The Hollywood sign, which is now a famous Los Angeles sight seeing attraction, was originally built as an advertisement for a new housing development located above the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. The sign originally read Hollywoodland and was advertised as a "superb environment without excessive cost on the Hollywood side of the hills." The Crescent Sign Company was commissioned to create the sign and company owner Thomas Fisk Goff created the design.
Each letter was thirty feet wide, fifty feet tall and adorned by 4000 light bulbs. The sign was erected facing south on the hillside and officially dedicated on July 13, 1923. The Crescent Sign Company did not intend for the letters to be a permanent fixture on top of the hillside but after the rise of the American cinema in Los Angeles the Hollywood sign became an international symbol and was left overlooking Hollywood. During the 1940's the sign became dilapidated and rundown and the unsightly sign caused the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to contract with the city of Los Angeles to repair and rebuild the sign.
Although the sign was maintained to the best of the city's and chamber's abilities the wooden letters were not meant to last for decades and in 1978 it was decided that a new sign fabricated out of steel would be made to replace the vintage wooden structure. Donors were sought and given a significant amount of money towards the rebuilding of the Hollywood sign and during Hollywood's 75th Anniversary, November 14, 1978, the new sign was unveiled.
The current letters are between thirty-one and thirty-nine feet wide and forty-five feet tall. The city and chamber decided the light bulbs were an unnecessary cost and were not replaced in 1978. The sign still sits in the same location as the original advertisement did over 75 years ago.
