Hollywood Sign turns 100 years old

The famous lettering in the hills above Los Angeles, the Hollywood sign, is 100 years old. But it’s not that easy to visit. Read more about its history here.

The famous Hollywood Sign is one of the most famous signs in the world. Movies, careers and dreams, but also some nightmares, have been created under the watchful letters. Anyone hiking in the mountains and approaching the letters will find warning signs threatening arrests and fines if they climb the lettering. There are also warnings about mountain lions and rattlesnakes.

Nevertheless, the lettering has an almost magical effect. The letters, which are around 13 meters high and up to 12 meters wide, are one of the most frequently photographed motifs in Los Angeles. They also regularly appear in Hollywood films and have found many imitators around the world. The lettering is particularly easy to spot from the hiking trails in Griffith Park.

The Hollywood Sign is managed by a non-profit organization called “The Hollywood Sign Trust”. It works to preserve the landmark, which is an international symbol of filmmaking.

The letters have adorned the difficult-to-access terrain since 1923. Workers dragged the material up the mountain, also using donkeys. Old wooden telephone poles and pieces of sheet metal were used to create the original lettering. It was slightly longer than the one we know today: “Hollywoodland” could be read at the time. This was originally a publicity stunt by a real estate company that wanted to sell more properties in the uninhabited Hollywood Hills. The billboard was lit up at night with 3,700 light bulbs. And a German named Albert Kothe was responsible for maintaining the lighting.

The billboard quickly became an icon, but also brought sad stories with it. In 1932, for example, the young actress Peg Entwistle, who was unable to find work, threw herself to her death from the letter H. As far as is known, this is the only suicide from the Hollywood sign.

Over time, the letters weathered and some of them toppled over. The paint peeled off until the Hollywood Sign no longer looked attractive. Some wanted to tear the sign down, but in the late 1940s the iconic lettering prevailed: It was refurbished by the city and shortened by four letters, so that from then on “Hollywood” could be read in the hills.

This was followed in 1978 by another facelift by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and prominent donors. The letters were completely replaced and were produced on sturdy steel beams and huge corrugated metal panels. Hugh Hefner from Playboy sponsored a Y, rocker Alice Cooper an O. Since then, the lettering has endured and even survived forest fires and earthquakes.

The large letters above Los Angeles are a constant source of amusement and jokes. When Pope John Paul II visited the city in 1987, the lettering greeted him with “Holywood”. The Hollywood Sign is often destroyed in films, with ever more creative variations being used.

There are more serious plans for the anniversary year 2023: a visitor center is to be built at the sign so that visitors can learn more about its history. The sign was given a new coat of paint in the fall of 2022. 1,500 liters of white paint were needed to spruce up the Hollywood Sign in time for the anniversary year.

Various festivities will now take place in 2023 to celebrate the history of the Hollywood Sign. However, there is no current news about the new visitor center. If you want to visit the sign in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains, you can go hiking in the mountains: From the Brush Canyon Trail or the Griffith Observatory, for example, you have a very nice view of the sign.

With ongoing debates and complaints about Hollywood culture, gender equality in the industry and actors’ pay, many people have a critical view of Hollywood. As far back as the 1930s, the Guardian reports, Los Angeles faced harsh criticism for not having (and still not having) a café culture like Paris or Berlin. The city’s most famous landmark is located outside in the mountains, is monitored by cameras around the clock and is not directly accessible to the public.

Although the Hollywood Sign has had a varied and sometimes critical history, it is still the most recognizable monument in Los Angeles. It can be seen in the first few minutes of numerous films. And anyone who visits the city cannot avoid taking photos. The walk is arduous and even those who get close to the sign are not allowed to touch it – a bit like Hollywood itself, isn’t it?

By the way: in 2017, a competition was held for a house directly under the Hollywood sign. However, the property has not yet been built on.