Hollywood Sign

The Hollywood Sign is a famous landmark in the Hollywood Hills area of Mount Lee, Santa Monica Mountains, in Los Angeles, California spelling out the name of the area in 45-foot tall and 350 ft. and 106 long white letters. It was created as an advertisement in 1923, but garnered increasing recognition after the sign was left up. The sign was a frequent target of pranks and vandalism but has since undergone restoration, including a security system to deter vandalism. The sign is protected and promoted by the Hollywood Sign Trust, a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to physically maintain, repair and secure the sign, to educate the world about its historical and cultural importance, and to raise the funds necessary to accomplish these projects. Hollywood sign pictures are available for purchase to put in you home or office. From the ground, the contours of the hills give the sign its well-known "wavy" appearance. When observed at a comparable altitude, as in the photo to the right, the letters appear straight-across. The sign was first erected in 1923 and originally read "HOLLYWOODLAND". Its purpose was to advertise the name of a new housing development called Hollywoodland, that lay just below the sign.  Some of the finest Hollywood residences could be found in this development. H.J. Whitley had already used a sign to advertise his development Whitley Heights, which was located between Highland Avenue and Vine Avenue. He suggested to his friend Harry Chandler, the owner of the Los Angeles Times newspaper, that the land syndicate in which he was involved make a similar sign to advertise their land. Real estate developers Woodruff and Shoults called their development "Hollywoodland" and advertised it as a "superb environment without excessive cost on the Hollywood side of the hills". (An unrelated film named Hollywoodland was made in 2006. They contracted the Crescent Sign Company to erect thirteen letters on the hillside, each facing south. The sign company owner, Thomas Fisk Goff (1890-1984) designed the sign. Each letter of the sign was 30 feet wide and 50 feet high, and was studded with some 4000 light bulbs (The lighting of the sign was discontinued in the late 1920s). The sign was officially dedicated on July 13, 1923. It was not intended to be permanent. In September 1932, Broadway actress Peg Entwistle, a resident of Beachwood Canyon, committed suicide by jumping to her death from the letter H. By the late 1940s, the sign was almost twenty years old and in terrible disrepair. In 1949 the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce began a contract with the City of Los Angeles Parks Department to repair and rebuild the sign. The contract stipulated that "LAND" be removed to spell "Hollywood" and reflect the district, not the "Hollywoodland" housing development. The Parks Department dictated that all subsequent illumination would be at the cost of the Chamber, so the Chamber opted not to replace the light bulbs. The 1949 effort gave it new life, but the sign's unprotected wood and sheet metal structure continued to deteriorate. Eventually the first O splintered and broke, resembling a lowercase u, and the third O fell down completely, leaving the severely dilapidated sign reading "HuLLYWO D". In 1978, in large part because of the public campaign to restore the landmark, the Chamber set out to replace the intensely deteriorated sign with a more permanent structure. Nine donors gave $27,700 each (totaling $249,300) to sponsor replacement letters made of steel, guaranteed to last for many years. Among those who made donations of $27,700 was singer Alice Cooper and Playboy publisher, Hugh Hefner. The new letters were 45 feet tall and ranged from 31 to 39 feet wide. The new version of the sign was unveiled on Hollywood's 75th anniversary, November 14, 1978, before a live television audience of 60 million people. Refurbishment, donated by Bay Cal Commercial Painting, began again in November 2005, as workers stripped the letters back to their metal base and repainted them white. In 2009, Fox River Financial Resources Inc., which owned the 138 acres behind the Hollywood Sign, put the property up for sale. Developers have been eyeing the hillside, once owned by Howard Hughes, for luxury mansions, but a nonprofit land-conservation group was given the chance to buy the land for $12.5 million. As the April 30, 2010 deadline neared, the group was nearly $1 million short. Hugh Hefner anted up $900,000, which helped the campaign cross the finish line. On Monday, the Trust for Public Land announced that, thanks to Hefner's gift and an additional $500,000 from the Tiffany & Co. Foundation and Aileen Getty, it finally had the $12.5 million needed to buy Cahuenga Peak from Fox River Financial Resources Inc. The 138-acre property, which offers a spectacular 360-degree panorama of the Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley, now will become part of Griffith Park.  The panoramic view of Hollywood, from the sign is truly breathtaking. On this site, is the largest collection of Hollywood Sign photos and all are can be purchased.