in Las Vegas) leaning against the outside of the YESCO shop in Salt Lake City.
Site Name: Young Electric Sign Company
Address: 1148 South 300 West
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