Hollywood is a physical district in central Los Angeles, but it is also a mentality and culture, and the Hollywood Sign has come to signify all of these things and more in a profound way. Few landmarks and monuments have been able to achieve the status of the sign, which is especially impressive considering that it began as little more than a means to advertise the name of a new housing development.
The Hollywood Sign has been parodied, copied and celebrated in countless ways over the decades. It has also come to represent the film industry in Los Angeles as well as the aspirations of people who come to the city to be part of that industry. All of that has enabled the sign’s unique legacy as an American landmark and cultural icon.
Hollywoodland Becomes Hollywood
What became the Hollywood Sign was first erected in 1923 and originally read “HOLLYWOODLAND.” Its purpose was to advertise the name of a new housing development in the hills above the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. It was intended to only last for a year and a half, but after the rise of American cinema in Los Angeles, the sign became an internationally recognized symbol and was left in that position.
Originally, the sign was illuminated at night, with different portion lit up in succession. First “Holly” then “wood” and finally “land,” all punctuated by a giant period. Fires and the elements took their toll on the sign in the 30s and 40s, and the developers eventually abandoned the sign.
In 1949, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce took steps to repair and rebuild the sign. It did so on the condition that “LAND” be removed from the sign to reflect the district, not the housing development. The lights were removed and the sign was restored, but the sign’s unprotected wood and sheet metal structure continued to deteriorate. By the 1970’s, many of the letters were literally falling apart.
In 1978, the Chamber moved forward with an effort to completely replace the deteriorated sign with a more permanent structure. Nine donors provided the funds to erect each letter of the sign, which were now made of steel supported by steel columns on a concrete foundation. The new letters were 45 feet tall and ranged from 31 to 39 feet wide.
One of the reasons the sign has been able to achieve such iconic status is because of how many different ways there are to view it, and those range from seeing it from across the city to literally standing above it.
Viewing the Hollywood Sign from Above and Across Los Angeles
It’s possible to see the Hollywood Sign from a variety of places and vantage points throughout Los Angeles, and those range from a view platform at the Hollywood and Highland Center to the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Blvd to Paramount Studios. Depending on the vantage point, it’s even possible to see the sign from across the city, although these views are all much different than seeing the sign from behind.
There are a few options for viewers to hike to an area behind the sign in Griffith Park. The Hollyridge Trail and the Hollywood Reservoir Loop both allow visitors to get a unique view of the sign, although these trails and others offer a variety of destinations. Helpfully, the trails have been marked to help residents and visitors find their destination. Authorized hiking trails are open the same hours as Griffith Park, from Sunrise to Sunset, 365 days a year. Hikes are at a varying degree of difficulty, to the point that visitors can spend a few hours or an entire day on the trails.
Being able to get so close to such an iconic structure is a unique experience, and it literally brings people that much nearer to the concept and reality of Hollywood. Visitors range from residents to tourists to locals that are looking for some regular exercise, as the vantage point provides an incredible perspective of the landscape and urban environment that stretches out in every direction for many miles. It’s a view that is transformed at night, and similar to other monuments that provide distinct day/ night experiences by offering multiple reasons for making the trip.
Being able to experience the Hollywood Sign at such a close proximity allows people to perceive the monument on a totally different level, and many visitors personalize their experience with it. However, coming up to this vantage point is not necessary to appreciate the sign. Since it’s easy enough to see the Hollywood Sign from so many different places across the city, residents and visitors can purposefully choose how they want to interact with it, which informs their opinions and perceptions of it and the area as a whole.
These experiences are what drive the incredible economic impact of the Hollywood Sign, which is something individuals and the entire community have been able to benefit from.
The Economic Benefits of an Icon
The true economic impact of the Hollywood Sign is impossible to calculate, although it serves as the symbol of the entertainment industry itself, which has generated billions of dollars for the California economy. Of course, that figure is about far more than the Hollywood Sign, but the fact that it has become synonymous with such a lucrative industry is something many have been able to directly and indirectly utilize for economic benefit.
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce owns the licensing rights for the Sign’s image, and there is no shortage of items for sale around the city that feature the Hollywood Sign in one form or another. T-shirts, postcards and posters are just a few of the items that are readily available for purchase, but there are plenty of other items for sale as well that showcase the Hollywood Sign.
In addition to these items, the Hollywood Sign has been licensed by various organizations in order to promote a product of some sort. Whether it’s a local business promoting a tour or a company that wants to draw attention to themselves by utilizing something they know their audience will immediately recognize, the Hollywood Sign has been able to create a whole new revenue stream thanks to such agreements.
These sorts of opportunities can come in all forms. In May 2008, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce licensed exclusive rights to Plymouth Rock Studios of Massachusetts to merge “Hollywood” with “East”, creating Hollywood East, a new industry trademark that represents the growing film industry in New England.
The economic benefits of the Hollywood Sign have created indirect revenue opportunities for the community as well since there are more than 40 tour companies running buses and vans in and out of the canyon. This popularity has created logistical challenges for the city and residents, but that speaks to the power monuments have when it comes to attracting an audience.
Becoming a Cultural Icon
The Hollywood Sign is often featured alongside other iconic monuments like the Eiffel Tower, the Great Pyramids of Egypt, and New York’s Times Square during global TV coverage. It has established a place among the world’s most revered landmarks, and become shorthand for signifying Los Angeles, and even America as a whole.
The influence on people and culture from all over is evident in many ways. Multiple cites across the world have imitated the sign, which ranges from the Wellington Airport in New Zealand erecting a WELLYWOOD sign on a hillside to an imitation of the sign at Hollywood, County Wicklow in Ireland. The sign appears in artwork that ranges from canvas photos to sculptures on the High Line. Hindi cinema is often referred to as Bollywood.
This transition into a cultural icon has undoubtedly been driven by the film industry itself, as the Hollywood Sign is often shown getting damaged or destroyed by the events of a particular scene. It has also been altered for commercial or community reasons, such as when one of the L’s was blocked off so it appeared as “HOLYLAND” for Pope John Paul II when he visited Los Angeles, or when the original letters were covered with a series of large banners reading “SAVE THE PEAK” as part of a campaign by The Trust for Public Land to protect the land around the Hollywood Sign from real estate development.
That the Hollywood Sign has become recognized as a cultural landmark by so many is a combination of the physical nature of the sign as well as the concepts and ideals it has come to represent. This combination allows people to view and interact with it in different ways, regardless of whether or not they ever step foot in Los Angeles, much less make their way up to the sign itself. These multiple interpretations based on reality and perception by people across the world have allowed it to become such a cultural icon.
Back in the 1920s when the Hollywood Sign was first erected, few could have predicted that it would go on to achieve such notoriety. This incredible evolution into an American landmark and cultural icon is just one aspect of the legacy it has created.
The Legacy of the Hollywood Sign
The legacy that the Hollywood Sign has enabled is easy to see in a physical sense, as the sign can be clearly seen from multiple places in Los Angeles, while representations of it can be seen and purchased in countless manners. These physical manifestations are secondary to the reality of a sign made of steel and concrete that sits on the side of Mount Lee though.
The Hollywood Sign continues to inspire filmmakers and enthusiasts from around the world, while also playing a key role in keeping Los Angeles at the center of the global entertainment industry. Today it represents a spirit as much as it does a physical place, which is proof of what kind of an impact a monument can have on a community and entire culture.
