Construction
Hillside letters are typically built in three different manners:
- Built-up letters made from rocks and concrete are the most common. Other materials such as wood, old car tires, metal, and vinyl have also been used. The M in Missoula, Montana, for the University of Montana, is an example of a built-up letter.
- Painted letters are typically found on bare rock faces and cliffs, as is the G in Gap, Arizona.
- Cutout letters, the least common, are formed by removing the vegetation to create a letter; the R for the University of Redlands in Redlands, California, is an example.
These emblems can range in size from 10 or 15 feet tall to hundreds of feet tall. The largest include the L for Lassen High School in Susanville, California (580 feet long), the R for University of Redlands in Redlands, California (430 feet long), the W for Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado (420 feet long), and the Y for Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah (380 feet long). In addition to single letters and abbreviations, full messages have been placed on hillsides using similar methods, such as "SAN LUIS OLDEST TOWN IN COLO." in San Luis, Colorado, "WELCOME TO HERSHEY" in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and "MOUNT PANORAMA" in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. The famous HOLLYWOOD sign built in 1923 to advertise the Hollywoodland Real Estate Group is not technically a hillside letter, but rather a billboard.
Every letter of the alphabet is found as a single letter on a hillside except for X. Two X’s do appear within words on hillsides: DIXIE in St. George, Utah, and PHOENIX near Phoenix, Arizona. The letter M is the most common hillside letter.
Read more about this topic: Hillside Letters
Famous quotes containing the word construction:
“There is, I think, no point in the philosophy of progressive education which is sounder than its emphasis upon the importance of the participation of the learner in the formation of the purposes which direct his activities in the learning process, just as there is no defect in traditional education greater than its failure to secure the active cooperation of the pupil in construction of the purposes involved in his studying.”
—John Dewey (1859–1952)
“Striving toward a goal puts a more pleasing construction on our advance toward death.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“No construction stiff working overtime takes more stress and straining than we did just to stay high.”
—Gus Van Sant, U.S. screenwriter and director, and Dan Yost. Bob Hughes (Matt Dillon)