The Los Angeles Hollywood sign is very popular and familiar to most Americans. This sign was built in 1929 with wood and was previously named “HOLLYWOODLAND.” It was changed to “HOLLYWOOD” in 1949. The sign is the worldwide symbol of the entertainment industry, with the famous message that this place is full of magic and imagination. Now, the Hollywood sign is famous all around the world and can be viewed from everywhere as it represents the industry. The history of this sign is also interesting. The sign was made in 1923 to promote real estate in the Santa Monica Mountains. These letters were 45 feet high and were outlined by 4000 light bulbs. The sign HOLLYWOODLAND glowed in night and look amazing. The land was then given to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce in 1949. Over the course of more than half a century, the sign, designed to stand for only 18 months, sustained extensive damage and deterioration. During the early 1940s, Albert Kothe (the sign's official caretaker) caused an accident that destroyed the letter H, as seen in many historical pictures. Kothe, driving while inebriated, was nearing the top of Mount Lee when he lost control of his vehicle and drove off the cliff behind the H. While Kothe was not injured, the 1928 Ford Model A was destroyed, as was the letter. In 1949 the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce began a contract with the City of Los Angeles Parks Department to repair and rebuild the sign. The contract stipulated that "LAND" be removed to spell "Hollywood" and reflect the district, not the "Hollywoodland" housing development. The Parks Department dictated that all subsequent illumination would be at the Chamber's expense, so the Chamber opted not to replace the light bulbs. The 1949 effort gave it new life, but the sign's unprotected wood and sheet metal structure continued to deteriorate. By the 1970s, the first O had splintered and broken, resembling a lowercase u, and the third O had fallen down completely, leaving the severely dilapidated sign reading "HuLLYWO D". Following the 1978 public campaign to restore the sign, the following nine donors gave $27,777 each (which totaled $250,000): ⭐ H: Terrence Donnelly (publisher of the Hollywood Independent Newspaper) ⭐ O: Giovanni Mazza (Italian movie producer) ⭐ L: Les Kelley (originator of the Kelley Blue Book) ⭐ L: Gene Autry (actor) ⭐ Y: Hugh Hefner (founder of Playboy magazine) ⭐ W: Andy Williams (singer) ⭐ O: Warner Bros. Records ⭐ O: Alice Cooper (singer), who donated in memory of close friend and comedian Groucho Marx, and who joked that he would also donate an "O" from his last name ⭐ D: Thomas Pooley (donated in the name of Matthew Williams)
0 Comments
|
Archives
May 2022
Categories
All
|