As a child of the Rocky Mountains, and a transplant to the West Coast, Interstate 80 and I are old, familiar friends. The highway, which stretches from San Francisco, California to Teaneck, New Jersey is a long, but direct shot to visit my family, and is also the road which most closely follows the route of the old Lincoln Highway, the first auto trail to span the country.

In 1927, upon completion of this epic cross-country highway, the city of Reno hosted Nevada’s Transcontinental Highways Exposition and erected an arch in their pre-casino downtown area in honor of the event. The sign, which simply stated the name and dates of the exposition, was the first incarnation of what has gone on to become one of the most famous human-made landmarks in the west, the Reno arch.

Over the years, the arch has gone through several incarnations. In 1929, realizing that the arch was promoting an event that had come, gone and was old news, the Reno City Council held a contest for a new slogan to be placed upon the arch. The winner of the contest, and recipient of the $100 prize was G.A. Burns of Sacramento with his slogan, “Reno, the Biggest Little City in the World.”

Following the contest, the wording that advertised the highway exposition was removed from the sign, Burns’ new slogan placed in its place, and Reno, with its declaration of worldwide renown, put itself on the map.

As with all things new, there was some public foot-dragging and protesting, and in 1934, the slogan was removed and replaced with the lone word, “Reno,” which radiated an electric-green hue into the night, courtesy of the latest scientific wonder-product, neon lighting. However, removing the slogan from the sign provoked more outcry than keeping it, and in 1935, the slogan was returned to its rightful place on the sign.

As years turned into decades, the sign lost its novelty, and in the early 1960s, it was decided that the original, steel sign should be retired. It was taken down, shuffled around to different locations, put into storage, pulled out to be used on movie sets, and finally placed on Lake Street, near the National Automobile Museum.

The sign that was erected in its place was the oh-so-hip, classic mid-century America, geometric arch that stands in my childhood memories as the most glorious sight that a young, road-weary traveler could see. After seemingly unending hours of blazing-hot desert driving (AC was an unrealized luxury), the excitement of finally reaching Reno was almost unbearable. The Circus Circus clown, the enormous hotels with their pools and ice machines, the casinos that were lit up and flashing with millions of moving lights, and the most wonderful sign, with its fabulous orange octagons and star of promise, spanning across the main drag, welcoming you to the “Biggest Little City in the World.” It was truly euphoric.

For nearly 25 years, this incarnation of the arch touted its hipness, until hip became tired, and the city needed to re-up its image as a vacation destination, not just a one-time cool, historic town. The arch was donated to the town of Willits, California, and now holds the phrase “Willits: Gateway to the Redwoods.” In 1987, a flashier, bigger and brighter arch replaced the orange octagonal sign, and now fills the hearts of today’s weary travelers with the same joy and relief that the arch, in all of its incarnations, has been affecting for over 80 years.

In 2009, in a gesture of progress and sustainability, the city of Reno replaced the 2,076 incandescent 11 watt bulbs in the arch with energy efficient 2.5 watt LED bulbs, and gave the old bulbs away as souvenirs to spectators; a small gesture in an over-illuminated town to be sure, but a step in the right direction.

On a recent trip to and from the Rockies, my partner and I made our regular lunch stop in Reno. After a bit of meandering, we found ourselves standing under the arch, at the entrance to a free blues festival. The streets were packed and the music was loud and good-time bluesy. Folks were drinking and dancing, kids were playing, and the backdrop to it all was the long-standing landmark welcoming everyone to the biggest little city in the world.