Cahuenga Peak Featuring the Hollywood Sign

With a banner of California blue sky above and a steep hillside blanketed in wild grass below, nine white sentinels stand proud over Los Angeles. Visible from miles around and symbolic of this town’s two notable industries—film and real estate—the legendary Hollywood Sign is now also a symbol of the city’s foresight.

In 2010, with property values in the Hollywood Hills inching ever upward, the area adjacent to the iconic Hollywood Sign was threatened by development. Recognizing not only the cultural significance of the sign itself but also the recreational value of Cahuenga Peak to residents and visitors of Los Angeles, Trust for Public Land intervened, raised funds to protect 138 acres, and officially added the landmark to Griffith Park. If not for TPL, views of the iconic Hollywood Sign may have been changed forever.

This project represents TPL’s impeccable funding efforts. The beauty of this project didn’t lie in a new structure or in an enhanced park but rather in our public and philanthropic network. Those connections allowed us to raise money to preserve a prominent peak featuring an iconic landmark.

In April 2010, TPL had raised the final $1 million toward the $12.5 million goal to purchase and protect the 138 acres behind and to the left of the world-famous sign. The property, known as Cahuenga Peak, was bought in 1940 by industrialist Howard Hughes. He intended to build a home for his girlfriend, actress Ginger Rogers. But the relationship ended, and after Hughes died, his estate sold the property to a group of investors in 2002. Soon after, the property was zoned for four luxury estates and placed on the market in 2008.

In February 2010, we announced our fundraising campaign by covering the Hollywood Sign with letters that spelled “SAVE THE PEAK.” Attracting worldwide attention, tens of thousands of people rallied, donating money to help buy the surrounding land and preserve the view of one of the world’s most iconic landmarks.

Residents held rallies, bake sales, and fundraising concerts. Major studios and big names such as Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Hugh Hefner, the Tiffany & Co. Foundation, and philanthropist Aileen Getty donated significant amounts towards this cause. Cahuenga Peak is now part of Griffith Park, the fourth most visited park in the United States.

“Two things—the larger-than-life name HOLLYWOOD, and the pristine, rugged mountain—make this world-famous landmark a symbol of ingenuity and hope to millions of people. Every day, I see tourists posing for snapshots in Beachwood Canyon just below the sign,” said the late Los Angeles City Councilmember Tom LaBonge, who formerly chaired the council’s Arts, Parks, Health, and Aging Committee, and whose district included Cahuenga Peak.

Joseph T. Edmiston, executive director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, says, “Cahuenga Peak, while surrounded by urbanization and freeways, supports a remarkably intact ecosystem of native chaparral plants and animals seemingly unaffected by ecological isolation. The property provides an unparalleled natural experience in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains.”