Steve Wynn put up the money to have the iconic Frontier sign taken down so that the sign would not block the view of his latest hotel-casino tower, Encore. Wynn considered the sign an "eyesore".
The sign, a 186-feet tall, was taken down in sections. We are still trying to confirm if the sign will be donated to the Neon Museum. From what we understand, that decision has yet to be made.
The sign was one of the oldest still standing on the famed Las Vegas Strip and harkened back to the days when the giant neon signs could be seen down the highway for miles. A combination of flicker bulbs and neon, the sign was designed by Bill Clark of Ad-Art. The sign contained more than a mile of flourescent tubing, a mile and a half of neon and more than 23,000 light bulbs. The 30- foot tall F at the top of the sign rotated on a specially built mechanism. An enormous caisson was installed to keep the sign from toppling over in a Las Vegas windstorm.
For more information on the history of the Frontier Hotel:
http://classiclasvegas.squarespace.com/display/ShowJournal?moduleId=1093544¤tPage=4
Special thanks to RoadsidePictures for letting us use this image.