Hollywood Sign, Landmark on Mount Lee, Los Angeles, US
The Hollywood Sign is a set of nine large white capital letters mounted on the southern slope of Mount Lee, part of the Santa Monica Mountains at the edge of Los Angeles. The letters face south and can be seen from many parts of the city and the San Fernando Valley.
The sign was put up in 1923 as a temporary advertisement for a housing development called Hollywoodland, and was never meant to last. After the last four letters were removed in 1949, the remaining structure fell into disrepair until a fundraising campaign in the late 1970s paid for entirely new letters.
Visitors come from all over the world to photograph the letters from lookout points scattered across the city. For many people who grew up in Los Angeles, the sign is simply part of the skyline, noticed the way one notices a familiar hill or rooftop.
Several viewpoints in Griffith Park offer good sightlines, and the trails that lead to them range from easy walks to steeper uphill paths. Going early in the morning tends to mean less company at the most popular spots and better light for photos.
Although the letters look large from a distance, visitors who hike close to the sign quickly realize how isolated and inaccessible the structure actually is, as fencing and cameras keep people well away. The hillside directly behind the letters was bought through community fundraising to prevent construction that would have blocked the view from the city.
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