HollywoodLand

In this episode - HollywoodLand . . .

If you've had the pleasure of visiting Los Angeles (L.A.), you surely wouldn't have missed the Hollywood sign - it has been a testament to the film industry for almost a century. It stands tall on Mount Lee, in Griffith Park (50-foot-tall letters), and is considered the iconic location for a photo-op in the City of Angels. The Hollywood sign represents fame, fortune, and glamour people aspire to achieve in the entertainment industry. However, some lesser-known facts about this famous landmark might surprise you.

It's worth noting that the Hollywood Sign was originally created as a marketing tactic for a real estate project. In 1923, Harry Chandler, an investor in the Hollywoodland housing development, shelled out $21,000 to erect a billboard on Mount Lee. The sign was unique because it was illuminated at night by 4,000 20-watt light bulbs, making it a true marvel of electric advertising. The lights were timed so that the words "HOLLY," "WOOD," and "LAND" lit up in order. Interestingly, the L.A. Parks Department eventually removed the word "land" in 1949 to better represent the entire district.

Hollywood was a peaceful community created by real estate developer Harvey Wilcox and his wife in 1883. The origin of the name is unclear, with various theories including the abundance of holly in the mountains and a friend’s suggestion.

The Hollywood sign has been vandalized many times, including on January 1, 2017, when someone changed it to read "Hollyweed." This was a copycat of a similar prank from 41 years earlier when a group of college activists changed the sign to celebrate relaxed marijuana laws.

After World War II, the Hollywood Sign was restored, but by the late 1970s, it had fallen into complete disrepair. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce demanded $25,000 for its restoration, or it would be removed for being an “eyesore.”

To prevent the loss of this iconic piece of Los Angeles history, Hugh Hefner hosted a charity event at the Playboy Mansion, auctioning off each letter to celebrities willing to pay a high price for a part of history. This effort raised enough funds to rebuild the sign from scratch and replace it with a more durable all-steel structure.

Despite this victory, the Hollywood Sign faced another threat in 2010 when real estate developers sought to buy the adjacent land for construction. In response, Hefner generously donated $900,000 to a conservation group to preserve the land. Hefner's last-minute effort ensured the preservation of the area surrounding the Hollywood Sign, which is now a protected parkland with public walking trails.

The sign is on rough, steep terrain, with barriers preventing unauthorized access. In 2000 the Los Angeles Police Department installed a security system featuring motion detection and closed-circuit cameras. Any movement in the marked restricted areas triggers an alarm that notifies the police.

So when you’re in LA, Griffith Park is your best access point for those iconic “selfie” photos with the Hollywood sign.

I'm Patrick Ball; thanks for listening. I'll see you in the next episode.

Comments

The Birth of a Cubs Legend

In this episode, The 162-Game Exhale — and the Birth of a Cubs Legend There’s a hush in the baseball world on Game 162 — a collective breath drawn in and slowly released. Scoreboards stop flipping. Dugouts empty. For six months, the game has been our steady heartbeat, pulsing from the cherry blossoms of Tokyo in March to the crisp, playoff-charged winds of late September. And now, as the regular season exhales, baseball fans everywhere pause to absorb the story we’ve just lived. For me, that story has been deeply personal. This season unfolded in the rhythms of my daily life. It was the summer soundtrack echoing beneath the constant turmoil of politics and sensational headlines. It was a handful of carefully chosen ballpark pilgrimages stitched together with countless nights in front of MLB.TV. And at the center of it all, for a lifelong Cubs fan like me, it revolved around one name — a young center fielder who turned hope into history: Pete Crow-Armstrong. The 2025 season didn’t begin...

The Pessimism Aversion Trap

In this episode, The Pessimism Aversion Trap Picture this: a room full of bright minds nodding in agreement as a bold new strategy is unveiled. The slides are polished, the vision is grand, and the future, we're told, has never looked brighter. Everyone beams—because who wants to be the one to say, "Um… this might not work"? Heaven forbid someone spoil the mood with a dose of reality. Better to smile, add a buzzword or two, and march confidently toward disaster. That's how the Pessimism Aversion Trap works. Even now, I can still hear the sound—a high-pitched shriek and a digital hum, followed by the slow, rhythmic clatter of data pouring from a 5¼-inch floppy disk. It was the late 1980s, and my makeshift home office (our living room) was dominated by what felt like a marvel of modern engineering: a used Tandy 1000 PC with not one, but two floppy drives. To top it off, we purchased a 'blisteringly fast' 300-baud modem—which, for the uninitiated, could downloa...

Pushing the Pause Button

In this episode, Pushing the Pause Button: Stepping Off the Treadmill Hello, friends — If you're reading this, I'm already off the grid. Today begins a much-needed vacation, and for the next few weeks, On the Fly is taking a break right along with me. For a long time, my inner voice has said, 'Keep every commitment, no matter what.' That's meant early mornings, long days, and a calendar packed with posts, podcasts, and projects I couldn't seem to say no to. I've been trying to be the tireless workhorse—but that kind of grind doesn't end well. Lately, I've noticed I'm not quite myself—shorter fuse, louder sighs, and a few too many grumbles (Lori deserves a medal). That's when you know it's time to hit pause before the spark burns out. So, I'm stepping back to rest, recharge, and remember what it feels like to not live by the next deadline: no tech, no to-do lists, just some space to breathe. Thank you, truly, for all your support and ...

The Friday Morning Pause

In this episode, The Friday Morning Pause: When My Brother’s Bookshelf Called Me to Stillness We live in a world allergic to stillness. Our mornings begin mid-sprint—thumbs scrolling before our eyes even open. The impulse to jump into the digital chaos is immediate. But sometimes, stillness finds you . It was early Friday morning. We’d arrived late the night before, stepping into the cool air before the day turned hot. Half-awake, I reached for my phone—emails, headlines, social feeds waiting like a morning buffet of distraction. We were in Cuba. No Wi-Fi. No 5G. No password. Just stillness, disguised as inconvenience. Instead, I caught sight of something unexpected: a small stack of books on my brother’s TV shelf. My brother and his wife are powered by perpetual motion. They are the definition of overscheduled and overstimulated. Yet there it was: Stillness Is the Key by Ryan Holiday, quietly mocking my scrolling habit. The irony was perfect. I put my phone down—a small, delibe...

On The Fly

Search This Blog