The famous HOLLYWOOD SIGN

Last time I mentioned one of the most famous buildings on the East Coast, but today we are moving to a completely different place - to the West Coast of the U.S.A, to Los Angeles in California.

From the hills located in the northern part of Los Angeles one can get a spectacular view on the whole city. It is also where the famous "Hollywood" sign is located.

It is located on a steep south hillside of Mount Lee in Griffith Park. The height at which it is places is 481 m above sea level. Each of the letters is 15 m high and they are perfectly visible from almost every single spot near Sunset Boulevard. It became the symbol of show biz and almost everyone associates it with the sunny Los Angeles.
You all probably know this sign, but what about its history?

The history of this sign reaches over 90 years. It was first designed and mounted in 1923, however it was supposed to be 'exhibited' for only 18 months. It was made out of wooden roofings and telegraph poles. The cost reached 21.000$. What is interesting, the sign back then did not look as it does today - the letters created the name "HOLLYWOODLAND". Its construction was initiated by the developer and its major purpose was to encourage people to buy houses in the luxurious LA neighborhood in the area of the sign.

People soon started to buy houses in this area, however not really because of this sign. Nonetheless, after the great success, the developer refused to dismount the sign, which had already gained the title of the city's symbol by then. It was associated with success and splendor of the great city and its movie-industry. Many people started to consider it as an embodiment of an American Dream. They associated the sign with liberty, hope, happiness, beauty and dreams fulfillment.

However beautiful and eye-catching, the HOLLYWOODLAND sign began to deteriorate. It was caused by years passing by and weather factors: wind, sun and rain.  The metal construction became rusty and wooden elements rotted. Moreover, in 1940 one man lost control over his car and bumped into the first letter of the sign "H", which partially tilted and collapsed.

In 1949 the city bought the sign from the developer and renewed it. The first letter was repaired and the last fours letters were deleted. From then on the sign's aim was to represent the whole city, not just the local developer.

The sign today:

The view from behind the sign: 

Interesting fact is that many cities wanted to imitate this famous sign and created different versions of the sign and then also mounted them in mountain areas. One of the examples may be the Romanian city of Brasov. 

Task: find other examples of the Hollywood sign imitations and write where are they located. :)