The Hollywood Sign: From Real Estate Promotion to American Icon

8/4/2019 The Hollywood Sign: From Real Estate Promotion to American Icon

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Mark Kenny

Communication 631

Dr. Lisa Parcell

14 December 2010

The Hollywood Sign:

A Journey From Real Estate Promotion to Global Glamour Icon

Source: The Story of Hollywoodland. Unknown. 1923.

In his article titledHollywood, Michael Baers declares that, Hollywood created the

dreams of America in the twentieth century (434).

Hollywood is sunny, warm, exciting and home to many stars. It is no wonder that the

Hollywood sign is, today, a symbol of glamour and dreams. Besides analyzing the sign as an

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icon or symbol, it should be noted that the word itself represents a city with as much symbolism

as any visual icon:

Hollywood is variously treated as an industry, an image, a state of mind, a

stigma, a political consciousness, a value system, a style, a particular group of the

glamorous and beautiful (who may or may not actually dwell or even work within

the fuzzy borders of corporeal Hollywood), a catchword for entertainment, or a

synonym for the megalopolis that is Los Angeles. Hollywood is, through different

folds, forces, and trajectories of varying degrees, simultaneously all of these.

(Curti, Davenport, and Jackiewicz 51)

The Birth of Hollywood

In 1868, Harvey Wilcox, a 32 year-old real estate agent from Michigan, moved from

Ohio to Topeka, Kansas. Three years later he became a founder of the town Rossville, Kansas,

and later owned a ranch near El Dorado, in Butler County. After first wife, Ellen, died of

tuberculosis in 1882, Harvey married a woman named Daeida in Topeka. In 1884, they moved to

Los Angeles, where Harvey started Wilcox and Shaw real estate company. He bought some land

to grow vegetables on and to use for recreation. His wife named it Hollywood after the country

home of someone she met on the train. The Wilcoxes began planning a town, hoping to convince

midwesterners to purchase their lots and move to Hollywood. The town was very conservative.

Saloons were banned and land was free to churches that located there. In 1891, Harvey died in

Los Angeles (Wikipedia).

Twelve years later, the population of Hollywood was 500 and a trolley line connected

Hollywood to Los Angeles. Harry Chandler and Moses Hazeltine M.H. Sherman successfully

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lobbied to incorporate the vacant land as an independent municipality. In 1907, Selig Studios,

went to Laguna Beach to complete shooting The Count of Monte Cristo (1908) because winter

storms brought the production company to a halt at home in Chicago. This became the first

movie shot in California. The company, attracted to the climate and topography, quickly set up a

studio in California. The buzz spread and soon several studios were established in California, but

in 1907, it was the Nestor Film Company, of New Jersey, that became the first studio to open in

Hollywood. Most studios were located in Edendale, a neighboring community. The conservative

Hollywood Board of Trustees banned movie theaters from Hollywood, but later that same year,

the City of Los Angeles subsumed Hollywood, so the ban was nullified. By 1920, many of the

studios relocated. Hollywood became the metaphor for the roaring twenties

(Williams 22).

Hollywoodland, the Real Estate Development

In 1923, Harry Chandler, the publisher of theLos Angeles Times, came up with the idea

to build a huge sign to advertise a real estate venture that he and famed silent-movie director,

Mack Sennett, had planned to develop. Chandler and M. H. Sherman brought two real estate

developers, S. H. Woodruff and Tracy E. Shoults, to Hollywood. Woodruff hired a gang of

publicity men who he dubbed his assistant directors (Williams 11), and they began

promoting Hollywoodland to a national audience through magazines and newspapers. Their

target audience was wealthy and middle-class Americans. They pitched the development as a

beautiful and serene escape from the city, yet still close enough to commute to work and enjoy

the conveniences of the city. One hundred and twenty buyers stepped forward

immediately (Williams 11).

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The Hollywoodland sign consisted of 13 letters, each 50-feet high by 30-feet wide and

constructed of sheet metal wired to pipes and telephone poles, that ran along the face of Mount

Lee. The original sign cost Chandler $21,000 to build and had hundreds of 40-watt bulbs

mounted on the letters. It lit up in a sequence: first HOLLY, then WOOD, then LAND, and

finally, HOLLYWOODLAND. The maintenance of the sign was extremely costly and was

eventually abandoned. The sign could be seen for twenty-five miles in those presmog days, and

airline pilots once used it for a navigational fix (Wallace 108).

Although the Sign's appearance and purpose have evolved over the years, its basic

aspirational message remains the same: This is a place where magic is possible, where dreams

can come true (Hollywoodsign.org).

It also became a symbol of dreams unattainable. In 1932, Peg Entwistle, a successful

theater actress back East, moved to Hollywood with dreams of becoming a movie star. With no

offers, she left a note and committed suicide by climbing the letter H and jumping. Over time,

many other aspiring stars committed suicide in similar fashion (Baers).

In 1929, Sennet lost millions when the stock market crashed. Within four years, Sennets

corporation declared bankruptcy. Hollywoodland never actualized. By 1939 it had become too

costly to maintain the sign and maintenance was discontinued. The following decade saw the end

to the studio system monopoly and the introduction of television. In 1944, the M. H. Sherman

Company deeded the undeveloped land to the City of Los Angeles. Five years later, after the

Parks Department decided to tear down the sign because it had become a highly visible eyesore,

the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce stepped in and offered to remove the last four letters of

the sign and repair the rest. The letters that remained, of course, spelled out to the world, as they

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have ever since, the name of the film capital itself (Wallace 109). According to Jan Susina,

when the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce removed LAND from the sign, it symbolically

separated Hollywoods connection to the land, reinforcing the concept that Hollywood is more a

state of mind than a sense of place (197).

In 1973, the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Board stepped in and declared the

Hollywood sign a Historic Cultural Monument (Wallace 110), but by 1978, the sign needed

restoration again. This time it cost $27,000 per letter, because they used more durable materials

and a better structure. In 2010, money was raised to protect the land surrounding the sign from

development, in order to preserve the signs iconic appearance.

Analysis of the Sign as a Pop Culture Icon

The Hollywood sign has gained recognition in America through several means, from its

original purpose as an advertisement to pop culture references in modern film and television.

Originally, the sign was intended to advertise a suburban real estate development. It was meant

to be seen from a distance and had no affiliation with film, as Edward Dimendberg points out:

its intended purpose as an advertisement for the Hollywoodland real estate development lacks a

direct connection to the entertainment industry (108). However, many films over the past eight

decades have used the sign in establishing shots and, thus, it has become synonymous with the

industry.

The sign has also been modified for publicity purposes several times throughout its

history, including changing the panels to spell out other words. For example, in 1976, the last

two Os were changed to Es, so that the sign read HOLLYWEED, in reference to the

decriminalization of marijuana in California. It was also changed, in 1978, to read

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HOLYWOOD, in honor of Pope John Paul IIs visit to Los Angeles. As recently as 2010, the

sign was altered to read KE$HAWOOD, as a publicity stunt for a pop star.

The most significant role, in my opinion, that the sign has played in a communication

context is in an intrapersonal context, because meaning is assigned by each individual that looks

upon the sign, based on his or her experiences and exposure to it. I, for example, immediately

think of fame, wealth, glamour and paradise, because I recall the cinematic forms of exposure. I

feel happy and hopeful when I see it. It makes me believe that I can achieve anything in America,

regardless of the hand that was dealt to me. Many others may conjure the same thoughts and

feelings. Still others may think of Peg Entwistle and become flooded with negative emotion.

Regardless of what meanings we attach to the sign, each individual assigns a meaning to it and

those meanings are undoubtedly shared by many others.

Cultural Studies is concerned with how elite groups such as the media exercise their

power over subordinate groups (West and Turner 364). According to this view, modern

television and film are elite groups and the consumers of their products are the subordinate

groups. Hollywoods barrage of images and stories touting the American Dream may convey

hope for [viewers, or consumers, but the dream] might better be called a fantasy because the elite

power structure (the media) does not honestly convey the reality of their circumstances (West

and Turner 367). Basically, Hollywood sells the dream of being wealthy and famous, and of

living a glamorous lifestyle in paradise, when, in reality, that is most likely to never happen.

In Landscapes of desire: Anglo mythologies of Los Angeles, William A. McClung argues

that Edward Ruschas famous 1968 Silk screen, which incorrectly displays the Hollywood sign

on the hills crest rather than along its face, is where it psychologically ought to be, as big and

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conspicuous as it is in imagination (183). He proceeds to point out the irony of todays tourists

asking directions to it in the twisting roads of the hills, as if it were important to get close to an

object intended to be noticed from a distance (McClung 183).

I believe Media Reception is the Pop Culture theory most befitting the Hollywood sign.

The theorys premise is that the audience is an active group [that] use their media

consumption experiences for their own purposes (Dooley). Just as the American public flocked

to theaters to escape the Great Depression in the 1930s, I use film and television, and the

glamorous dreams that Hollywood peddles, to escape the mundane experiences of everyday life.

I love my life, and it is actually rather exciting, but I am not wealthy and I live in a horrible

midwestern climate. Indeed, I live in the very climate Harvey Wilcox lived in and traded for the

warm sunshine of Hollywood. He understood the appeal that warm weather would bring to

midwesterners like myself. He offered this in Hollywoodland, the real estate development,

promoted through magazines to a national audience. Today, Hollywood offers it to me through

films and television shows. Although I am happy with my life, I still partake in the fantasy of

living somewhere comfortably warm. While Im at it, I pretend I am wealthy and can drive

whatever I want, rather than a Kia Spectra or a minivan to tote my four kids around. Yes, in my

Hollywood, Brad Pitt gets all the girls I have turned away. In this manner, I use the media for my

own purposes.

I find it interesting to compare the communication processes and strategies to the history

of communication. From the moment Chandler and company set out their fake SOLD signs on

the vacant lots, the modus operandi of Hollywood deception was firmly entrenched (Baers

433). Although most critical thinkers are well aware of this today, I find it interesting that this

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was actually a form of Boosterism. Chandler was using exaggeration and optimism to falsely

promote settlement. He also promoted Hollywoodland through magazines, which carried a

national audience at the time. The ads carried themes of prosperity and social status and

promised many amenities that were never actualized. The sign itself said nothing more than

HOLLYWOODLAND in larger-than-life letters. He was using image-oriented advertising. It was

1923. The nation, and Hollywood, was in a period of prosperity. The appeal was to the

subconscious. It has always appealed to the subconscious.

I find it interesting to note that the signs history of decay and restoration mirror that of

the nations economy. The sign was not maintained during the Great Depression and was restored

after the war. It fell apart again in the 1970s and at the end of the decade, was restored again.

As I stated earlier, I chose the Hollywood sign, because I am a dreamer. It represents

opportunity and hope to me. As Chris Routledge states inHollywood: The stars themselves

were the nearest thing in America to royalty. Temptingly, here was an aristocracy anyone could

join (401). I was born to two middle-class Americans, neither of whom had the opportunity to

attend college. As a matter of fact, I will be the first in my family to graduate from a university.

Hollywood touts the dream of becoming royalty, regardless of your lineage or socioeconomic

status. Many call this an illusion, and in many ways it is... but not entirely. May I remind you of

Fantasia, Carrie Underwood, Nellie (from a poor neighborhood in my hometown) and countless

professional athletes who have transcended class and acquired fame and fortune. It is possible. I

believe that if one person can do it, so can I. I may have to work harder, or I may take longer to

achieve it, but I can do it. This hope fuels me and motivates me. It keeps me from quitting when I

just dont want to continue. Whether I ever achieve what I initially set out to achieve or not, I

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move beyond where I would be if I didnt have that hope or dream at all. I chose the Hollywood

sign because it represents the American Dream for me.

The fact that I chose the Hollywood sign reveals that I am a dreamer, that I value material

possession. I like for my achievements to be recognized. I am somewhat vain. I produce videos.

Im not that great yet, but Ill still watch my own videos over and over again. I make others

watch them. I like it when someone compliments me for my accomplishments. I want to be the

best at what I do. I want to make movies. I want others to watch them and sing their praises. I am

a visual communicator, so, naturally, Hollywood success is my dream. I mean Hollywood, the

image, not Hollywood, the place. I moved to Los Angeles in 2000, and I hated it there. Everyone

was fake. Therein lies the illusion and the Boosterism. Just as Chandler exaggerated and was

falsely optimistic about Hollywoodland, so, too, are the dreams and meanings I have assigned to

the Hollywood sign.

The Hollywood signs iconic status reveals how image-oriented and materialistic our

society is in America. We assign value to people based on outward appearances, material

possession and popularity, or fame. According to George Davey Smith, almost as many

Americans watch the Oscar ceremony as vote in presidential elections, it is difficult to think of

many greater public validations of self worth in the USA [than fame acknowledged] (1442).

This is a ridiculous statement, not because it isnt true, but because it is true. We have incredibly

high expectations and often find it hard to live up to. We have created our own Camelot as a

standard to which we do not live up to and are often left disappointed, like Peg Entwistle and all

the others who became consumed by the feelings of despair and failure. Jan Susina declares, the

famous HOLLYWOOD sign has become the emblem of a seemingly utopian version of

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Hollywood (197). The problem in America is that many people cannot accept the fact that all

that glitters is not gold. Regardless, Americans are captured by image-oriented advertising and

that is exactly what the Hollywoodland sign was in 1923, and it is what the Hollywood sign still

is today.

In Lost Hollywood, David Wallace declares, the sign is today the most recognized

physical symbol of the film capital throughout the world (108). Despite the idea that the image

or dream it represents is exaggerated, the popularity of the Hollywood sign throughout the world

suggests that every one of us subconsciously desires to be rich and famous, or at least rich and

living in paradise. In 1923, the American Dream was to own a home. Harry Chandlers sign

touted that dream. Today, the American Dream is to be rich and famous. The Hollywood sign

touts that dream today. Its amazing how the signs meaning has evolved with relatively little

change to its physical form. How one word, in extra large letters along a hillside, can conjure so

many dreams for so many is a testament to the power of the media. The glory days of the studio

system are long gone, yet Hollywood remains a potent symbol of the American Dream as both

physical place and glittering fantasy (Routledge 403).

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Work Cited

Baers, Michael. "Hollywood." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Ed. Sara Pendergast

and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 2. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. 431-434.Gale Virtual

Reference Library. Web. 28 Oct. 2010.

Braudy, Leo. "The Hollywood sign: L.A.s Eiffel Tower".Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2010. Web.

20 October 2010. .

Curti, Giorgio H, John Davenport, and Ed Jackiewicz. "Concrete Babylon: Life between the

Stars: to Dwell and Consume (with)in the Fold(s) of Hollywood, Ca."Yearbook of the

Association of Pacific Coast Geographers. 69.1 (2007): 45-73. Print.

Dimendberg, Edward. The Kinetic Icon: Reyner Banham on Los Angeles as Mobile

Metropolis. Urban History. 33.1 (2006): 106-125. Print.

Dooley, Patricia. Pop Culture: Theories. Handout.

Hollywoodsign.org. Web. 2 Dec. 2010.

McClung, William A. Landscapes of Desire: Anglo Mythologies of Los Angeles. Berkeley:

University of California Press, 2000. Print.

Routledge, Chris. "Hollywood." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-

Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 2: 1920s-1930s. Detroit:

UXL, 2002. 400-403. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 28 Oct. 2010.

Smith, George D. Death in Hollywood : Any Relation between Self Worth and Mortality Is

Uncertain. BMJ: British Medical Journal, Vol. 323, No. 7327 (Dec. 22 - 29, 2001), pp.

1441-1442. Internet resource.

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Susina, Jan. "The Rebirth of the Postmodern Flaneur: Notes on the Postmodern Landscape of

Francesca Lia Block's Weetzie Bat." Marvels & Tales. 16.2 (2002): 188-200. Print.

Wallace, David. Lost Hollywood. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2001. Print.

West, Richard L, and Lynn H. Turner. Introducing Communication Theory: Analysis and

Application. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.

Williams, Gregory. The Story of Hollywoodland. N. Hollywood, Calif: Papavasilopoulos Press,

1992. Print.

Wikipedia contributors. "Harvey Henderson Wilcox." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 14 Nov. 2010. Web. 12 Dec. 2010.

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The Hollywood Sign: From Real Estate Promotion to American Icon