El que seguramente sea el letrero más fotografiado del mundo lleva más de cien años sobre las colinas de Hollywood. Pero lo que muchos de los turistas que acuden atraídos por el glamur que inspira no saben es que su origen no tiene que ver con el cine.

Nothing says Hollywood better than the Hollywood sign. This iconic landmark is a symbol of fame and glamour. But believe it or not, the concept behind the Hollywood sign wasn’t to represent the Los Angeles film industry.

REAL ESTATE

The original sign was erected in 1923 to promote a new housing development in the Hollywood Hills. It said ‘Hollywoodland’ – the name of the housing development – in gigantic letters. The letters were fifty feet high and thirty feet wide, and had more than four thousand light bulbs that illuminated the sign at night.

THE END OF H

The developers wanted to remove the sign after eighteen months, but people loved it so much that they left it there. The letters soon began to deteriorate, and in the early 1940s, the sign’s custodian, Albert Kothe, got drunk one night and drove his car into the letter H, destroying it.

saved by the people

This could have been the beginning of the end of the sign. The city then bought the land it was on and planned to remove it. But because of public pressure to save it, they only removed the ‘land’ section, so it now read simply ‘Hollywood’, and restored the remaining letters.

PLAYBOY CAMPAIGN

And then history repeated itself! The sign again deteriorated, and by the 1970s, the first O was damaged, so it looked like a U, and the last  O had fallen over – so the sign now said ‘Hullywo d’! This time, it was celebrities who saved the day, in particular the founder of Playboy magazine, Hugh Hefner, who organized a campaign to save it. 

ONE LETTER EACH

Nine celebrities, including Hefner, rock star Alice Cooper and Italian movie producer Gianni Mazza, donated nearly $28,000 to replace one letter each. And in 1978, the city revealed the sign that we see today, which has white metal letters on a concrete foundation.

SIGN OF THE TIMES

Today, the sign is protected by an advanced security system, but it’s often been vandalised over the years. You can see the Hollywood Sign from various places in Los Angeles, and if you’re feeling energetic, you can hike almost two miles and stand near it, for the perfect Hollywood selfie!

GLOSSARY

See more

EXPLAINS

See more

El presidente más famoso de la historia de Estados Unidos es omnipresente, desde el nombre hasta la imagen, está en todas partes. Su cumpleaños es incluso una fiesta federal, otra forma de reforzar el sentimiento patriótico.

He was the first president of the United States and he is still the most famous. George Washington remains one of the most popular of all US presidents. He is everywhere. His portrait is on one dollar bills. His face is carved on Mount Rushmore. His name is used for universities, forts, bridges, mountains, parks and even the capital city. He is considered the ‘father of his country’. It is no surprise, therefore, that his birthday is a federal holiday called ‘Washington’s Birthday’. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. PRESIDENT

George Washington was born on February the 22nd, 1732. For years, the holiday was celebrated on that day. However, it was moved to the third Monday of February in 1971. The Uniform Holiday Act was passed in Congress to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers. Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day and Veterans’ Day were also moved to a Monday.

MISSED DATES

Nowadays, ‘Washington’s Birthday’ is better known as ‘Presidents’ Day’. Many people like to think it honours all US presidents – and particularly another beloved president: Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln’s birthday was on February the 12th. Strangely enough, the Uniform Holiday Act means that it now always misses the birth dates of Washington, Lincoln and any president in US history!

SUDDENLY OLDER

What is even stranger is that Washington’s actual birthday was on February the 11th, 1731. The United States changed from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar in 1752. People who were born before that year had to add eleven days to their birth date. People born between January and March also had to add one year. By the time Washington became president, he listed February the 22th, 1732, as his birthday.

A TIME FOR REFLECTION

This year, it falls on February 19th. Many businesses stay open. Shops hold Presidents’ Day sales and there are parades in some cities. The largest Presidents’ Day Parade is in Alexandria, Virginia, alongthe historic streets where George Washington himself once walked. 

Schools close for a mid-winter break. American schoolchildren get special lessons about the presidents of their country – particularly George Washington and Abraham Lincoln – in the weeks before the holiday. 

AMERICAN VALUES

Above all else, Presidents’ Day is seen as a patriotic holiday. It is an opportunity for Americans to reflect on the values of their nation. The highlight every year is the reading of George Washington’s ‘Farewell Address’ in Senate. As Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey said in 1956: “It gives one a renewed sense of pride in our republic.”

GLOSSARY

See more

EXPLAINS

See more