Main content

What happened to the original Hollywood sign?

The Hollywood sign, situated on Mount Lee in the hills above Los Angeles, is one of the world’s most famous cultural emblems. The original was created nearly 100 years ago as an advertisement for a local real estate development, and it actually read Hollywoodland. But by 1978, the letters – each, nearly 50 foot tall – had deteriorated, and there was a campaign to replace the sign with a more permanent structure, which is the one you can see today. But what happened to those original letters? The sculptor and cultural memorabilia collector Bill Mack talks to Kirsty Lang.

First broadcast on Front Row, 3 April 2018.

Release date:

Duration:

5 minutes

This clip is from