On July 13, 1923, Mount Lee in Los Angeles' Griffith Park became the most famous landmark in the world. The original sign was erected in 1923 as a publicity stunt to encourage home sales in the Hollywoodland subdivision near Beechwood Canyon. Hollywood was in its infancy in those days and was deluded by the people of the East. They came looking for plantations and sunshine and when they got there they needed a place to live. Promoter and filmmaker Mack Sennett wanted the Hollywoodland subdivision to offer the location, but like everything else in Tinseltown, the sign was just a facade. Profitable construction is planned for only one and a half years.
It cost $21,000 to build and each letter was 30 feet wide and 50 feet tall. The entire name was filled with low wattage light bulbs and could be seen for miles. Over time, the signal decayed and the light bulbs burned out, broke, or were stolen. Maintenance of the sign was discontinued in 1939. Then in the fall of 1944, H. who became the developers of the old Hollywood housing district. The Sherman Company acquired 455 acres of land adjacent to Griffith Park to the City of Los Angeles. The property included the Hollywood sign.
The weather-beaten sign remained untouched for the next five years and fell further into disrepair. Then in 1949, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce planned to repair and rebuild the sign. They removed the "land" from the line of letters and it just read "Hollywood". The cost to repair the sign was about $4,000, but the light bulbs were not replaced. Despite the work done, the sign continued to decline until the late 1970s. Instead of those letters, a fundraising campaign was started. Donors were asked to donate $27,700 each to purchase a replacement letter.
In August 1978, Pacific Outdoor Advertising Company, along with Hughes Helicopters and Heath Music Company, demolished the remains of the original sign and installed new steel letters. The sign now spans 450 feet on both sides of the wooden hill and is 50 feet high.
Like the Chinese theater, whether it's called the Grauman's or the Man's, the Hollywood sign is a definitive symbol of Hollywood and perhaps the film industry itself. For movie buffs, no trip to Southern California is complete without seeing The Sign — there's nothing quite like it in the world.
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