The Hollywood sign in the hills that line the northern border of Los Angeles is a famous landmark recognized the world over. The white – painted, 50 – foot – high, sheet mental letters can be seen from great distances across the Los Angeles basin.

          The sign was not constructed, as one might suppose, by the movie business as a means of celebrating the importance of Hollywood to this industry; instead, it was first constructed in 1923 as means of advertising homes for sale in a 500 – acre-housing subdivision in a part of Los Angeles called “Hollywood land”. The sign that was constructed at time, of course, said “Hollywood land”. Over the years, people began referring to the area by the shorten version “Hollywood” and after the sign and its site were donated to the city in 1945, the last four letters were removed.

          The sign suffered for years of disrepair, and in 1973, it needed to be completely replaced, at a cost of $ 27,700 per letter. Various celebrities were instrumental in helping to raise needed funds. Rock star Alice Cooper, for example, bought an O in memory of Groucho Marx, and Hugh Hefner of Playboy fame held a benefit party to raise the money for the Y. The construction of the new sign was finally completed in 1978.