50 Fun Facts About Hollywood Sign

What did the sign originally spell out when it was erected in 1923?

It advertised a new housing development in the hills; 'LAND' was removed in 1949.

The sign was originally put up as an advertisement for what?

Developers Woodruff and Shoults promised 'a superb environment without excessive cost on the Hollywood side of the hills'.

On which mountain does the Hollywood Sign stand?

It sits on the southern slope in Griffith Park, above Beachwood Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains.

How tall were the original 1923 letters?

The 1978 replacement letters are slightly shorter, at 44 to 45 feet.

Roughly how many light bulbs studded the original sign?

It flashed 'HOLLY', 'WOOD' and 'LAND' in turn, then all together, with a searchlight below.

How were the sign's telephone-pole supports carried up the steepest final stretch of hillside?

The last 70 metres or so were too steep for the tractor that hauled materials up the rest of the way.

How much did the original sign cost to build in 1923?

That is roughly $400,000 in 2025 money; the 1978 rebuild cost about $250,000.

How long was the sign intended to stand when it was dedicated in July 1923?

The rise of the film industry made it too famous to take down.

Which firm, owned by Thomas Fisk Goff, built the original letters?

He designed white block letters 30 feet wide and 50 feet high.

Which Los Angeles Times publisher was among the developers behind the 1923 housing scheme?

He also had a hand in Mulholland Drive, Dana Point and vast tracts of the San Fernando Valley.

Which silent-film pioneer's unbuilt hilltop mansion explains the flattened summit of Mount Lee?

He was one of the developers, and sold the land when his fortunes faded after the silent era.

Mount Lee is named after Don Lee, who was what?

His network founded W6XAO, the first television station in Los Angeles, on the summit in 1939.

Which actress died in September 1932 by jumping from the top of the sign's letter H?

She was 24 and had appeared in only one film, Thirteen Women, released after her death.

In which country was the actress who died jumping from the H born?

Born in Port Talbot, she made her name on Broadway, where a young Bette Davis saw her and resolved to become an actress.

Which future star saw the doomed actress in Ibsen's The Wild Duck and vowed to be just like her?

Davis later played the same role, Hedvig, and called Entwistle her inspiration.

Why was the sign's lighting switched off around 1933?

The sign then deteriorated for years; the H was destroyed in early 1944.

In what year were the letters LAND removed, leaving HOLLYWOOD?

Residents had called it an eyesore; the Chamber of Commerce agreed to repair it if it spelled the district rather than the housing scheme.

After a windstorm in February 1978, what did the battered sign appear to read?

The first O had splintered into a lowercase u and the third O had fallen down completely.

How much did each of the nine donors pay to sponsor a letter of the 1978 rebuild?

The total of about $250,000 bought steel letters on concrete footings, unveiled on a CBS special in November 1978.

Which singer paid for the third O of the sign in 1978, in memory of Groucho Marx?

Andy Williams paid for the W and Gene Autry for an L.

The Y of the rebuilt sign was sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce in honour of which magazine founder?

Hefner had hosted a fundraiser at the Playboy Mansion; decades later he gave the final $900,000 to Save the Peak.

Which founder of a used-car price guide paid for the first L in 1978?

The H was paid for by Terrence Donnelly, publisher of the Hollywood Independent.

How tall are the letters of the Hollywood Sign as rebuilt in steel in 1978?

They range from 31 to 39 feet wide and are steel on concrete footings; the whole sign weighs over 200 tons.

Who owns the physical Hollywood Sign?

The Chamber holds a trademark on a stylised HOLLYWOOD wordmark for merchandise, but not on the landmark itself.

Which nine-volunteer body, formed by the Chamber of Commerce in 1978, maintains the landmark?

Its nine volunteers have installed surveillance cameras, repainted the letters and thrown its anniversary parties.

What did the sign say for five days in 1987 to promote the launch of a new TV network?

The same year the second L was covered to read HOLYWOOD for Pope John Paul II's visit.

What was the sign altered to read by Daniel Finegood in January 1976, and again on New Year's Day 2017?

Both stunts followed the loosening of California's cannabis laws.

In 1987 the sign briefly read OLLYWOOD as a protest about whom?

It objected to the perceived hero-worship of North during the Iran-Contra hearings.

Students of which school altered the Hollywood sign to spell its name on its 1987 centennial?

Midshipmen had covered it with GO NAVY, with permission, for the 1983 Army-Navy game.

Which presidential candidate's supporters briefly changed the sign to PEROTWOOD in 1992?

Two years earlier it had been altered to read OIL WAR in protest at the Gulf War.

What did banners over the sign's letters spell in February 2010 to protest luxury homes beside it?

During the changeover it briefly read SALLYWOOD and SAVETHEPOOD.

Who donated the final $900,000 so the Trust for Public Land could buy 138 acres beside the sign?

He later added another $100,000, and the land became part of Griffith Park.

Howard Hughes bought the land beside the sign in 1940, planning to build a mansion there for which actress?

She broke off their engagement and the lot stayed empty until developers bought it in 2002.

What did the sign read for two days in February 2022 after Los Angeles's NFL team won the Super Bowl?

Bad weather left it reading RALLYOUSE for most of a day, to widespread mockery online.

Which letter was lit blue in October 2024 to celebrate the Dodgers' World Series win?

The sign had been lit in rainbow colours for Pride Month in 2022, its first illumination in 22 years.

Which actor free-climbs the Hollywood sign in the 2024 Olympic handover film?

The film marked the passing of the flag from Paris to Los Angeles, host of the 2028 Games.

Which studio offered in 2018 to fund a $100 million aerial tramway from its Burbank lot to the sign?

Disney had earlier withdrawn a plan to put spots on the sign to promote 101 Dalmatians.

To which two viewing spots did LA officials ask Google Maps and Garmin to steer tourists in 2012?

Beachwood Canyon residents were fed up with buses on their curving streets, and some put up fake 'no access' signs.

What happened to the original 1923 sign's sheet metal after it turned up on eBay in 2005?

He built an exact replica of the H from the metal in 2012 and got a certificate from the city council.

Which entertainer has said the sign inspired her own theme park, wishing she could change the H to a D?

Dollywood opened in Tennessee in 1986, the same year she told Spin the story.

Which fictional town has a matching sign that first appeared in a 1991 episode of The Simpsons?

It debuted in 'Flaming Moe's'; Grand Theft Auto's Vinewood is another parody.

After the 'Wellywood' sign flopped, what sign did New Zealand's capital erect instead in 2012?

It was a nod to the capital's famous wind and its film industry around Weta.

In which year was the sign's letter H destroyed, blamed on wind or vandals?

By 1949 residents were calling the sign an eyesore and the Chamber of Commerce stepped in to repair it.

Roughly how much did the nine 1978 donors raise in total to rebuild the sign in steel?

Each donor gave $27,778 to sponsor one letter.

Which cowboy actor and singer sponsored one of the two Ls in the 1978 rebuild?

The other L was paid for by Kelley Blue Book founder Les Kelley.

Which crooner paid for the W in the 1978 restoration?

Warner Bros. Records sponsored one of the Os.

In December 1983 the sign was covered, with permission, to read what for a football game?

It marked the Army-Navy game's first and only West Coast appearance.

Which company donated the November 2005 refurbishment that stripped the letters and repainted them white?

The Sign Trust orchestrated another repainting in 2022 ahead of the 2023 centennial.

In 1990 the sign was altered to read what, in protest at the Gulf War?

Other alterations include PEROTWOOD in 1992 and JOLLYGOOD in 1993.

Which honour did the Los Angeles Conservancy give the Hollywood Sign Trust in 2023?

The Trust, formed in 1978, has nine trustees and handles the sign's maintenance.