In 1923, Los Angeles Times owner and real estate investor Harry Chandler was looking for a way to advertise a new housing development in the Hollywood Hills above Los Angeles.

His friend H.J. Whitely (who claimed to have coined the name of the Hollywood area in 1886) offered a suggestion: Build a colossal sign above the development touting its name, Hollywoodland.

The idea stuck, and the developers contracted the Crescent Sign Company to build the sign, with letters 43 feet high and 30 feet wide, at a cost of $21,000.

Once erected, the sign was lit with thousands of light bulbs, and was programmed to flash its name in segments: HOLLY—WOOD—LAND—HOLLYWOODLAND.

The sign was only meant to stay up for a few months, but as Hollywood became known the world over as the heart of all things glamorous and cinematic, the sign became iconic.

The “LAND” was removed in 1949, but the sign stayed as a permanent fixture on the hillside. It fell into disrepair over the decades, but was designated a Historic-Cultural Monument in 1973 and rebuilt with more permanent materials in 1978.