Stand on the terrace at Griffith Observatory and the letters are simply there, white against the brush of Mount Lee, reading left to right across the ridgeline above Beachwood Canyon. From this distance you can take in the whole thing at once: the scale of it, the steep hillside it sits on, the way it faces out across Hollywood and the Los Angeles Basin. It is visible for miles, and it has been part of this view since 1923.
An Advertisement That Refused to Come Down
The sign was never meant to last. Real estate developers Woodruff and Shoults put it up in 1923 to advertise Hollywoodland, their housing development in the hills above the Hollywood district, billed as a "superb environment without excessive cost on the Hollywood side of the hills." The Crescent Sign Company erected thirteen south-facing letters on the hillside, designed by owner Thomas Fisk Goff in white block letters, studded with around 4,000 light bulbs that flashed in segments — "HOLLY," then "WOOD," then "LAND," then the whole word — with a searchlight below to pull the eye uphill. Mules hauled the support poles to the site, and the last, steepest stretch of the transport was done with pack animals. It was dedicated on 13 July 1923 and built to stand for a year and a half.
Then the movies made it famous. As American cinema rose in Los Angeles during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the sign gained visibility far beyond any subdivision, and it stayed up for over a quarter of a century still spelling "Hollywoodland." In 1949 the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce fought off residents who called it an "eyesore and detriment to the community" and wanted it demolished, and the contract that saved it stipulated that "LAND" come down, so the sign would reflect the district rather than the housing development. The wooden structure kept deteriorating; after a severe windstorm in February 1978 left it reading "HuLLYWO D," the Chamber replaced it with the durable all-steel version on concrete footings that stands today. The Hollywood Sign Trust, formed by the Chamber in 1978 and later expanded to include city appointees, now promotes, protects and preserves it — painting and maintaining the letters and keeping watch over the site.
Seeing the Letters Without Chasing Them
The sign sits on a steep hillside of Mount Lee in southwestern Griffith Park, and the practical truth of visiting is this: you view it, you don't reach it. Trails in Griffith Park lead toward the sign, but you cannot get close. The official viewing areas are Griffith Observatory, on its hilltop in the park with a sweeping view of the city, and the Hollywood & Highland Center down in Hollywood — the two spots the city has steered visitors toward, and the two the Hollywood Sign Trust endorses. Residents of Beachwood Canyon and Lake Hollywood Estates, the neighborhoods adjoining the sign, have had real problems with tourist traffic on curving hillside roads that were never built for it, and some have posted fake "no access" signs to discourage visitors; navigation apps have been petitioned to route people to the designated viewpoints instead. Use them. The residential streets lack the parking, restrooms and drinking water to absorb crowds, and Griffith Park is identified by the Los Angeles Fire Department as a high fire risk area because of the brush and dry climate. Come for the view, not the climb.
If you want the sign's story in more depth, the Hollywood Sign Trust maintains history resources and live webcams of the letters.
When to Go, and How to Read the Hillside
Go in daylight. The sign is not illuminated at night, so an evening visit gives you a dark ridge and nothing to see. Plan your viewing around clear conditions, and treat hot, dry, windy days with care given the fire risk in the park. Give yourself time at Griffith Observatory to take in the sign in its full setting — the letters against Mount Lee, the park's rugged terrain below, the city spread out beyond — rather than a quick photo stop. The highlight is the whole composition: the sign as it was built to be seen, from a distance, facing Hollywood.
What Else Is on the Same Hill
Griffith Park is enormous, and the sign shares it with plenty worth your afternoon. The Griffith Observatory itself is a historic Art Deco structure famed for its many film appearances and its view over the city. The park also holds the Los Angeles Zoo and the Autry Museum of the American West, with exhibits on Western history and memorabilia from Hollywood westerns, and its trails and picnic spots make it a place to linger rather than pass through. Down in Hollywood, the Hollywood & Highland Center puts you within reach of Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Walk of Fame — the other classic way to spend a day looking at the artifacts of the industry the sign came to symbolize.
Start with a map of Griffith Park and a decision: observatory terrace or Hollywood Boulevard. Either gives you the letters in their proper setting, and both put you inside the landscape the sign has been advertising, for free, since 1923.