Behind the Badge
Since 1959, the now iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada” sign has greeted visitors driving along Las Vegas Boulevard, or “The Strip,” toward the gambling mecca.
In the day’s following the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, the sign has morphed into a memorial to the 58 victims whose lives were taken when a gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel on a crowd of concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest Festival.
The Las Vegas Journal Review reported that in the days following the shooting, Greg Zanis, a retired carpenter, traveled from Chicago and erected the 58 crosses behind the sign.
Among the tribute to the 58 victims of the mass shooting in Las Vegas on Oct. 1 are 58 wooden crosses, each with the name of a victim. Thousands of condolences and other tributes have been placed at the base of the crosses and throughout the site. Photo by Lou Ponsi/ Behind the Badge OC
The names of each victim, including six from Orange County, are inscribed on the individual crosses, which line the median about a half-mile from the concert venue.
Scores of visitors have made pilgrimages to the makeshift memorial, leaving hand-written messages, photos, patches and mementos.
Many walk slowly alongside the winding configuration of crosses, often stopping and then crouching down to get a closer look at the tributes.
Photo by Lou Ponsi/ Behind the Badge OC
Many shed tears.
The crosses will remain on display before being moved to the Clark County Museum on Nov. 12, the Journal Review reported.
The museum also is collecting tributes left in public rights-of-way so they can be preserved, the paper reported.
Those tributes also will be on display at the museum.
A tribute to Andrea Castillo of Huntington Beach is attached to a wooden cross bearing Castillo’s name, located at the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign. Castillo was among 58 people killed in the mass shooting in Las Vegas on Oct. 1. Photo by Lou Ponsi/ Behind the Badge OC
Andrea Castillo of Huntington Beach was among the 58 people killed in the mass shooting in Las Vegas on Oct. 1. Photo by Lou Ponsi/ Behind the Badge OC
Brian Fraser of La Palma was among the 58 killed Oct. 1 in the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas. Photo by Lou Ponsi/ Behind the Badge OC
Las Vegas shooting victim Brian Fraser left behind four children ranging in age from 4 to 25. Photo by Lou Ponsi/ Behind the Badge OC
Charleston Hartfield, 34, an off-duty Las Vegas police officer, was among those killed in the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival. Patches from law enforcement agencies around the country were left at the base of the cross bearing Hartfield’s name. Photo by Lou Ponsi/ Behind the Badge OC
An Anaheim Police Department patch is among the items left at the base of the cross bearing the name of Charleston Hartfield, 34, an off-duty Las Vegas police officer. Photo by Lou Ponsi/ Behind the Badge OC
Victor Link, 55, of Aliso Viejo was among those killed in the mass shooting. Link was attending the festival with his fiancee and friends. Photo by Lou Ponsi/ Behind the Badge OC
Carrie Barnette, 34, of Riverside worked at Disney California Adventure and attended Pacifica High School in Garden Grove. Barnette was among the 58 killed at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas on Oct. 1. Photo by Lou Ponsi/ Behind the Badge OC
Candice Bowers, 40, of Garden Grove, was among the 58 victims of the nation’s deadliest mass shooting Oct. 1 in Las Vegas. The single mother of three was described by family members as being selfless and always putting others before herself. Photo by Lou Ponsi/ Behind the Badge OC
A woman reads messages left at the 58 crosses, one for each victim of the Las Vegas shooting. Photo by Lou Ponsi/ Behind the Badge OC
A row of 58 crosses, each representing a victim of the mass shooting in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, has become smothered with messages of condolences and mementos from around the world. Photo by Lou Ponsi/ Behind the Badge OC
A young woman wearing a “Vegas Strong” T-shirt pauses to read messages left at the base of one of the 58 crosses, one for each victim of the Las Vegas shooting. The crosses are placed at the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign, on Las Vegas Boulevard. Photo by Lou Ponsi/ Behind the Badge OC
Photo by Lou Ponsi/ Behind the Badge OC
Photo by Lou Ponsi/ Behind the Badge OC
Photo by Lou Ponsi/ Behind the Badge OC
Messages such as this one, at the entrance to the New York New York hotel, can be seen throughout Las Vegas. Photo by Lou Ponsi/ Behind the Badge OC
Photo by Lou Ponsi/ Behind the Badge OC
