Guides / Hollywood & award-show drama
The Hollywood sign was built to sell houses
The world's most famous sign started in 1923 as a temporary billboard reading HOLLYWOODLAND for a real estate development. Here is how it became a landmark.
A billboard for a housing estate
In the early 1920s, real estate developers in Los Angeles were building a new housing development in the hills above the Hollywood district. They called it Hollywoodland, and to advertise it they hired a sign company to put up a giant sign on the hillside.
The sign spelled HOLLYWOODLAND in white capital letters about 50 feet tall, with the whole word running about 450 feet long. It was studded with around 4,000 light bulbs that flashed in segments, HOLLY, then WOOD, then LAND, and then the whole word. It was officially dedicated on July 13, 1923, and it was only meant to last about a year and a half.
The sign that would not come down
Nobody took it down. As Hollywood became the center of the American film industry during the studio era, the sign became a symbol of the movies themselves. Tourists photographed it, and films and newsreels showed it.
Without regular care, though, it fell apart. The wooden and sheet metal letters weathered badly, and the H was destroyed in the 1940s, blamed on wind or vandals depending on the report. In 1949 the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce agreed to repair the sign, but the last four letters, LAND, were removed. From then on it read HOLLYWOOD, advertising the whole district instead of a housing estate.
Rebuilt in steel
By the 1970s the sign was in poor shape again, with damaged and missing letters. In 1978 it was completely replaced. Donors sponsored individual letters, and the new sign was built from steel with concrete footings. The new letters are about 45 feet tall, slightly shorter than the originals.
The Hollywood Sign Trust, a nonprofit formed in 1978, now promotes and protects the sign, and the land is owned by the City of Los Angeles.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1923 | HOLLYWOODLAND sign erected and dedicated |
| 1949 | LAND removed, sign repaired to read HOLLYWOOD |
| 1978 | Entire sign replaced with steel letters |
| Today | Protected landmark managed by a nonprofit trust |
Visiting today
The sign sits on Mount Lee, above Beachwood Canyon, in the Santa Monica Mountains. You cannot walk up to the letters: the area is fenced and monitored, and trespassing is illegal. The best views come from public spots such as Griffith Observatory, hiking trails in Griffith Park and viewpoints around Lake Hollywood. Neighborhood streets near the trails are residential, so parking and noise rules are strict.
Go early in the morning for clear views and fewer crowds. Afternoon haze and sun angle can make photos look washed out.
What it teaches
- Ads can become icons. A temporary marketing stunt became one of the most recognized landmarks on Earth.
- Meaning shifts over time. The sign first meant "buy a house here." Now it means "the movies."
- Landmarks need care. Twice the sign nearly fell apart, and both times people had to step in and pay to save it.
- Small edits change everything. Dropping four letters turned a property ad into a global symbol.
For drama that happened in the shadow of the sign, read about the 2017 Oscars envelope mix-up.
