High above Los Angeles, nestled in the craggy hills of Griffith Park, nine massive white letters have become one of the most recognizable symbols not only of a city, but of an entire global industry. The Hollywood Sign, now synonymous with stardom, ambition, and the American entertainment dream, was never intended to last a century. Its origin was not rooted in film or celebrity, but in real estate. The story of the Hollywood Sign is not only a chronicle of one of Los Angeles’s most iconic landmarks, but a mirror to the changing identity of the city and the film industry it came to represent.
In 1923, as Los Angeles experienced a population explosion and the film industry was in the midst of an unprecedented boom, a local real estate development company saw an opportunity to capitalize on the momentum. Harry Chandler, publisher of the Los Angeles Times and one of the developers behind the Hollywoodland housing project, invested in an ambitious promotional stunt. On the southern slope of Mount Lee, in the Hollywood Hills, his team erected a colossal billboard intended to draw attention to upscale properties for sale in the surrounding area. The sign they built spelled out "HOLLYWOODLAND" in capital letters, each one approximately 50 feet tall and 30 feet wide, supported by telephone poles and covered in white metal panels. More than 4,000 lightbulbs were installed across the letters, designed to flash in segments, first "HOLLY," then "WOOD," then "LAND," and finally all together. At the time, the sign cost around $21,000 to build, which, adjusted for inflation, would be the equivalent of approximately $370,000 today. It was never intended to be permanent. The developers expected it to remain standing for a year and a half, after which it would be dismantled once the neighborhood was fully promoted.
The promotional campaign, however, coincided with a golden era for both Los Angeles and Hollywood. In the 1920s, Los Angeles was growing faster than any other major American city, with its population nearly doubling between 1920 and 1930 to exceed 1.2 million residents. The movie industry was also flourishing. Hollywood had become the center of American film production due to its favorable weather, diverse filming locations, and distance from the patent restrictions of the Edison Trust on the East Coast. As a result, the "Hollywoodland" sign quickly became a geographic reference point for locals and tourists, its massive presence in the hills lending a strange and whimsical grandeur to the fledgling industry taking root below. Though the lights were eventually turned off due to maintenance costs, the sign itself remained standing long past its initial expiration date.
By the 1930s, however, the sign had begun to deteriorate. Harsh weather conditions, high winds, and a lack of upkeep led to sagging letters and structural instability. In 1932, the Hollywood Sign became the site of a tragedy that would forever tie it to a more melancholic narrative. Peg Entwistle, a 24-year-old actress originally from Wales, who had appeared in a handful of stage productions and had recently acted in her first film, climbed to the top of the "H" and jumped to her death. Her body was discovered two days later, along with a suicide note in which she expressed her despair at having failed to make it in Hollywood. Her death became one of the earliest and most iconic tragedies linked to the mythos of the Hollywood dream, a grim reminder that the pursuit of fame could be as crushing as it was alluring.
By the 1940s, the sign’s decay became too severe to ignore. In 1944, the original developers of Hollywoodland dissolved, and ownership of the sign was transferred to the City of Los Angeles. With no budget or immediate plan for restoration, the sign continued to fall apart. In 1947, the “H” had fallen over completely. Public pressure to either restore or remove the dilapidated structure mounted. Eventually, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce stepped in. In 1949, the organization agreed to fix the sign, provided that the last four letters, "LAND, "be removed. This marked the beginning of the sign’s transformation from a private advertisement into a public cultural symbol. The remaining letters were repaired and repainted, and for the first time, the sign read "HOLLYWOOD," solidifying its identity as a representation of the American film industry as a whole rather than a specific neighborhood development.
Despite its symbolic importance, the sign continued to suffer from neglect through the 1950s and 1960s. It was vandalized frequently, battered by weather, and remained vulnerable to fire and collapse. By the 1970s, the situation had become critical. Several of the letters were so damaged that they had to be propped up by makeshift supports. The third "O" had collapsed entirely, and the first “L” had been set on fire. It became clear that the sign needed a complete overhaul, not just cosmetic fixes. In 1973, the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Board declared the Hollywood Sign a Historic-Cultural Monument, officially recognizing its significance to the city’s history. Yet this recognition did not come with funding for repairs, and the sign continued to deteriorate.
In 1978, a campaign was launched to save the sign once and for all. Led by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and backed by the newly created Hollywood Sign Trust, the effort attracted national media attention. The campaign received crucial support from Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner, who hosted a fundraiser at his mansion. Each of the nine letters was auctioned off for sponsorship for $27,777. Celebrities, including rocker Alice Cooper, who dedicated his contribution in honor of comedian Groucho Marx, as well as musicians Gene Autry and Andy Williams, participated in the campaign. The old structure was torn down and replaced with a far more durable version. Steel beams and corrugated metal letters were anchored to concrete foundations. Each new letter stood 45 feet tall and was constructed to withstand decades of sun, rain, wind, and the shifting earth beneath the hills. The reconstruction cost approximately $250,000, which would amount to nearly $1.2 million in today’s currency.
Since then, the Hollywood Sign has been maintained by the Hollywood Sign Trust, a nonprofit formed in 1992 to oversee its preservation. The Trust is responsible for everything from repainting the letters to ensuring security measures, which include motion sensors, fencing, closed-circuit cameras, and a full-time security presence. In 2010, a new threat emerged when developers sought to build luxury homes near the site. Once again, Hugh Hefner came forward with a donation of $900,000 to help purchase 138 acres surrounding the sign and preserve the area as open parkland. The donation was part of a broader $12.5 million campaign that secured the land and protected the viewshed of the sign for future generations.
Despite its secure status, the Hollywood Sign has continued to evolve as a cultural touchstone and occasionally, a target of pranks and political statements. In 1976, to celebrate the decriminalization of marijuana in California, pranksters altered the sign to read "HOLLYWEED." The same stunt was repeated in 2017 following the statewide legalization of recreational marijuana. Other transformations have included “HOLYWOOD” for the Pope’s visit in 1987, “GO NAVY” during an Army-Navy football rivalry, “OIL WAR” in protest of the Gulf War, and “RAMS HOUSE” after the Los Angeles Rams won Super Bowl LVI in 2022. Though city officials have worked to prevent such alterations, the sign’s visibility and symbolism make it an irresistible canvas for public commentary.
The sign has also become a cinematic character in its own right, featured in films such as Superman, The Day After Tomorrow, San Andreas, and Independence Day, where it is often destroyed as a shorthand for Hollywood's vulnerability. Its presence in these films, often during apocalyptic scenarios, speaks to its broader resonance. The destruction of the Hollywood Sign onscreen feels like the destruction of a myth, the end of an idea, and the loss of a symbol that for many represents not just entertainment, but the very promise of transformation and escape.
As of 2025, the Hollywood Sign stands strong after more than a century of transformation. It has gone from a commercial gimmick to a cultural monument, from a decaying structure to a fortified landmark. At 45 feet tall, 350 feet wide, and weighing a combined 480,000 pounds, it is visible from much of the Los Angeles basin and remains one of the most photographed sites in California. Plans are currently underway to develop a visitor center and museum to share the story of the sign’s complex past with the millions who visit the area each year.
What began as a temporary advertisement has become a lasting monument. The Hollywood Sign is no longer merely a sign, nor even just a symbol. It is a piece of collective memory, a visual shorthand for the hopes, illusions, and contradictions of the entertainment capital of the world. It is the past and present of Los Angeles, forever suspended above the city, watching, dreaming, enduring.
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