Posted on February 14, 2008 by Fiona Hilliard

The final credits may soon be rolling on  the story of the world’s most famous billboard, as the land surrounding the iconic Hollywood sign goes under the hammer.  The mountaintop land behind the famous Hollywood sign has been put up for sale by a Chicago investment group because Los Angeles city council failed to come up with funds to preserve its wilderness state.
Unsuprisingly, Los Angeles city officials and residents are up in arms over the proposed sale.  Keith Dickson, a representative of the residents group, told a news conference that investors regarded the prized piece of land as a “Van Gogh in a garage sale.”
Fox River Financial Resources bought the mountaintop site  in 2002 from the estate of Howard Hughes who dreamt of building a love nest there for actress Ginger Rogers in the 1940s.  The plan never materialised.
The Hollywood sign spells out the name of the area in 13.7m high white letters.  It originally read “Hollywoodland” and was created as an advertisement for a 1923 housing development.