YUCCA MOTEL

STORY

Owned by Bhagu and Manjula Patel, the Yucca Motel was located near Sahara Avene and Las Vegas Boulevard, just north of the Stratosphere. The Patel family donated the signage to the Neon Museum in 2010. The Yucca signage was partially restored by Hartlauer Signs in 2017. New neon was created for the sign's partial restoration.
 

The Yucca Motel sign is indicative of national sign design trends, particularly those of the 1950s. Common in signs of this era are local cultural themes (in this case, the yucca plant, native to the Mojave desert), geometric shapes, and elaborate neon. The triangular shape of the sign serves a function, directing drivers and passerby towards the direction of the property. Directional signage sa an uptick in popularity post-WWII, when America saw an economic boom, resulting in Americans having more disposable income to use as they please. Travel, specifically road trips, became a popular vacation option. "Motor hotels," or MOTELS, began to pop up along highways to service tourists passing through. Las Vegas, as a tourist destination, had numerous motels downtown and on the Strip.

The artisanship on display requires the delicate hand of a skilled technician. A sign fabricator will heat a hollow glass tube over an open torch, gradually bending it to match a pre-designed stencil. Once the design is in place, one end of the tube is sealed and a noble gas is inserted, usually neon or argon. Neon, once electrified, glows orange-red. Argon, once electrified, glows blue-white. These colors can be manipulated by coating the inside of the hollow glass tubes with phosphors.

On the top of the Yucca "MOTEL" signage there is the phrase/signature "Sleez 83" referring to painter Danny Carthegan of YESO, who often signed his work where people would not see his name. The only reason it is visible today is because the "MOTEL" signage is laying horizontal.​​