THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN

The famous landmark Hollywood sign was erected high up in the Hollywood Hills in 1923 at a cost of $21,000.  When originally built, the sign spelled out ‘Hollywoodland’ in letters thirty feet wide and fifty feet high, and was studded with thousands of light bulbs.  A man living in a small hut behind the sign was employed full-time to change the light bulbs when necessary.  The last four letters of the sign fell away in a mudslide during World War II and were never replaced.

The Hollywood sign has been the site of frequent suicide attempts; the first to jump to her death from the sign was failed startlet Peg Entwhistle, who took her last leap in 1932.

The dilapidated sign was declared a historic landmark in 1973 and was completely replaced in 1978 at a cost of $27,000 per letter.