Hollywood Sign

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The Hollywood Sign is a row of giant white letters on Mount Lee, a peak in the Santa Monica Mountains above Los Angeles, California. Each letter is about 14 metres (45 feet) tall, and the word can be seen from far across the city. It has become a symbol of Hollywood, the home of the American film industry, and it appears in countless films and television shows.

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At a glance

Country: United States
Location: Los Angeles, USA
Built: 1923
Height: 14 m
Type: Monument

Quick answers

Where is Hollywood Sign?

Hollywood Sign is in Los Angeles, USA, United States.

When was Hollywood Sign built?

Hollywood Sign was built in 1923.

How tall is Hollywood Sign?

Hollywood Sign is about 14 m tall.

Giant white letters on the Hollywood Hills, a worldwide symbol of the American film industry.

The sign began in 1923 as an advertisement. Harry Chandler, publisher of the Los Angeles Times newspaper, paid $21,000 for a sign reading "HOLLYWOODLAND" to promote a new housing development in the hills. It was meant to last only about 18 months, but people grew so used to it that it stayed. Today it belongs to the City of Los Angeles and is cared for by the Hollywood Sign Trust.

History

The first letters were made of wood and were about 15 metres tall. Around 4,000 light bulbs covered them, and the sign flashed "HOLLY", "WOOD" and "LAND" in turns before lighting up all at once. The lights were switched off around 1933 because they cost too much to run. When the housing development failed, the sign went unrepaired and became city property in 1944. In 1949 the last four letters, "LAND", were removed, leaving the word HOLLYWOOD. In 1973 Los Angeles made it an official historic landmark.

A sign reborn

By the 1970s the old sign was falling apart: the top of the "D" and the whole third "O" had tumbled down the hill. In 1978 the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce decided to rebuild it completely. At a fundraising party, each letter was "sold" to a sponsor for $27,700, and supporters included the rock singer Alice Cooper and the cowboy film star Gene Autry. The new letters were made of steel set on concrete footings, built to last much longer. The sign got a full repaint in 2012 and celebrated its 100th birthday in 2023.

Visiting today

You cannot walk right up to the letters. The sign sits on steep, rough ground, and fences, motion detectors and cameras, first installed in 2000, alert the police if anyone enters the closed area. Instead, visitors hike on trails in Griffith Park or visit lookout points around the city to take photos. The sign sits at an elevation of about 481 metres, so it is easy to spot from many parts of Los Angeles.

Fun facts

It originally read 'HOLLYWOODLAND' and advertised a housing development.
The original sign was covered with about 4,000 light bulbs.
Mules carried the poles for the first sign up the steep hillside.
When the sign was rebuilt in 1978, sponsors paid $27,700 for each letter.
Mount Lee is named after Don Lee, whose company built a television tower there in 1939 that was the highest-elevation TV transmission tower in the world at the time.
The sign was only supposed to stand for about a year and a half, but it has lasted more than 100 years.