The forest fires that hit the region of Los Angeles, California, have become increasingly stronger as the days go by, leaving a trail of destruction and countless homeless people. However, as the fire advances through the local mountains, one of the city’s greatest symbols may be threatened: the famous Hollywood sign .
The place is a landmark in the country’s history and one of the biggest tourist attractions in California, which receives around 50 million visitors annually, according to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Created in 1921 as a temporary advertisement to sell houses in a condominium in the region, the plan was for the sign to be on display there for just a year and a half.
In 1923, the famous sign gained 4 thousand light bulbs and was illuminated for the first time, and until then, It was called “Hollywoodland” . Thanks to their grandeur, approximately 9.1 meters wide and 14 m high, the letters could be seen from kilometers away.

To place each of the letters in place – a somewhat steep slope with lots of vegetation –, countless workers were recruited to transport, clear the ground and erect the sign, which currently weighs more than 200 tons.
It turns out that, with the rise of the film industry in the area, the sign ended up becoming a landmark, and even a strategy to focus attention on the large studios that were installed there, and today it has lasted for more than 100 years.
One of the most emblematic events of the place, in addition to numerous representations in films and TV series, is possibly the death of actress Peg Entwistle . At just 24 years old and having started her career in cinema very recently, Peg would not have been able to handle the pressure of dealing with the artistic class and ended up taking her own life by jumping from the top of the H sign, in September 1932.

In 1940, after almost no maintenance from the time it was erected, the sign was in one of its worst conditions . The local city council would have removed the last four letters, LAND, and fixed the H, but by the mid-1970s the place was once again in decay. It took donations from several organizations and celebrities, such as Alice Cooper and Hugh Hefner, for the billboard to be finally restored, and now, built with steel beams and corrugated iron.
Over time, the place became even more of one of the “jewels” of Los Angeles, appearing in the most diverse films, such as “Superman” (1978), “Independence Day” (1996), “Shrek 2 ” (2004), among others.
Currently, to avoid any type of accident or damage to the sign, the place is surrounded by barbed wire fences, camera monitoring and even motion sensors . All this to keep possible invaders away from the biggest icon in Los Angeles, and perhaps the United States.
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This content was originally published in How did the Hollywood sign come about? Icon is threatened by the fires in LA on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil

I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.