We were in town for work but carved out time one pleasantly cool evening to explore the southern fringes of the Las Vegas Strip on foot.
We were in town for work but carved out time one pleasantly cool evening to explore the southern fringes of the Las Vegas Strip on foot. From the MGM Grand, we walked south along Las Vegas Boulevard toward the famous “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign. The sign, one of the most recognizable landmarks in the United States, was designed in 1959 by Betty Willis, a local graphic designer. Commissioned by Western Neon, it was installed at what was then the southern end of Las Vegas Boulevard—not actually within city limits, but in the unincorporated town of Paradise, Nevada.
Despite its location, the sign quickly came to symbolize Las Vegas itself. It represented the glamour and spectacle of a city on the rise in the mid-20th century, driven by casinos, neon, and nonstop entertainment. Clark County paid $54,000 for its installation. The sign echoed the era’s sense of space-age optimism with its Googie-style architecture, bright lights, and signature starburst crest. Its bold message—“Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada”—captured the promotional flair of a city that marketed itself as an oasis of indulgence.
The sign has remained a cultural touchstone. In 2009, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Then, in 2014, Clark County partnered with Green Chips, the Clean Energy Project, and the Consumer Electronics Association to install solar panels. These now generate enough electricity to fully offset the sign’s energy use—a small but symbolic nod to modern sustainability in a city built on excess.
On the walk back, we passed the shuttered Diamond Inn. Originally opened in 1955 as the Desert Isle Motel, it occupied a stretch of the Strip known for its motor courts. The property included a house built in 1940 and a cluster of bungalows that stayed in use throughout the motel’s long operation. In 1964, a 48-room expansion was marked with the addition of a distinctive pink elephant statue on the front lawn—a whimsical roadside attraction originally stationed at the Bagdad Inn Motel.
The motel changed hands in 1978 when Sam Aldabbagh purchased it. Around 1990, he renamed it the Diamond Inn. It continued operation under that name until it finally closed in 2023, part of a larger trend of closures along this stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard.
The Pinball Hall of Fame sign also stood out; its massive neon sign is impossible to miss. Installed in 2021, the sign features the word “Pinball” in letters 44 feet tall. The surrounding circles measure six feet, six inches across, and the full sign spans roughly 54 feet in width—a glowing tribute to the city’s fondness for spectacle.
Not far from there were the ruins of the Laughing Jackalope. The property originally opened in the mid-1950s as Wright’s Motel. Over the years, it operated under various names—Ali Baba’s, then Sunbird Inn—before a bar was added to the front and became the Laughing Jackalope in 1998. The bar is closed today, and the motel structures have been demolished, leaving only the name and a few hints of its history.
We also passed the Desert Oasis Motel, built in 1963 and opened as the Half Moon Motel. It became the Warren Motel Apartments in the early 1970s and was renamed Desert Oasis in the late 1990s. Today, it is in a state of neglect, functioning as a deteriorating apartment complex currently for sale. Whether it will survive until our next visit is uncertain—Las Vegas is a city in constant reinvention.
Nearby, a small egg shop caught our attention, serving breakfast and lunch with a no-frills charm and affordable prices. We noted the restored Nirvana Hotel, a rare example of preservation in a corridor better known for demolition. Then we came upon the remnants of the White Sands Motel.
Opened in 1959 by Frank and Margaret Durand, who had sold a menswear business in Freehold Township, New Jersey, the White Sands featured 33 heated rooms, each with a TV and shower, a spire-like marquee, and a heated pool. The Durands promoted it as a quiet refuge from the bustle of the Strip.
The White Sands was one of many motor court motels in this southern stretch of the Boulevard, along with the Pollyanna, Kona Kai, Fez, Klondike, Diamond Inn, Glass Pool Inn, and Casa Malaga. Ownership of the White Sands changed several times, and in 1986, Spartaco Colleli acquired it. After Colleli died in 1992, the property fell into neglect. It officially closed in 1999, and by 2015, the county had declared it an imminent danger, citing structural issues, criminal activity, and a widespread feral cat infestation.
That short walk revealed much more than we expected. Even a brief stroll in Las Vegas can offer a glimpse into the city’s layered past—a patchwork of optimism, decay, nostalgia, and constant change. Anyone’s guess is whether these places will stand on our next visit, as the city is constantly reviving and reinventing.
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