Hollywood Sign Spared

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hollywoodThe world famous Hollywood sign has been saved from urban sprawl under a land conservation pact announced Monday after a donation capped a multimillion-dollar fundraising drive.

“It’s a symbol of dreams and a symbol of opportunity and hope,” actor-turned Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said at a news conference below the towering letters. “The Hollywood sign will welcome dreamers, artists and Austrian bodybuilders for generations to come.”

The huge sign overlooking the city was in danger of having its distinctive setting on the flanks of the Santa Monica Mountains crowded by construction of estate homes on nearby Cahuenga Peak.

But a $900,000 donation and a $500,000 matching grant completed a $12.5 million fundraising drive to protect 138 acres from development that would have altered the globally recognized symbol.

Schwarzenegger praised the public and private partnership that raised the money to keep the property out of the hands of developers.

The Trust for Public Land conservation group raised $6.7 million in private funds, the state offered $3.1 million, and local funds totaled $2.7 million.

Schwarzenegger said private donations came from all 50 states, 10 foreign countries, The Tiffany & Co. and a number of individuals.

Cahuenga Peak, just west of the sign’s location on Mount Lee, features a 360-degree panorama of Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley.

Aviation mogul Howard Hughes bought the property in 1940 to build a home. But that never came about, and the Hughes estate sold the property in 2002 for $1.7 million to the Chicago-based investment group Fox River Financial Resources Inc.

It was put on the market again two years ago for $22 million, but The Trust for Public Land negotiated a lower price.

Ironically, the sign was originally erected in 1923 to promote a real estate development, with its 30-foot-by-50-foot letters spelling “Hollywoodland.”

By the late 1940s the sign was falling apart and the “land” portion was removed, giving it the appearance known today. It continued to decay even after the city made it a cultural monument in 1973.

{NorthJersey.com/Noam Amdurski-Matzav.com Newscenter}


10 COMMENTS

  1. because maybe, once this sign is gone all the avodah zara will truly be toppled and Mashiach can come. Until then…

  2. don’t you all see that Hashem is the only One in charge??all over the world Hashem is showing us that that the world is falling apart day after day..don’t you all see it with all of these scary disasters every day in the news..Hashem is preparing us for Moshiach’s arrival..don’t you see that obama isn’t allowing Eretz Yisroel to build??its because he wants to rule the world..so let’s build our Emunah and Bitachon and you will see that Moshiach is coming sooner than we think..so go get ready my fellow Yidden, Moshiach is coming IY”H hopefully today.. 🙂

  3. The same Ribono Shel Olam who saved the Hollywood sign from its enemies and from potential annihilation should save Reb Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin from his enemies any from all Tzara!

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