Hollywood Sign Truth and Fiction, Part I
September 6, 2011 § 3 Comments
The Hollywood Sign During Its Reconstruction in 1978/Courtesy Bruce Torrence
For a monument popularly known as “our Eiffel Tower,” the Hollywood Sign is the object of a surprising amount of misinformation, as well as outright lies. The Internet, of course, has been a great transmitter of these untruths. I’m not just talking about random erroneous posts, such as some of those by viewers of my YouTube channel, but official sources. For example, Chris Baumgart, Chairman of the Hollywood Sign Trust, told me in our 2006 interview that the current Hollywood Sign was a replica of the old one in every aspect but one–the height of the letters, which he said were five feet shorter than the originals. Though it sounded logical, it wasn’t true. My later interview with Raiden Peterson, who supervised the Sign’s reconstruction for Pacific Outdoor Electric, confirmed that the new letters were exact replicas of the old, standing 45 feet. “I measured every piece,” Peterson said.
For the rest of this article, please see my new eBook, “Peg Entwistle and The Hollywood Sign,” which will be available from online booksellers in September 2013.
Related articles:
Under the Hollywood Sign 
[…] https://underthehollywoodsign.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/some-thoughts-about-the-hollywood-sign-part-i/ […]
Thanks for blogging this! I’ve always been fascinated with Peg’s tragic tale, so much that I made her a character in my series, “They Live Among Us.” Episode 4 opens with Ted, a lonely Griffith Park ranger. He rescues an ethereal woman from the Hollywood sign, and he falls in love with her at first site… only to discover that she is the ghost of Peg Entwistle. I have shared the link below with you; I hope you enjoy!
Thanks for sending me your link–I enjoyed this episode.