Wendover Will who turned 71 this past June, is currently in the midst of several upgrades that will refresh his look and his status as a West Wendover and State of Nevada icon.

The West Wendover City Council approved the new upgrades for Wendover Will early in 2023 in order that his new look could coincide and tie him into the city’s new Downtown which is currently under construction just several hundred feet away.

The upgrades to the monument include:

Re-finishing of the stucco base, re-locating the existing dedication plaques and the city’s time capsule to the north face of the monument, re-finishing the existing monument lettering and adding new “downtown” lettering to complete the tie in to the new Downtown, conversion of the old neon glass tube lighting to new LED technology and a repaint to bring back his colorful brilliance once again.

When asked about the refurbishment City Manager Chris Melville remarked, “We generally plan to have Wendover Will repainted about every 10 years but this time around with the old nostalgic type neon tubing becoming more difficult to manufacture and costly to maintain year after year, it was time for some new upgrades.  The old glass neon tubing has always been very susceptible to any type of movement given it does not bend or stretch.   Thus, as anyone who knows our community and the challenging breezes we have, it was a constant maintenance item to replace the cracked and broken neon tubes when Wendover Will, who stands about 77 feet tall, would flex in the wind.   Thus, in each instance of breakage, the old glass tubing had to be removed and new tubing artfully manufactured to the exact dimensions and shape as the old and then charged up with the appropriate gas for the various colors when illuminated.   Generally, this would take several weeks to complete for each part, so as most know, Wendover Will seemed to always have some segment of neon out and it seemed miraculous if he didn’t.

Technology however has evolved in our favor specifically with LED lighting.   Thus, part of Wendover Wills refurbishment work is changing out the old neon glass tubing to new LED lighting which is not only more energy efficient but, has a much greater ability to withstand the elements.  Thus, in the future when Wendover Will flexes in our local breezes, his lighting will flex with him.  The biggest challenge and why it has taken so many months for the work to get underway was YESCO’s diligence in ensuring the LED lighting was just right to match as closely as possible Wendover Will’s old neon glow of colors.  After all, he is in the Guiness Book of World Records as the world’s tallest mechanical “neon” cowboy.  After this upgrade maybe he can hold a new title?”

The refurbishment work is scheduled to be complete the end of September at which time he will then be sporting the new upgrades and some new brilliant paint ready to continue his reign over the West Wendover skyline for many decades to come.

Wendover Will was originally constructed by Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO) in 1952 for the StateLine Hotel & Casino owned by William “Bill” and Anna Smith.  In 2004, Wendover Will was donated to the City of West Wendover by Generation 2000, the new owners of that facility.   With the help of many loyal and ardent fans who donated time and money, he was refurbished, re-erected and dedicated in 2005 as the West Wendover City Center Monument, at the time celebrating his 53^rd birthday.

Click Here to go to the Wendover Will page.