The ‘Hollywood’ sign has turned into a major landmark for the area, but when it was installed on June 13, 1923 it was just an advertising sign for a new housing development in Los Angeles.
Real estate developers Woodruff and Shoults called their development “Hollywoodland” and advertised it as a “superb environment without excessive cost on the Hollywood side of the hills.”
When dedicated the sign there were 13 letters each standing at 50 feet high spelling out the development’s name, Hollywoodland. It was never thought that the sign would be permanent, but it has become a symbol for Los Angeles. The original sign’s cost was 21,000 dollars.
The sign had 4,000 20 watt light bulbs as well as a giant white dot (35 feet in diameter, with 20-watt lights on the perimeter) below the sign to catch the eye. The lights on the sign blinked at night first “Holly” then “wood” then “land,” and finally punctuated by a giant period.
‘Land’ was removed from the sign when a 1949 contract between the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and the Parks Department to repair and rebuild the sign stipulated that the sign should represent the area and not the development.
In 1978 after the sign had fallen into deterioration it again was restored. Through the efforts and donations of many including rocker Alice Cooper a quarter million dollar project replaced the letters with those made of steel. These letter were 5 feet shorter than the original and are 45 feet tall.
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