Hillside Letters - Construction

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.