August 24, 2014 - Today's adventure brought us to the south side of Mount Lee in Griffith Park to get an up close look at a Los Angeles landmark. The Hollywood Sign (formerly known as the Hollywoodland Sign) is a revered international symbol of the entertainment industry and an American cultural icon. The sign overlooks the Hollywood district of Los Angeles.
"HOLLYWOOD" is spelled out in 45-foot-tall white capital letters, and is 350 feet long. It was originally created as an advertisement for a local real estate development. The sign was officially dedicated in 1923.
In September 1932, actress Peg Entwistle committed suicide by climbing a workman's ladder up to the top of the 'H' and jumping to her death. She was 24 years old.
Hooray for Hollywood!
That's the Capital Records building in the center of the photo.
Our tour bus stopped at a viewing area fairly close to the sign. We had the option of hiking to get closer, but the bus driver told us that the round trip hike generally takes about three hours. We decided that seeing the sign from the viewing area would be close enough. This is the Griffith Observatory with the downtown Los Angeles skyscrapers to the right.
Our second stop on the tour was the observatory, which we had been to before, but it's a beautiful building and worth the second look.
There's the sign framed by the archway.
This sundial is accurate to the minute.
Because our tour started early, we once again had breakfast at Norm's to fuel us for the day. For $10.00 this tour is very worthwhile since cars can't drive to the viewing area and parking in Griffith Park is another separate challenge.