Here’s a thought experiment: How does something that was essentially a roadside billboard become an enduring cultural landmark?
The Hollywood sign was erected in 1923, according to Fodor’s Guide, intended to advertise a housing development known as “Hollywoodland.” Though intended as a temporary advertisement, and scheduled to be dismantled after a couple of years, Angelinos came to love it, and the sign stayed (per the landmark’s website). By the 1940s, the “land” had been removed, and the Hollywood sign became a visual metaphor for L.A. specifically, and the film industry more broadly.
Unfortunately, by the 1970s, the sign — originally made of wood — had fallen into disrepair thanks to exposure to the weather, vandalism, and other maladies, as The Hollywood Reporter explains. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce was keen to preserve and upgrade the sign, but those efforts would come at a cost: $250,000, per Vanity Fair. That amount of money is hardly child’s play today, and in the Carter administration it was an even steeper bill, particularly for a municipal government short on cash.
