Today out of the blue my friend Sinuhe called me and said "Hey let's hike up to the Hollywood sign!" I was a little shocked that he had never been up to it in all the years he has lived here. It was one of the first things I did when I first moved here and love the history of the sign itself.
Most people don't realize that the Hollywood sign was originally nothing more than a billboard for a lamer than lame realty venture called HOLLYWOODLAND REALTY. Originally erected in 1923 the sign did little for the realty business and soon became nothing more than a marquee for the city itself. With no maintenance the sign sat in a state of decay until 1949 when the chamber of commerce saw an opportunity to use the sign as a local attraction. They dropped the "LAND" and spruced up the remaining letters.
After years of neglect the sign once again became more of an eyesore and an embarrassment to the city of Hollywood until in the mid 1970's rocker legend Alice Cooper, Gene Autry, Hugh Hefner and other sponsors renovated the sign at $27,700 a letter.
Here are some cool facts about the sign
• The sign company owner, Thomas Fisk Goff (1890–1984) designed the sign. Each letter of the sign was 30 ft (9 m) wide and 50 ft (15 m) high
• Original cost was $21,000. Letters were 30 feet wide and 50 feet tall, and were studded with low wattage light bulbs, 4,000 altogether. The Sign was expected to last a year and a half.
• Maintenance of the Sign was discontinued in 1939. Late in 1944, the M. H. Sherman Company, developers of the Hollywoodlands, quit claimed to the City of Los Angeles about 455 acres of land adjoining Griffith Park, which property included the Sign.
• Actress Peg Entwistle, Despondent over her lagging film career, leaped to her death from the letter H in 1932.
• In 1976 trouble makers altered the sign to read HOLLYWEED to tout the newly changed marijuana laws that had just been passed. And then in 1987 changed the sign to read HOLYWOOD during a visit by Pope John Paul II
As we found out on our hike, the sign has 24 hour surveillance, motion detectors, park rangers and webcams. Not the best place for two guys with greencards to be snooping around. So if you come to Hollywood it is always a fun trip up to see the sign. You can find out a lot more about the signs history as well as the best vantage points for photos at the hollywoodsign website
