Thursday, April 29, 2010

A Three Hundred And Fifty Foot Long Dream

We decided to drive as close to the Hollywood Sign as we could get. We knew you weren't allowed to walk up to it or get close enough to touch it, but we read about a route that takes you up into the hill right near it and that's what we did.
We started on Franklin Avenue in Hollywood and then turned onto Beachwood Drive heading north. You can see the sign directly in front once you're facing this direction. As you travel further north, you get even closer to it. Eddie got this shot as he hung out the passenger side of the car... And I took this one from behind the wheel. I stopped right in the middle of the block because I has seen someone else do the same thing - they must be used to it around here!
As we drove up Beachwood, we turned onto Ledgwood and continued up the very windy road. If you could only see the houses built hanging off the edges of the hill. My only question there is why?? In a land of earthquakes, you really want three-quarters of your house suspended over the side of a hill? On stilts??
After Ledgewood, we turned onto Deronda Drive and got as close as we possibly could. There was a gate that prevented us from going any further and the drive up was very harrowing; skinny, narrow roads with people coming at us from the other direction going just a wee bit too fast.
I stood in the driveway of the house on the left to get the picture above and then zoomed in a little to get the one below. Now that's close!!

From what I read on Wikipedia, from the ground, the contours of the hills give the sign its well-known "wavy" appearance but when observed at a comparable altitude, the letters appear straight-across. And they do actually look different from different vantage points.

Check out the twenty-four hour
webcams where you can look at the sign and you can see the sign looking back at you!

* Pictures are a little blah because it was a bit hazy day we visited.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO:
Dillinger The Horror Hog
2 YEARS AGO:
Supernatural Hair
3 YEARS AGO:
They Must Have Been On Sale
4 YEARS AGO:
Shadows Of The Setting Sun

1 comment:

all things bradbury said...

don't you feel like the sign is the essence of the whole "la experience"????....we've seen it so many times, but never from this close!...thanks for sharing....i don't know if i've ever told you or not, but i really like the way you research what you blog about...not only do we get your pics and thoughts, but also alot of facts and background info....thanks!!