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.[1]

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."[2]

The sign was originally illuminated and stayed so for about a decade, until new owners decided keeping it lit was too expensive.[3]

They contracted the Crescent Sign Company to erect thirteen south-facing letters on the hillside. Crescent owner Thomas Fisk Goff (1890–1984) designed the wooden sign in 30-foot-wide (9.1 m) and 50-foot-high (15.2 m) white block letters. Studded with around 4,000 light bulbs, the completed sign alternated between flashing in successive segments "HOLLY," "WOOD," and "LAND" and as a whole.[4] Below the sign was a searchlight to attract more attention. The poles that supported the sign were hauled to the site by mules. The project cost $21,000,[5] equivalent to $330,000 in 2021.

The sign was officially dedicated in 1923, intended to last only a year and a half.[6] The rise of American cinema in Los Angeles during the Golden Age of Hollywood gave it widespread visibility, causing it to be left beyond that,[7] for over a quarter century still spelling "Hollywoodland".

Deterioration and 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,[8] while the Los Angeles Times said that the H was destroyed by "vandals or windstorms."[9]

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.[9] 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.[10] The restoration and removal of the "land" portion of the sign was conducted in September 1949.[8]

1970s

The sign's unprotected wood-and-sheet-metal structure deteriorated over the years. After a storm on 10 February 1978, the first O was splintered and broken, resembling a lowercase u, and the third O had fallen down completely, leaving the severely dilapidated sign reading "HuLLYWO D."[11][7]

In 1978, in large part because of the public campaign to restore the landmark by Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy magazine, 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 $1,040,000 in 2021) 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

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

H: Terrence Donnelly (publisher of the Hollywood Independent Newspaper) O: Alice Cooper (singer), who donated in memory of comedian Groucho Marx[15] L: Les Kelley (founder of Kelley Blue Book) L: Gene Autry (actor) Y: Hugh Hefner (founder of Playboy) W: Andy Williams (singer) O: Giovanni Mazza (Italian movie producer, co-founder of Panaria Film) O: Warner Bros. Records D: Dennis Lidtke (businessman, graphics company Gribbitt), donated in the name of Matthew Williams[12]: 166–167 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] and both locations are considerably farther away from other viewing locations or trails.[29][26]

In 2015, the city made the northern parts of Beachwood Canyon into preferential parking districts, restricting parking on most of the streets in the neighborhood only to its homeowners.[30]

In 2017, Beachwood Drive gate, an access point to the popular Hollyridge Trail, was closed to the public by city officials,[31] though it remains accessible as an exit.[32] The closure came as a response to a lawsuit by Sunset Ranch Hollywood Stables against the city for advertising a gate at the bottom of the trail, which directed tourists towards the Ranch's "exclusive easement (right of way) road".[31][33] The Los Angeles County Superior Court ruled that although the path was open to the public, the proliferation of its access by the city had interfered with the Ranch's business, thus the city was ordered either to provide access near the start of the easement or reopen a previously closed trail.[31] A spokesperson from the office of Councilman David Ryu, who succeeded Tom Labonge, stated that it was uncertain that the city could have kept the gate open while still complying with court orders.[31]

The Friends of Griffith Park, Los Feliz Oaks Homeowners Association, and the Griffith J. Griffith Charitable Trust filed a suit together to reverse the closing of the Beachwood Gate following its closure in 2017.[33] The court ruled in favor of Los Angeles and denied their 2018 appeal.[34]

An aerial tramway to the top of Mount Lee and the sign has been proposed numerous times.[35] 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.[36] 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.[37]

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.[38][39]