- published: 27 May 2016
- views: 1647805
The Hollywood Sign (formerly the Hollywoodland Sign) is a landmark and American cultural icon located in Los Angeles, California. It is situated on Mount Lee, in the Hollywood Hills area of the Santa Monica Mountains. The sign overlooks Hollywood, Los Angeles.
"HOLLYWOOD" is spelled out in 45-foot-tall (14 m) white capital letters and is 350 feet (110 m) long. It was originally created in 1923 as an advertisement for a local real estate development, but it garnered increasing recognition after the sign was left up. The sign was a frequent target of pranks and vandalism, but it has since undergone restoration, including the installation of a security system to deter vandalism. The sign is protected and promoted by The Trust For Public Land, a nonprofit organization, while its site and the surrounding land are part of Griffith Park.
From the ground, the contours of the hills give the sign a "wavy" appearance, as reflected in the Hollywood Video logo, for example. When observed at a comparable altitude, the letters appear nearly level.
Hollywood (/ˈhɒliwʊd/ HOL-ee-wuud) is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood is notable for its place as the home of the U.S. film industry, including several of its historic studios. Its name has come to be a metonym for the motion picture industry of the United States. Hollywood is also a highly ethnically diverse, densely populated, economically diverse neighborhood and retail business district.
Hollywood was a small community in 1870 and was incorporated as a municipality in 1903. It officially merged with the city of Los Angeles in 1910, and soon thereafter a prominent film industry began to emerge, eventually becoming the most recognizable film industry in the world.
In 1853, one adobe hut stood in Nopalera (Nopal field), named for the Mexican Nopal cactus indigenous to the area. By 1870, an agricultural community flourished. The area was known as the Cahuenga Valley, after the pass in the Santa Monica Mountains immediately to the north.
He came down from the south of Brooklyn
Spirits high or so they said
He got stories about this land that they never knew
They don't understand him
She was seventeen and her life was open
Her mom was gone and her dad was dead
Down on fourth-street looking for the home she never had
They don't understand her anyway
And the moon will rise and the sun will still shine
And the days will roll by like everything was fine
And the moon will rise and the sun will still shine
And life will roll on... 'round the Hollywood sign
Johny's flying in the likes of heaven
Spirits high or so they say
And he knows there'll be better days
Better nights, it's a bitter game
They don't understand him anyway
They've got contracts in their pockets
And their suits are made of gold
And they'll make you act so sleazy
They'll tell you you're to old
Then they'll come and knock your door down
And hope that you are blind
But life will roll on... 'round this big sign
And the moon will rise and the sun will still shine
And the days will roll by like everything was fine
And the moon will rise and the sun will still shine