Although the Hollywoodland sign is the most famous and durable of the large signs erected in the Hollywood Hills, it wasn’t by any means the only one. In this 1924 photo looking across the northern end of Hollywood into the hills, we can see the (then brand-new) Hollywoodland sign on the right. We can also see “Bryn Mawr” which was a hillside subdivision which had opened west of Hollywoodland. And in the middle, is a lone “H” although what that was advertising I haven’t been able to figure out. If anybody reading this knows, I’d love to hear from you.
David G. says: “The street that goes down the center in the lower part of the image is Ivar Ave. Ivar stops at Franklin, I’m assuming, but the Hollywood Freeway goes through that part now and those houses on Franklin were demolished for the freeway. That apartment building on the right side of Ivar (corner of Ivar and Franklin), with the round turret-like structure on the corner, is still there.”
It wasn’t uncommon, back in “the day”, for a local high school to put its initial on a nearby hillside and the student body would maintain it. The initial could be made from painted rocks, wood forms, etc. and once a year students would paint, clean, re-arrange, etc. the initial.
The round tower seen in the picture is not the same tower David G. refers to. The tower that still exists is crenelated where this tower has a nearly-flat tiled roof. I would have guessed that the street in question was Argyle, but by 1924 there was a church on the west side of the street and in the picture it looks like it still a vacant lot.
Jim
Although the Hollywoodland sign is the most famous and durable of the large signs erected in the Hollywood Hills, it wasn’t by any means the only one. In this 1924 photo looking across the northern end of Hollywood into the hills, we can see the (then brand-new) Hollywoodland sign on the right. We can also see “Bryn Mawr” which was a hillside subdivision which had opened west of Hollywoodland. And in the middle, is a lone “H” although what that was advertising I haven’t been able to figure out. If anybody reading this knows, I’d love to hear from you.
The lone A might be from Hollywood High School.
Yes, that’s a possibility. But why they’d go to the trouble is a mystery to me.
It wasn’t uncommon, back in “the day”, for a local high school to put its initial on a nearby hillside and the student body would maintain it. The initial could be made from painted rocks, wood forms, etc. and once a year students would paint, clean, re-arrange, etc. the initial.
Ah! That makes perfect sense. Thanks, Jim.
The round tower seen in the picture is not the same tower David G. refers to. The tower that still exists is crenelated where this tower has a nearly-flat tiled roof. I would have guessed that the street in question was Argyle, but by 1924 there was a church on the west side of the street and in the picture it looks like it still a vacant lot.
Jim
The crenelated tower can be seen here on the Franklin Ave side of the building.
https://goo.gl/maps/UdzAVsVjoxsj5PTNA
The tower on the Ivar side can be seen here. Photo borrowed from Hotpads.com. A member of Zillow Group™
https://i.imgur.com/CJuSCNe.jpg