Stardust Hotel & Casino

On April 22, 1952, around 200 reporters from across the country gathered at Yucca Lake, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, to broadcast for the first time the detonation of a nuclear bomb on United States soil, the birth of the Atomic Age. Atomic culture swept the nation in the 1950s and Las Vegas became the epicenter of the craze. The iconic mushroom cloud was even featured in the design of household objects from this period, including the Ball Clock, conceived by George Miller in 1949, who drew inspiration from the structure of the atom itself.

The Stardust Hotel and Casino, opened in 1958, embodied this atomic craze, with its mega-pylon designed by Ad Art’s Paul Miller. Once deemed the “Queen of The Strip,” Miller’s signage was erected in 1968. This mega-sign, whose pieces are now located throughout The Neon Boneyard, topped out at a record height of 188-feet tall by 90-feet wide, and featured a beautiful pastel-multicolored plume of four-pointed stars rising into the gleaming desert sky. The design principles of the Atomic Age influenced the fields of architecture, visual art, and both industrial and commercial sign design. These principles were also shared with the emerging styles of Googie architecture and Space Age design. The launch of Sputnik in 1957—the first artificial satellite sent into orbit—marked the start of the Space Age. Vehicles with ornamental tailfins were popular, architects designed upswept roofs buildings mimicking space vessels, and logos of the period incorporated starbursts and satellite shapes.

These red Stardust letters, designed by Kermit Wayne from YESCO (Young Electric Sign Company), were part of a billboard located on the interstate, intended for drivers coming to Las Vegas from California. Wayne moved away from the severe functionalist design utilizing motifs related to atomic models and intergalactic exploration, rendering the sign’s futuristic cartoon-like font style.