Hollywood sign to be repainted in preparation for 100th birthday

LOS ANGELES — The iconic Hollywood sign towering above Los Angeles will celebrate 100 years in 2023, but first, it needs a new coat of paint.

Sherwin-Williams and The Hollywood Sign Trust are partnering to repaint the landmark that has adorned the Hollywood Hills for almost a century.

Starting on Sept. 19, 10 workers from the Los Angeles-based commercial painting company Duggan and Associates will prep, prime and then paint each 45-foot-high letter, Sherwin-Williams said in a press release on Thursday.

The project is expected to take at least eight weeks, with a projected completion date of Nov. 1.

A live-stream has been set up to watch the painting process. It can be viewed here.

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The nearly 100-year-old landmark, originally a real estate sign, has undergone repairs and replacements for decades.

Hollywood’s trademark sign was erected in 1923 and originally read “Hollywoodland.” Sometime in the 1940s, the then 50-foot “H” collapsed due to vandalism or wind, according to The LA Times. In 1949, the “land” was removed, and the “H” was restored to reflect the area instead of a real estate development.

The wooden structure of the sign started to show its age in the 1970s, and the sign was replaced in 1978 with 45-foot steel letters supported by steel columns and a concrete foundation.

Notable donors to that project included Gene Autry, Alice Cooper and Hugh Hefner, according to the LAist.

Sherwin-Williams and the Trust refurbished the sign in 2012 before its 90th-anniversary celebration.

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