Hollywood Sign
Hollywoodland was an upscale real estate development (now Beachwood Canyon) and the sign on Mt. Lee was a billboard for it. The 50′ high letters were erected in 1923 for $21,000 and originally meant to last just 18 months. When the ‘H’ fell over in 1949, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce took over maintenance and ownership, repairing the sign, but dropping the “land.” In 1978, the letters were torn down and rebuilt thanks to Playboy’s Hugh Hefner’s fundraiser through which friends, including Andy Williams, Gene Autry, Alice Cooper and Hefner himself, sponsored a letter at $27,777 each.
Beachwood Canyon, Los Angeles County
Images by Andrew Schmidt