Welcoming visitors to Las Vegas ever since, the 25-foot-tall iconic sign was built and designed by Betty Willis in 1959. It is brightly illuminated by night by internal incandescent bulbs as well as white neon circles meant to represent silver dollars, in reference to Nevada’s nickname: the Silver State. Though a legend says that the sign was a gift from Willis to the Las Vegas city as a public domain landmark, the owner, Young Electric Sign Company, actually leases the sign to the county.