Why Alice Cooper saved the Hollywood sign

The exact date the monument went up is contested, but its official centenary was celebrated on 13 July 2023, making it 102 years old this week. It has now become synonymous with the film industry, but it wasn’t originally intended to be. In fact, it wasn’t even meant to last longer than 18 months. The sign was designed as a short-lived billboard, advertising a new housing development in the Hollywood Hills. It consisted of 13 enormous capital letters, each 30ft (9m) wide and 45ft (14m) tall, that spelt out HOLLYWOODLAND – the name of the real estate group selling the properties. Made of wood and sheet metal and held up by a framework of telephone poles, the structure cost more than $23,000 (about $430,000 or £300,000 today) to build.