This articlecontainspromotional content.(August 2016) |
YESCOis a privately owned manufacturer of electric signs based inSalt Lake City,founded by Thomas Young in 1920. The company provides design, fabrication, installation and maintenance of signs.
 | |
| Formerly | Thomas Young Sign Company |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry |
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| Founded | March 20, 1920 |
| Founder | Thomas Young Sr. |
| Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | ~85 offices |
Area served | North America |
Number of employees | ~1,000 |
| Website | www |
Many notable sign projects have been produced by YESCO, including the NBC Experience globe inNew York City,the historicEl Capitan TheatreandWax MuseummarqueesinHollywood,theReno Arch,and inLas Vegas,Vegas Vic,theFremont Street Experience,the Astrolabe inThe Venetian,theWynn Las Vegasresort sign, and theAria Resort & Casino.[1]
History
editThe company was created by Thomas Young on March 20, 1920.[2]The young sign painter had left theUnited Kingdomjust a decade earlier to immigrate with his family toOgden, Utah.In the beginning, his shop specialized in coffin plates, gold leaf window lettering, lighted signs and painted advertisements.
In 1933, YESCO opened a branch office in the Apache Hotel in Las Vegas. The company erected its first neon sign in Las Vegas for the Boulder Club.[3][4]
It erected the first neon sign in Las Vegas for the Boulder Club in the late 1930s, and in 1995, it completed the four-block-long Fremont Street Experience canopy in Las Vegas.
In recent years, YESCO has built an outdoor digital media (billboard) division of its business.[5]
YESCO has approximately 1,000 employees, more than 40 offices, and operates three manufacturing plants featuring automated and custom equipment. Additional smaller manufacturing and service facilities are located in theUnited StatesandCanada.
YESCO offers sign and lighting service franchises in states east of Colorado and throughout Canada.
In 2015, Young Electric Sign Company sold YESCO Electronics, a subsidiary company, toSamsung Electronics of America,Inc., which rebranded the division as Prismview.
Landmark Signs
editThe NBC Experience Store Globe
editNBC created a new YESCO “message globe” in its NBC Experience store, located atRockefeller Center,New York City.
From the outside of the building, it looks like an illuminated globe. The 35’-diameter hemisphere is covered with LEDs. The animations were provided by YESCO's media services group. When it was first turned on, it stopped traffic on West 49th Street.[citation needed]
Vegas Vic
editAs a well-known electronic sign,[6][7]Vegas Vic was designed by and built by YESCO. Upon its installation in 1951 over the Pioneer Club on historical Fremont Street, the 40'-tall electronic neon sign became Las Vegas's unofficial greeter.
Wynn Las Vegas
editThe 135-foot (41 m) tall marquee features a 100-foot (30 m) high, 50-foot (15 m) wide, concave, double-faced LED message center with a first-of-its-kind “moving eraser.” Conceived bySteve Wynn,the massive eraser glides up and down over the LED message center, appearing to change the graphics as it goes. The eraser weighs 62,000 pounds, and is counterbalanced by a 62,000-pound weight inside the sign.[8]
The sign uses 4,377,600 LEDs and the eraser is powered by a 300 horsepower (220 kW) motor at its base that runs a gear and cable system. The firm of FTSI engineered the 62,000-pound eraser's movement, which is capable of speeds up to 10 feet per second (3.0 m/s).[8]
The Fremont Street Experience
editYESCO installed the vaulted canopy arching 90 feet (27 m) above four blocks ofFremont Street.
Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas
editYESCO owns theWelcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign.
Other projects
editYESCO designed and installed the signs and light-up strips atAllegiant Stadium,the home of theLas Vegas RaidersandUNLV Rebels Football.[9]The company also designed and installed the signage at the Raiders' headquarters and practice facility inHenderson, Nevada.
The company has provided support to theNeon Museum,which is dedicated to preserving the neon signs and associated artifacts of Las Vegas.[10]Some of the retired signs include the sign for theSilver Slippercasino and Aladdin's lamp from the first version of theAladdin Casino.
Key individuals
editFounder
editBorn inSunderland,United Kingdom,in 1895, Thomas Young was 15 years old when his family emigrated to Ogden, Utah. The boy applied his passion to making signs. He began by creating wall-lettering and gold-leaf window signs, working for the Electric Service Company and the Redfield-King Sign Company in Ogden.
Young married Elmina Carlisle in 1916. In 1920, he founded his own sign company: Thomas Young Sign Company, which specialized in coffin plates, gold window lettering, lighted signs and painted advertisements.
In 1932, Young expanded his business to Las Vegas, and within two years, he purchased the Ogden Armory for $12,000 to expand the production capacity. He also opened a branch in Salt Lake City that year.
Young was elected president of the National Sign Association in 1936, serving for two terms. A year later, in 1937, he moved his family and YESCO headquarters to Salt Lake City, Utah, and continued the business.
In 1969, Young turned over the reins of company leadership to his son, who currently serves as the chairman of the board. The company is currently being managed by the third and fourth generations of the Young family.
Designers
editSome of YESCO's most prominentsignagedesigners have included:
- Charles Barnard– designer ofVegas Vickie
- Rudy Crisostomo– designer of theRio'scolumn
- Dan Edwards– designer of Lucky the Clown ofCircus Circus
- Jack Larsen Sr– designer of theSilver Slipper
- Kermit Wayne– designer of theStardust
- Pat Denner– designer of theVegas VicandWendover Will
- Jim Geitzen– designer of theAria Resort and CasinoandThe Linq
References
edit- ^Komenda, Ed (2013-04-09)."Big and tall: Aria lights up new 250-foot LED sign - VEGAS INC".vegasinc.lasvegassun.com.Retrieved2021-10-06.
- ^Nevada Contractors' Billboard 2003
- ^Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs
- ^"Vintage Las Vegas".
- ^"Digital Billboards Ho!".
- ^Horwath, Bryan (2020-11-02)."Sign builder takes pride in helping brand Las Vegas for decades - VEGAS INC".vegasinc.lasvegassun.com.Retrieved2021-10-07.
- ^"Neon makes a comeback in Las Vegas".Orange County Register.2011-01-30.Retrieved2021-10-07.
- ^ab"Home – TAIT – Experience the Extraordinary – Live Event Solutions".
- ^"Sign maker working to light up Raiders' Allegiant Stadium".Las Vegas Review-Journal.2020-01-31.Retrieved2020-05-05.
- ^a2zlasvegas