Where did Hollywood get the idea for the Hollywood sign?

Answer 1

The letters are 50 feet high and 30 feet across (in the 1920's they were smaller, but because of decay the letters were made taller and wider.) In 1923 the sign was actually put up as a Real Estate gimick by Harry Chandler of the L.A. times Chandler and his investors owned most of the San Fernando Valley. 'Hollywoodland' to get people to invest in the surrounding property. Chandler sensed an opportunity in movies and discussed this when director Mack Sennett who was in charge of the investment company that did the development. It was at this time the letters stood 50 feet high and 30 feet across with over over 4,000 light bulbs, but eventually, due to the public stealing them the light bulbs were no longer used. The Movie industry was growing in leaps and bounds from the late early 1900's (silent film). The likes of Fattie Arbuckle, Mary Pickford were famous at the time and everyone knew exactly how important they were when they looked up at that sign. On September 16, 1932 a young actress named Peg Entwistle who had come to Hollywood to make her fortune found it hard going. She landed a few parts, but she never became famous. She felt she had failed and on September 16, 1932 told her friends she was going for a walk. She went to the Hollywood sign, found a maintenance ladder and climbed up to the top of the 'H' on the sign and jumped. Ironically the very next day a telegram had come for her stating she had a lead roll in a theater play. Because of her suicide and one other (name not given) the sign's charm faded and reminded those seeking success in the movies that it was the land of broken dreams. In the 1930's the 1929 Stock Market crash sent real estate prices crashing and the sign was left in ill repair. The 'H' eventually toppled in the wind and the damage made people take notice so the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce steppin and offered to remove the last four letters of the sign and repair the rest, thus, 'Hollywood' and no longer 'Hollywoodland.' In the 1960's the sign once again fell into disrepair and the Hollywood Kiwanis Club raised money to fix the damage, but after using the last of their funds to restore the 'D' one of the '0's' crashed down the hill.

Hugh Hefner organized and hosted a party at the Playboy Mansion at which letters for a new sign would be sold at nearly $28,000 a pop. The adopt-a-letter campaign worked, and aided by Gene Autry (who bought an 'L') and rocker Alice Cooper ('O'), among others, Hefner ('Y') raised enough to prop those letters back up where they belonged.

The Hollywood sign will always be maintained as it's the first thing people see from the air plane as they come into L.A. It is also a memory of all past actors who entertained people for years and honoring those present who do the same. They say from looking at the sign from a great distance it doesn't look big at all, but one can still go on a guided tour (a wire electric fence is around the fence to stop those who wish to damage it and deter 'jumpers') and once at the sign one can't believe how large it is.