There was a $12.5 million fundraiser to save the Hollywood sign from being taken down and the land around it being built on.  Hugh Hefner payed the last $900K keeping the sign intact.  I can’t imagine going to Hollywood and the sign not being there.  It is a landmark that will be forever known in California.  It is what movie stars thrive to see when they make their way out to Los Angeles.

The iconic HOLLYWOOD sign actually was erected in 1923 as an advertisement for a new housing development. The letters initially spelled out HOLLYWOODLAND.

The Trust For Public Land has been on a mission to raise $12.5 million to buy the 138 acres surrounding the sign so that the land will not be developed and the sign can remain intact. The Playboy founder gave the final donation of $900K. Other donations came from studios, networks as well as personal donations from Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson and Norman Lear.

Hefner said, “My childhood dreams and fantasies came from the movies, and the images created in Hollywood had a major influence on my life and Playboy. As I’ve said before, the HOLLYWOOD sign is Hollywood’s Eiffel Tower and I am pleased to help preserve such an important cultural landmark.”

Hef donated a whopping $27,777 dollars in 1978 along with eight other donors to replace all nine letters. The letters are all 45 feet high! I am glad the landmark is there to stay… for now. I would be devastated, along with a lot of other people, if the next time I went to visit Hollywood and there were houses where the sign was.

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