The Hollywood Sign is an instantly recognisable icon of Los Angeles. Found high up on Mount Lee, it has a long history that stretches back 10 decades. There are plenty of Hollywood Sign interesting facts for kids that they may not have known about.
Here are some Hollywood Sign interesting facts for kids about this icon of Hollywood.
Fun Hollywood Sign Interesting Facts for Kids
1. The Hollywood Sign was built in 1923, making it 100 years old in 2023.
2. The Hollywood Sign was originally set up as an advertisement for an upscale real estate development.
3. The builder of the Hollywood Sign was Los Angeles Times publisher Harry Chandler, who was the developer of the read estate development.
4. The sign originally read “Hollywoodland”
5. It sign once had blinking lights that first blinked “Holly”, then “wood” and then “land”.
6. The Hollywood Sign was originally built to last only one-and-a-half years.
7. By 1944, the Hollywood Sign had fallen into disrepair and the Hollywoodland real estate development went bust due to the Great Depression. In 1944, the sign became the property o the city.
8. In 1973, the Hollywood Sign was given official landmark status by the City of Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Board. It was designed monument $111.
9. During the ceremony to mark it receiving official landmark status, the Hollywood Sign was covered by thick fog.
More Interesting Facts about the Hollywood Sign
10. By the 1970s, parts of the letters D and O had crumbled and fallen down.
11. An arsonist had set fire to the bottom of the second L in the 1970s.
12. When Pope John Paul visited Hollywood in 1997, pranksters covered one of the letter Ls so that it the sign read “Holywood”.
13. In 1978, the old Hollywood Sign was replaced with a new one.
14. The new sign was paid for by various celebrity sponsors.
15. Alice Cooper, the glam rocker, paid for an “O”.
16. Singer Andy Williams paid for the “W”.
17. Singing cowboy Gene Autry paid for an “L”.
18. There was three months in 1978, there was no Hollywood Sign because it was being replaced.
19. Today, the Hollywood Sign is managed by the Hollywood Sign Trust.
20. There is a 24 hour webcam that provides a view of the Hollywood Sign from behind. It can be viewed here.
21. The letters of the Hollywood Sign are 50 feet tall, or 15.2 metres tall.
22. Many people try to get views of the Hollywood Sign by going up close to the sign. However, access to the sign is restricted and visitors disturb the residents living in the Hollywood neighbourhood around the sign.
So there you have it. There are so many Hollywood Sign interesting facts that you may not have known about. For such a well known American icon, the sign has plenty of not-as-well-known facts and trivia, doesn’t it?
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