As the Hollywood sign celebrates 100 years, here's how LA officials plan to protect 'Hollywood's biggest star'
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles City Council celebrated the 100th anniversary of the iconic Hollywood Sign, and commemorated the milestone by declaring Oct. 31 "Hollywood Sign Day" in the city.
"Everywhere I go around the world, whether I'm in India, stay in Japan or China, the consistent theme is that the reason people come to our City of Angels is because it represents a sense of personal freedom," said president and CEO of LA Tourism, Adam Burke. "It's because we're a community that truly celebrates diversity and inclusion."
Burke said the Hollywood Sign is helping tourism recover after the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Burke, tourism is the fourth-largest employment sector in the city, with over half a million Angelenos working in tourism-related careers. Last year, visitors who came to the city contributed about $34.5 billion to the local business community.
Councilwoman Nithya Raman, whose district includes Mount Lee where the Hollywood Sign is located, emphasized the importance of maintaining the monument.
"[The sign] brings so many people here. It brings so much money into the city," said Raman. She aims to ensure that some of that money goes back into preserving the monument.
The sign started as a simple billboard for a real estate development, Hollywood Lane, back in 1923, Raman said at Tuesday's meeting.
In December 1923, Angelenos looked up and saw their name in lights for the very first time, when thousands of bulbs were added to the sign.
The sign was designated a historic cultural monument in 1973. In 1994, the Hollywood Land developers decided to donate the remaining undeveloped 425 acres of land in the surrounding area to the city of Los Angeles.
The city formally accepted the offer and added it to the park acreage the following year.
"As the sign celebrates its centennial throughout 2023, the Hollywood Sign Trust and the city of Los Angeles continue to protect Hollywood's biggest star and educate the world about Los Angeles' most famous icon," the sign's centennial resolution states. "The Hollywood Sign remains a celestial fixture above a city of constant change and a beacon for aspiring stars from all walks of life, with nine simple white letters."
City News Service contributed to this report.