los Angeles
“Hollywood” lettering is revamped
The famous “Hollywood” sign in the Hollywood Hills. photo
© Andrew Gombert/EPA/dpa
With 1500 liters of paint: The legendary lettering is embellished. From next week until the beginning of November, ten helpers will get to work – in time for the 100th anniversary in 2023.
One of Los Angeles’ best-known landmarks, the huge “Hollywood” sign in the mountains above the film metropolis, is being revamped.
Around 1,500 liters of white paint are intended for the multi-week beautification campaign, said the organization “Hollywood Sign Trust”. From next week until the beginning of November, ten helpers will work on the 15 meter high and 140 meter long lettering, in time for the 100th anniversary in 2023.
The oversized letters “HOLLYWOODLAND” were placed in the then uninhabited hills by a real estate brokerage firm as a publicity stunt in 1923. In 1949 the construction was renovated, the last four letters were removed. Today, the lettering is a popular selfie backdrop for many tourists.
Occasionally, the landmark has to be used for puns: Pope John Paul II was greeted with “Holywood” (holy forest) in 1987. Ten years earlier, proponents of a more liberal drug policy had changed “Hollywood” to “Hollyweed” – “weed” (herb) colloquially means marijuana. This happened again in 2017 in reference to the intoxicant legalized in California. In 2021, the iconic hilltop decoration briefly became “HOLLYBOOB” when unauthorized persons covered the letters W and D with tarps. “Boob” is the English word for the female breast. However, the police were quick to uncover the covered letters.