SIGNATURES & LANDMARKS

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THE VENERABLE OLD SIGN NESTLED ABOVE BEACHWOOD CANYON IN THE HOLLYWOOD HILLS REMAINS AMONG THE MOST RECOGNIZED LANDMARKS IN THE WORLD

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By Erika Thomas

COURTESY OF THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN TRUST AND HOLLYWOODPHOTOGRAPHS.COM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED More than nine decades after its inception, the sign that began as a way to advertise real estate remains an icon of fame and pop-culture, and is arguably the most famous landmark in the world.

In the early 1900s, a burgeoning movie industry had ushered in a slue of wealthy and powerful residents to the area that would eventually become Hollywood. Film producers had been attracted to southern California for its versatile terrain and agreeable climate. By 1920, with upwards of 40 million Americans going to the movies each week, Tinsel Town had officially landed on the map.

Real estate investor and “Los Angeles Times” publisher Harry Chandler saw potential in investing in the quickly-populating area. Chandler would fork over $21,000 (about $260,000 today) to construct a sign for his exclusive Hollywoodland Real Estate venture.

Dedicated on July 13, 1923, the massive advertisement contained 13 letters (the “Land” portion would be removed in 1949) and measured 30 feet wide by 43 feet tall — this was impressive, considering that each letter had to be dragged up to the precarious location via steep, unpaved dirt paths. The soon-to-be-famous sign boasted 4,000 light bulbs, 20 watts each. It was also reported in a Hollywoodland advertisement (in Chandler’s own LA Times) that “200 men were employed, 7 miles of road had been cut and 300,000 cubic yards of dirt had been moved.”

By day, the ominous letters marked Chandler’s vast real estate boom town; by night, the glamorous letters — which blinked “Holly” then “Wood” then “Land”— was becoming a star in its own right. In 1930, Thomas Lee took his father’s

“Today, the billboard that was only meant to last 18 months remains among the most-visited landmarks in the world.”

(radio pioneer Don Lee) following to the small-screen. Broadcasting news and other events from the Hollywood sign (the area around it had been dubbed “Mt. Lee”), the younger Lee brought a visual to the day-to-day glamour of L.A. life.

The sign would become the object of scandal in 1933 when New York stage actress Peg Entwistle plunged to her death from the letter “H.” Entwistle, who’d failed to succeed at the film career she’d so desperately wanted, would finally achieve fame in her death. She would go down in infamy as the “Hollywood Sign Girl.”

By the end of the 1940s, Harry Chandler’s real estate venture was defunct (a residual effect of the Great Depression) and the letters of the one-time billboard were now decaying. Albert Kothe, the sign’s caretaker didn’t help matters when he drove drunk one night and lost control of his vehicle, destroying the letter “H.” Though the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce teamed up with the city of Los Angeles to repair the façade in 1949, the sign would continue to deteriorate over the next two decades.

If the first 20 years of its life were about promoting Hollywood real estate, the years to come would be about preserving its cultural and historic impact.

In the 1970s, recognizing the desperate need for restoration (the top of the first “O” had all but eroded and the second one had fallen off and tumbled down the hill, now reading “Hullywod”) the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce commissioned a quarter million dollar renovation.

Hugh Hefner, who’s been called “the sign’s number one fan,” stepped up by hosting a gala to auction off brand-new letters for $27,700 each. Some of the biggest names in the biz helped fund the effort, including Gene Autry, who purchased an “L,” Warner Bros. an “O” and singer Andy Williams, a “W.”

Throughout the 1980s and 90s, efforts continued to revitalize the sign, as well as the city of Hollywood continued.

Today, the billboard that was only meant to last 18 months remains among the most-visited landmarks in the world. It’s a destination for everyone from photographers, historians and film buffs, to outdoor and environmental enthusiasts. The sign that Hugh Hefner has called “Hollywood’s Eiffel Tower” remains a symbol of celebrity, glamour and fame — and has a mystique that can only be found in Hollywood.

For information about visiting the Hollywood sign, go to www.hollywoodsign.org v

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