Is the Hollywood sign lit up at night?

Instantly recognizable, cheaper than it looks, and not as bright as you imagined, the Hollywood sign is a totem to the very concept of celebrity.

Today we started wondering about the state of illumination of the famous marquee on the anniversary of its birth.

And the answer is no, it doesn’t light up. Isn’t that wild? Considering the amount of effort that goes into maintaining those nine iconic letters, you’d think that the folks responsible would want to keep it as visible as possible. But despite the fact that the sign has lit up in the past, and innumerable pop culture depictions showing it that way, the decision has been made, time and again, to leave it unilluminated.

The story goes back to 1923, when the sign — then reading “Hollywoodland” — was erected to advertise an upscale housing community. Flashing lights were added around the periphery of the letters, making the whole thing look appropriately like a marquee. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce took responsibility for the sign after the land that it occupied was donated to the state of California in 1944, agreeing to front the cost of repairs and maintenance in 1949. That’s when the “land” portion was removed, either as a way to cut down on the price of upkeep, or due to the third act of The Rocketeer happening – depending on who you ask.

Disrepair continued to plague the Hollywood sign, and by the 1970s, it needed a complete overhaul. Fresh, weather-resistant letters replaced the old ones, which by this point were largely made up of load-bearing graffiti. The hammer came down: No new lights.

To hear the way that Hollywood Sign Trust chair Jeff Zarrinnam told it to The LA Times back in 2022, there were plenty of reasons why the landmark is the only one in Hollywood without a ring light and some LEDs. Logistical issues are the main thing – running power up the side of Mount Lee apparently isn’t as easy as it was when they did it a century ago, plus birds love lights. Do you want a Hollywood sign covered in birds? Apparently, the concern is that that’s how you’d get a Hollywood sign covered in birds. 

In truth, the biggest hurdle to lighting the sign at night seems to be the fact that people live and work in the area, and don’t want their difficult-to-reach community flooded with light pollution. Besides, it serves a purpose – bright-eyed aspiring actors from around the world show up in L.A. every day, head toward the sign for a “First Night in Los Angeles” selfie, and realize that things aren’t the way they imagined. The road to getting your realtor’s license begins with a single disappointment.