Hollywood Sign

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5 Reviews | Add review

Address: Mount Lee Drive, Hollywood
Hours: Open daily 24hrs
Admission: Free

ATTRACTION Keywords:
Film & Cinema, Good Views / Viewpoint, Pop Culture, Statue / Monument

9:50 AM Saturday, May 25
Overcast. Mild.
7 day forecast

One of LA's most distinguishing icons, the famous HOLLYWOOD sign proudly stands on the hillside of the Hollywood Hills, overlooking its namesake city and the movie industry it has come to symbolize.

LA's most famous landmark first appeared on its hillside perch in 1923, as a advertising gimmick for a real-estate development called Hollywoodland. Each letter stands 50 feet (15 m) tall and is made of sheet metal painted white.

Once aglow with 4,000 light bulbs, the sign even had its own caretaker, who lived behind the letter L until 1939. The last four letters were lopped off in the 1940s as the sign started to crumble along with the rest of Hollywood. In the late 1970s, Alice Cooper and Hugh Hefner joined forces with fans and other celebrities to save the famous symbol.

Latest Reviews

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All Hollywood Sign Reviews

Review by Shermann D, United Kingdom, June 2012
Doing what: Dearly Departed: The Tragic History Tour of Los Angeles

This covers a bit of everything in LA, from the Hollywood sign, history and film stars homes and their exploits! So if you only have a short window to do it all in LA this is a must. It's a 4D experience and uses all the senses within a smaller bus which is more private and you get a sense of everything, as you hear and see the stories. Highly organised, highly researched, brilliant way to see LA. Would do it again!!

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Review by Saké, Thailand, April 2011
Doing what: Hollywood Strip Helicopter Tour

I have been on other helicopter tours but this helicopter tour of the Hollywood Strip is my absolute favourite! I could write a very long article on how wonderful this helicopter tour was for us but I will try to keep it short: The Limo Service: We chose the tour option with the limo service (we were told that it was a bit of a drive and passes through a rough neighborhood). This advice is correct! Our meeting point to get picked up was in front of the Kodak theater. The drive was about 30 minutes (a bit of traffic). There was a minibar in the 'Cruiser' which we did not use but was there if we needed anything. The Helicopter Tour: The helicopter was very small but - I do not mean this in a bad way at all - if anything , it was great! Because it was so small it felt more personalized. The windows were huge giving us the most amazing unobstructed views. We flew over celebrity homes (or should I say palaces!) including those belonging to Aaron Spelling, David Beckham, Tom Cruise, and Johnny Depp. We also flew over the beach and to make it perfect - we saw two dolphins jump out of the water! And of course, we flew so close to the Hollywood sign that we had to take the pictures in multiple shots! We passed numerous LA / Hollywood landmarks as well including the Disney Concert Hall. It was one of my favorite and memorable moments during my visit. I will be definitely recommending this to others and would not even mind doing it again (if the opportunity arises). This is a highly recommended helicopter tour to do in LA!

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Review by Susanne B, January 2010
Doing what: Dearly Departed: The Tragic History Tour of Los Angeles

Finding the pick up point was a bit hard work as there are no specific sign posts for it. Basically its right outside Johnny Rockets on the outer edge of the Farmers Markets, next to the car park. This tour was great. Not only did you get to see the scandalous parts of Hollywood but they showed some of the Hollywood homes celebs live in now, like Billy Bob Thornton, Sly Stallones Mum, Johnny Depp etc. They also show you last homes people lived in before they died, like Monroe and Sinatra. They do a short stop at McDonalds - it's a 3hr tour. There is a heap on the Manson family too - so if this sort of stuff doesn't interest you, maybe you should stick to the Hollywood Homes tour. There was running commentary from the driver and a recording, also a photo book for you to compare the old day pics with what it look like today. 3 hrs felt like 20mins - well worth it.

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Practical Info

The best view of the Hollywood sign is from down below, at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Bronson Avenue. Other top viewing spots include Hollywood and Highland, the top of Beachwood Drive, and the Griffith Observatory. You can reach the sign on foot by taking the 5-mile (7.5 km) round-trip hike on the Brush Canyon Trail in Griffith Park - the trail head is at the end of Canyon Drive. You can also get great views of the Hollywood sign on various LA helicopter tours.

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