Hollywood Sign - Alterations

Alterations

It is illegal to make unauthorized physical alterations to the sign. Although the city has occasionally allowed it in the past for commercial purposes, current policy does not permit changes to be made. This is largely due to neighborhood opposition and to past accidents. However, the sign has been unofficially altered a number of times, often eliciting a great deal of attention. Among the more famous modifications:

• HOLLYWeeD – January 1976, following the passage of a state law decriminalizing marijuana.
• HOLYWOOD – April 1977, for Easter sunrise service, viewable from the Hollywood Bowl.
• HOL YWOOD – 1978, the second L was covered for Pope John Paul II when he visited, the sign then reading "Holywood."
• "GO NAVY" December 1983, when a group of Midshipmen, with permission, covered the sign for the Army-Navy football game's first and only West Coast appearance (D. Weiss, USNA'85/instigator & PM) .
• FOX – April 1987, for the promotion of the network.
• CALTECH – May 1987, on Hollywood's centennial (of its incorporation as a municipality), also one of Caltech's many senior pranks
• OLLYWOOD – July 1987, during the Iran-Contra hearings.
• April 1991 in celebration of the end of the Gulf War a Yellow Ribbon was tied around the sign. This act was also a supporting player to the Hollywood Salutes Gulf Veterans Celebrations (D. Weiss, USNA'85/instigator & PM)
• As part of a promotion for the 1992 film Cool World, a 75-foot (23 m)-tall cutout of the film's main character Holli Would was installed, appearing to sit on the sign. The alteration angered local residents, saying the cartoon character was "appalling", and an insult to women.
• OIL WAR – 1991, for the Gulf War.
• PerotWood-1992, to support Ross Perot and his presidential campaign.
• GO UCLA – 1993, for the annual UCLA-USC football game. Twenty members of UCLA's Theta Chi fraternity achieved the prank, and were subsequently charged with trespassing. This incident prompted the 1994 installation of a $100,000 security system featuring video surveillance and motion detection.
• SAVE THE PEAK – February 11, 2010, the original letters were covered with a large banner reading "SAVE THE PEAK", part of a campaign by The Trust for Public Land to protect the land around the Hollywood Sign from real estate development (see above). As setup progressed, other variations such as "SALLYWOOD" and "SAVETHEPOOD" gained some notoriety.
• JOLLYGOOD for an airline and RAFFEYSOD for an obscure rock band – 1990 and 2000.