WEBVTT - How Does the Hollywood Sign Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey Brainstuff, Lauren

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<v Speaker 1>bolbabaum Here. The Hollywood Sign is California's most famous billboard

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<v Speaker 1>turned landmark. It's turning one hundred this year, so today,

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<v Speaker 1>let's look back at its first century of history. Perched

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<v Speaker 1>at the top of Mount Lee in Griffith Park above

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<v Speaker 1>the sprawl of Los Angeles, the Hollywood Sign appears in

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<v Speaker 1>the background of countless film scenes and tourist photos for

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<v Speaker 1>the article. This episode is based on How Stuff Work.

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<v Speaker 1>Spoke with Casey Schreiner, author of the guidebook Discovering Griffith Park,

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<v Speaker 1>a locals guide. He said, it's hard to think about

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<v Speaker 1>LA and not picture the Sign. I'd be hard pressed

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<v Speaker 1>to think of a more iconic landmark. Angelino's think of

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<v Speaker 1>it the way Parisians think of the Eiffel Tower. People

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<v Speaker 1>are drawn to it because it symbolizes a dream and

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<v Speaker 1>a kind of ambition that only exists in LA. But

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<v Speaker 1>while it now has iconic status that's helped it last

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<v Speaker 1>a century, the Hollywood Sign had much more humble beginnings.

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<v Speaker 1>When it was first constructed in nineteen twenty three, it

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<v Speaker 1>was basically a billboard. It served as an advertisement for

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<v Speaker 1>the Hollywood Land neighborhood, and it spelled out Hollywood Land

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<v Speaker 1>with those four extra letters not present today. It was

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<v Speaker 1>also covered in light bulbs, roughly four thousand of them

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<v Speaker 1>that blinked all night. It cost twenty one thousand dollars

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<v Speaker 1>to build that's over three hundred and eighty thousand in

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<v Speaker 1>today's money, and was designed to last just eighteen months.

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<v Speaker 1>Instead it stood for decades. Schreiner explained there was a

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<v Speaker 1>guy whose job it was to screw in the light

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<v Speaker 1>bulbs when they went out. He lived in a shack

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<v Speaker 1>below the sign. By the late nineteen forties, the sign

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<v Speaker 1>had fallen into disrepair and the Hollywood Land real estate

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<v Speaker 1>development had folded. Some said the sign should be bulldozed,

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<v Speaker 1>but the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce stepped in and had

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<v Speaker 1>it rebuilt, this time without the land. By the nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>seventies the sign needed help again. Rather than an advertisement,

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<v Speaker 1>it was an Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy magazine,

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<v Speaker 1>stepped in to raise money. He threw one nineteen seventy

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<v Speaker 1>eight gala at his famous mansion and auctioned each letter

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<v Speaker 1>of the sign to a different celebrity or corporate sponsor,

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<v Speaker 1>including gene Autry, Andy Williams, Alice Cooper, and Warner Brothers

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<v Speaker 1>records the price tag of just over twenty seven thousand

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<v Speaker 1>dollars a letter was enough to fund a total restoration.

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<v Speaker 1>That's over one hundred and thirty thousand per letter in

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<v Speaker 1>today's money, in total, around three times what the original

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<v Speaker 1>sign cost to build. The old sign was torn down

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<v Speaker 1>and three months later a new one went up. Unlike

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<v Speaker 1>the wood and sheet metal construction of the original, the

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<v Speaker 1>new version was made of steel, mounted to steel columns

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<v Speaker 1>and sunk into a sturdy concrete foundation. Since the new

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<v Speaker 1>sign was unveiled, it's been repeatedly powerwashed and repainted to

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<v Speaker 1>keep it in good condition. However, there have been other

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<v Speaker 1>threats to the iconic view of the sign. It turns

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<v Speaker 1>out the beautiful undeveloped land around it wasn't part of

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<v Speaker 1>Great Park, which is the huge public park that now

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<v Speaker 1>also houses the Los Angeles Zoo, the Griffith Observatory, and

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<v Speaker 1>the Autrey Museum of the American West. A Scheiner said

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<v Speaker 1>it turned out it was private land tied to Howard Hughes.

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<v Speaker 1>He wanted to build a mansion up there for some

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<v Speaker 1>starlet and she basically said, if I go up there,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm never coming down alive. The starlet was Ginger Rogers. Hughes,

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<v Speaker 1>the fabulously rich businessman, bought the parcel of land when

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<v Speaker 1>the pair were engaged in nineteen forty and planned to

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<v Speaker 1>build a massive castle with sweeping views of the city.

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<v Speaker 1>He even went to court with the city over the

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<v Speaker 1>right to build an access road and one before anything

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<v Speaker 1>was built. However, the relationship dissolved and the parcel became

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<v Speaker 1>a forgotten piece of the Howard Hughes estate until after

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<v Speaker 1>changing hands a number of times. In twenty ten, a

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<v Speaker 1>developer put a big parcel on the market just to

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<v Speaker 1>the left of the signs h The city scrambled to

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<v Speaker 1>pull together money to buy it, but only raised by

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<v Speaker 1>about six of the twenty two million dollar asking price.

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<v Speaker 1>Enter Hugh Hefner again, as Shiner said, he helped again

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<v Speaker 1>and gave the city some of the money it needed

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<v Speaker 1>to buy the land and add it to Griffith Park.

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<v Speaker 1>Griffith Park is one of the largest suburban wilderness parks

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<v Speaker 1>in the country. It's four times bigger than Golden Gate

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<v Speaker 1>Park in San Francisco. It's right in the middle of

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<v Speaker 1>the city. From there you can see Universal Studios and

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<v Speaker 1>Warner Brothers Studios. You're near a lot of stuff, and

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<v Speaker 1>there is a huge amount of wildlife and native plants.

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<v Speaker 1>In honor of the Sign centennial, the Hollywood Sign Trust

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<v Speaker 1>has announced plans to build a visitors center for now.

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<v Speaker 1>There are a number of ways to experience the landmark,

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<v Speaker 1>including hiking up Mount Lee. Keep in mind that the

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<v Speaker 1>trail ends behind the sign, so while it's a great

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<v Speaker 1>vista of La it's not a good view of the

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<v Speaker 1>sign itself. Shiner said. You can drive to a viewpoint,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's in a residential neighborhood. The roads were built

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<v Speaker 1>in the twenties and they're narrow. But there are dozens

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<v Speaker 1>of places to see the sign. He cited the views

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<v Speaker 1>from the Lake Hollywood Reservoir and from the West Observatory

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<v Speaker 1>Trail as his favorites, but said it's always well worth

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<v Speaker 1>a look. Quote. It's big. It's bigger than it looks.

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<v Speaker 1>I think most people when they come to Hollywood are

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<v Speaker 1>a bit disappointed at how small things look in real life.

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<v Speaker 1>The sign is the opposite it over delivers. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>is based on the article Stardust and Scandal. The Hollywood

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<v Speaker 1>Sign turns one hundred on how Stuffworks dot Com, written

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<v Speaker 1>by Kate Morgan. Brain Stuff is production by Heart Radio

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<v Speaker 1>in partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com and is produced

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<v Speaker 1>by Tyler Klan and Ramsey. Youm four more podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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<v Speaker 1>wherever you listen to your favorite shows.