The sign that today is a symbol of Hollywood first appeared as an advertisement for a housing development in 1923. It read HOLLYWOODLAND until 1949, when the city council ordered the removal of the L-A-N-D to reflect the greater Hollywood community.
The sign was also the site of a dramatic suicide that seemed right out of the movies. After he film debut, Broadway actress Peg Enwhistle jumped from the top of the 'H" in 1932.
The sign later fell into disrepair, a state that many older readers will remember with disdain. Massive restoration fundraising and care have since returned the sign to its former grandeur, although the sign is now five feet shorter than it once was.
Get the full story by watching this video, commissioned by the Art Institute of California-Hollywood:
Photo Credit: The image accompanying this post was taken by Flickr user The City Project. It was used under Creative Commons license.
-
Make Your Mouth Water
Soup is straightforward in theory. It's complexity lies in the execution... in how you build flavors and the first flavor layer can come from a mirepoix. Unlike "soup," "mirepoix" is fun to say and it's the colors of the Irish flag, which makes me like it even more.
-
Gov. Brown Sworn In, Faces Tough Job
Our new/old Governor Jerry Brown is inaugurated into a job that promises to be more trouble than even this old pol can skillfully navigate.
-
Empty
These are the empty days. Their hours are filled with blank stares past cubicle walls and through tinted windows. The end is not over and the beginning is far from started.
-
Why Does it Take 20 Years to Build A Shopping Center in South Central?
The 20-year struggle to get a shopping center built at Slauson and Central reveals long-standing problems with the politics of development in L.A.
facebook.com/KCET28
@KCET
RSS: Full KCET Feed
Leave a comment