Hollywood Sign

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Template:L (1978–present)

The Hollywood Sign is an American landmark and cultural icon overlooking Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Originally the Hollywoodland Sign, it is situated on Mount Lee, in the Beachwood Canyon area of the Santa Monica Mountains. Spelling out the word "Hollywood" in 50-foot-tall (15.2 m) white uppercase letters and 450 feet (137.2 m) long,[1] it was originally erected in 1923 as a temporary advertisement for a local real estate development, but due to increasing recognition the sign was left up,[2] and replaced in 1978 with a more durable all-steel 45-foot-tall (13.7 m) structure.

Among the best-known landmarks in both California and the United States, the sign makes frequent appearances in popular culture, particularly in establishing shots for films and television programs set in or around Hollywood. Signs of similar style, but spelling different words, are frequently seen as parodies. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce holds trademark rights to the Hollywood Sign[3] but only for certain uses.[4]

Because of its widespread recognizability, the sign has been a frequent target of pranks and vandalism across the decades. It has since undergone restoration, including the installation of a security system to deter mischief. The sign is protected and promoted by the nonprofit "The Hollywood Sign Trust",[5] while its site and the surrounding land are part of Griffith Park. -angeles/|archive-date=December 21, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

History

Origin

The original sign was erected in 1923 and originally read "HOLLYWOODLAND" to promote the name of a new housing development in the hills above the Hollywood district of Los Angeles.[6]

 
The original sign, reading "Hollywoodland".

Real estate developers|In the 1970s, the sign reached its most dilapidated state. This image was taken shortly before the sign's 1978 restoration.]]

1940s

In time, the sign deteriorated. The letter H was destroyed in early 1944. A United Press report in 1949 indicated that winds were to blame,[7] while the Los Angeles Times said that the H was destroyed by "vandals or windstorms."[8]

In 1949, the sign drew complaints from local residents, who called it an "eyesore and detriment to the community" and advocated its demolition. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce protested against the sign's removal and offered to repair it.[8] The Chamber entered into 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.[9] The restoration and removal of the "land" portion of the sign was conducted in September 1949.[7]

1970s

 
Once all wood, the sign was rebuilt in metal letters supported by a structural steel framework

The sign's unprotected wood-and-sheet-metal structure deteriorated over the years. After a severe windstorm on February 10, 1978, the first O was splintered and broken, resembling a lowercase u, and the third O had fallen down completely, leaving the now-dilapidated sign reading "HuLLYWO D."[10][11]

In 1978, in large part because of the public campaign by Alice Cooper to restore the landmark, the Chamber set out to replace the severely deteriorated sign with a more permanent structure. Nine donors gave US$27,778 each (totaling US$250,000, equivalent to $1,170,000 in 2023) to sponsor replacement letters, made of steel supported by steel columns on a concrete foundation (see Donors section below).[12]

The new letters were 44 ft (13.4 m) tall and ranged from 31 to 39 ft (9.4 to 11.9 m) wide. The new version of the sign was unveiled on November 11, 1978, as the culmination of a live CBS television special commemorating the 75th anniversary of Hollywood's incorporation as a city.[13]

Refurbishment, donated by Bay Cal Commercial Painting,[14] began in November 2005 as workers stripped the letters back to their metal base and repainted them white.

Donors

 
A satellite image shows it follows the contour of the hillside

Following the 1978 public campaign to restore the sign, the following nine donors gave $27,778 each (which totaled $250,002):

The original sign and restoration of the "H"

The original 1923 sign was presumed to have been destroyed until 2005, when it was put up for sale on eBay by producer/entrepreneur Dan Bliss.[16] It was sold to artist Bill Mack, who used the sheet metal as a medium to paint the likenesses of stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood.[17] In August 2012, Mack constructed an exact replica of the letter H from the metal.[18] On August 9, 2012, Herb Wesson and Tom LaBonge of the Los Angeles City Council presented Mack with a Certificate of Recognition for his restoration efforts and preservation of the sign.[19]

Access issues

Considerable public concern has arisen over certain access points to the trails leading to the sign that are in residential areas. Some residents of the neighborhoods adjoining the sign, such as Beachwood Canyon and Lake Hollywood Estates, have expressed concerns about the congestion and traffic caused by tourists and sightseers attracted to the sign. The Los Angeles Times reported in 2013 that "there are more than 40 tour companies running buses and vans in and out of the canyon..." and residents "...are most concerned about safety issues because the curving hillside roads were not designed for so many cars and pedestrians."[20][21] The Los Angeles Fire Department identifies Griffith Park, where the sign resides, as a high fire risk area due to the brush and dry climate.[22] Local residents have created fake 'no access' and other misleading signs to discourage people from visiting the sign.[23]

In 2012, at the behest of residents of the Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge petitioned GPS manufacturers Garmin and Google Maps to redirect traffic away from residential streets, which lack the infrastructure (e.g. parking, restrooms, potable water) to deal with the large influx of tourists, towards two designated viewing areas, Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood and Highland Center.[24] The Hollywood Sign Trust, the nonprofit that maintains the sign, also endorses these two viewing platforms.[25] Other mapping services, such as Apple Maps and Bing Maps, have subsequently followed suit.[26][27] This was considered deceptive by some as the hike from Griffith Observatory could take up to two hours one way,[28]

An aerial tramway to the top of Mount Lee and the sign has been proposed numerous times.[29] In June 2018, Warner Bros. proposed to fund an estimated $100 million tramway that would run from its Burbank studio lot and up the north face of Mount Lee to a new visitors' area near the sign.[30] Other proposals stakeholders have set forth include establishing an official visitors' center for the sign, public shuttle service to lead tourists to the sign or trails, or even erecting a duplicate sign on the opposite side of Mount Lee.[31]

Suicide of Peg Entwistle

In September 1932, 24-year-old actress Peg Entwistle died by suicide by climbing a workman's ladder up to the top of the 'H' and jumping to her death.[32][33]

Location

 
View from West Hollywood, near Santa Monica Boulevard, a few blocks south of Hollywood Boulevard. The historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is visible on the left.

The sign is on the southern side of Mount Lee in Griffith Park, north of the Mulholland Highway, and to the south of the Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) cemetery.

 
Hollywood Sign from Runyon Canyon Park, San Gabriel Mountains in the background

The sign is on rough, steep terrain, and there are barriers to prevent unauthorized access. In 2000, the Los Angeles Police Department installed a security system featuring motion detection and closed-circuit cameras. Any movement in the marked restricted areas triggers an alarm that notifies the police.[34]

It is at an elevation of 1,578 ft (481 m).

The building and tower just behind and to the right of the sign is the City of Los Angeles Central Communications Facility, which supports all cellphone, microwave, and radio towers used by the Los Angeles Police Department, the Fire Department, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and other municipal agencies. The building has no name and is a large maintenance building for the antennae. From 1939 to 1947, this site was the location of the studios and transmitter of the first television station in Los Angeles, W6XAO (now KCBS-TV25/what-does-it-take-to-light-the-hollywood-sign-bet-awards |access-date=2022-12-24 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>

Guerilla

The sign has been unofficially altered a number of times, often eliciting a great deal of attention.[35] The modifications have included:

  • HOLLYWeeD – January 1976 and January 2017: The sign was first altered in 1976 by Daniel Finegood following the passage of a state law decriminalizing cannabis.[36] The sign was altered again early on New Year's Day in 2017, likely as an homage to a new California law legalizing recreational cannabis which passed during the 2016 election and which became effective on January 1.[37][38][39]
  • HOLYWOOD – April 1976 and September 1987: The 1976 alteration was for Easter sunrise service, viewable from the Hollywood Bowl.[36] The 1987 alteration was for Pope John Paul II when he visited; the second L was covered.[40][41]
  • GO NAVY – December 1983: A group of Midshipmen, with permission, covered the sign for the Army-Navy football game's first and only West Coast appearance.[42]
  • RAFFEYSOD – in 1985, an obscure rock band from New Orleans named the Raffeys altered the sign in an act of unauthorized self-promotion.[43][44]
  • OLLYWOOD – In 1987 the first letter of the sign was obscured to protest the perceived hero worship of Oliver North during the Iran–Contra hearings.[36][38]
  • OIL WAR – In 1990 the sign was changed to protest the Gulf War.[36]
  • PEROTWOOD – Supporters of Ross Perot in the 1992 United States presidential election briefly changed the sign in October 1992.[38][45][46]
  • JOLLYGOOD – 1993, unknown[46]
  • CALTECH – 1987: Occurred on Hollywood's centennial (of its incorporation as a municipality), also one of Caltech's many senior pranks.[47]
  • SAVE THE PEAK – February 11, 2010, the original letters were covered with a series of large banners reading "SAVE THE PEAK", part of a campaign by The Trust for Public Land to protect the land around the Hollywood Sign from real estate development (see above). As the changeover progressed, variations such as "SALLYWOOD", "SOLLYWOOD", and "SAVETHEPOOD" sprung up.[46]
  • HOLLYBOOB – On February 1, 2021, the sign was altered by the YouTuber Joogsquad and Instagram influencer Julia Rose to challenge censorship on Instagram.[48]
  • H🐮LLYWOOD – April 2, 2021: Los Angeles based band Junior Varsity put a cow face over the first "O" as a promotion for their single "Cold Blood".[49]

Proposed

Disney filed to put spots on the sign as a means of promoting its film 101 Dalmatians (1996); however, the request was later rescinded.[46]

Mayor Eric Garcetti signed an executive directive for a program to light up the sign on his last day in office in 2022. Mayor Karen Bass rescinded the order 10 days later because "there were concerns about the legality of the order".[50]

Depictions

Imitations

Multiple other places have imitated the sign in some way.

 
An episode of The Optimist, filmed in 1982, featured a swordfight shot in and around the sign.

In films and television shows, the Hollywood Sign is often used as an establishing shot for Los Angeles and Hollywood. The sign is also shown getting damaged or destroyed from the events of a particular scene; period pieces may show just the "LAND" portion of the original sign being destroyed. It is an example of national landmarks being destroyed, a common feature seen in many disaster movies to increase the drama and tension. It is frequently a shorthand device to indicate the destruction of all of Los Angeles or the state of California. The sign has been depicted getting destroyed in the movies Earthquake (1974), Superman The Movie (1978), The Rocketeer (1991), Demolition Man (1993), Independence Day (1996), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), 10.5 (2004), Terminator Salvation (2009), Sharknado (2013), San Andreas (2015), Despicable Me 3 (2017), Amphibia (2019-2022) and numerous other films.[76]

The sign is depicted in the Netflix Animation television show BoJack Horseman. During the middle of season 1, the "D" in the Hollywood sign is stolen. No attempt is made to replace it, and the neighborhood is referred to as "Hollywoo" for the remainder of the show, until its finale when it is accidentally renamed to "Hollywoob".[77]

See also

References

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