The iconic Hollywood sign was officially dedicated back in 1923. That was on 13 July. Of course, in those days, the sign did not say “HOLLYWOOD.” It said “HOLLYWOODLAND.” That’s because it was not built for Hollywood itself. It was for a housing development called Hollywoodland. I like to think of it like the exploding homes in The Two Jakes. But it’s the wrong location.

The sign has been a problem for the local government throughout its history. They made the sign mostly out of wood. No one expected it to be up long — just long enough the sell the storybook-style homes of its namesake development. Humphrey Bogart, Bela Lugosi, and Gloria Swanson all bought houses there.

In the 1940s, the sign was in bad shape. The H was destroyed by wind, vandals, or both, which caused locals to demand that the sign be removed. But the local Chamber of Commerce was against it, I think for obvious reasons. So it worked with the City of Los Angeles to repair the sign. They decided to remove “LAND” from the sign so that it reflected the area and not just the development.

But the sign was still mostly wood and by the 1970s, it needed more repair. In a 1978 windstorm, the top half of the first O fell down and the last O fell down completely. That created a sign that read, “HuLLYWO D.”

The Chamber of Commerce again came to the rescue, finding a small number of large donors to put up a total of a quarter million dollars to completely redo the sign with steel on a concrete foundation.

Given its history, it’s amazing we have the sign as well. It’s hard for me to imagine Los Angeles without it. But like with most iconic structures, I’ve never seen it in person. But I’ve seen it in dozens of films like Demolition Man. Like the Empire State Building or the Tower of London, it’s an easy way to establish a location.

Other 13 July Anniversaries

Filmmakers

• Bob Crane (1928-1978): Hogan on Hogan’s Heroes. Also remembered for his grisly murder.
• Patrick Stewart (1940-): Captain Jean-Luc Picard and so much more.
• Robert Forster (1941-2019): Psychotronic icon who appeared in many films, including Alligator and Satan’s Princess.
• Harrison Ford (1942-): Iconic actor who played Han Solo, Indiana Jones, and Rick Deckard — but still manages to be kind of boring.

Films

• The Lost World (1960): Scientists go to the Amazon to search for dinosaurs.
• Those Fantastic Flying Fools (1967): Comedic take on the Jules Verne’s classic, Rocket to the Moon.
• Hunchback of the Morgue (1973): A hunchback who works at the morgue and can’t accept the death of the girl he loves.
• The Island of Dr Moreau (1977): The usual but with Burt Lancaster.
• The Last Starfighter (1984): Kid does well in a game and becomes a hero.
• Splatter University (1984): Slasher at a school.
• Ghost (1990): A couple has clay-based sex, and then some other things happen.
• The Invisible Maniac (1990): A mad scientist teachs high school physics — from Adam Rifkin.
• Gamera 2: Attack of the Legion (1996): Gamera saves the world from giant insects.
• Vampire Clan (2002): A vampire cult murders someone.
• Dead End Massacre (2004): A girl kills a bully and comes back a decade later for more.

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Hollywood Sign image cropped from Link by Thomas Wolf under CC BY-SA 3.0.