The Hollywood sign have been saved from sprawl, under a land conservation agreement. The announcement was made Monday following a donation from Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.
Actor, now Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told in a press conference below the Hollywood sign, “It’s a symbol of dreams and a symbol of opportunity and hope. The Hollywood sign will welcome dreamers, artists and Austrian bodybuilders for generations to come.”
The sign was in danger of extinction on the hills of the Monica Mountains because of construction of real estate homes on the near Cahuenga Peak.
Luckily, a donation of $900,000 from Heffner – who helped save the sign some 32 years ago – and a $500,000 matching grant, finished a $12.5 million fundraising drive to protect a 138 acres area from future development that would have changed the famous international symbol of the film and television capital of the world.
According to Schwarzenegger, private donations came from all US states, 10 foreign countries, The Tiffany & Co. and several individuals, such as Aileen Getty, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.
The Hollywood sign was initially established to promote a real estate development in 1923, originally spelling “Hollywoodland.” But at that time it was already the symbol of stardom and fame. In the late 1940s, the sign was falling in part, and the part “land” was removed. It was declared a cultural monument by the city in 1973.
Hefner saved it in 1978 by putting up a fundraising and it was completely rebuild.
William B. Rogers, president of The Trust for Public Land said, “Today, we have the Hollywood ending we hoped for.”
photo credit: Cool Pixels
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