The Hollywoodland Sign was a relatively short-lived American landmark overlooking Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.
Taken in 1923, shortly after the sign's completion.
Timeline[]
Completion in 1923[]
The sign is completed, reading "Hollywoodland". Originally used to promote the name of a new housing development in the hills above the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, it soon gained popularity beyond advertising. As a result, it stayed up for much longer than was originally planned.
It had a few updates in the coming decades as well, such as the addition of steel beams to ensure strength.
The 1940s[]
Taken in 1950, during the sign's demolition.
In time, the sign began to deteriorate. During a particularly strong storm that hit the Los Angeles area, the support beams holding the "H" was destroyed. The Los Angeles Times tried to brush this incident off in 1944, saying that the H was destroyed by "vandals or windstorms." The H was later re-installed, but the memory never seemed to leave the minds of the Los Angeles citizens.
By 1949, citizens began to complain about the sign, calling it an "eyesore" and a "detriment to the community". There was an overwhelming amount of requests of demolition brought to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Eventually, they relented and began to formulate plans to take down the sign.
Demolition in 1950[]
After almost a year of deliberation, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce finally finished their demolition plans. They began from the right of the sign, removing each of the sheet metal letters from their steel frames. Once they completed this, they began to remove all of the steel beams from the hill. After this, the hill was completely empty for the first time in 27 years.
Taken in 2017, depicting the empty hill.
Post-1950[]
There has never been any revival plans for the Hollywoodland sign. As of 2020, there were talks of the hill being used as a site for a mansion, but these plans never came to fruition. Among certain Los Angeles residents, the sign is a distant memory. However, for most, it might as well have never existed.