The now infamous Hollywood sign has become a popular landmark. Hence it being “now infamous.”
But this is true not just for the eponymous Los Angeles district, the state of California or even the U.S. Apparently, people around the world have decorated the hills of their town or city with similar gargantuan, white banners.
Notable blog “about stuff” DeputyDog has compiled a collection of photographic evidence of such occurrences, including signs for Cullera, Spain, Trabzon, Turkey and Brasov, Romania.
But these cities are not erecting their so-called imitations in homage to Hollywood or because their location serves as the center of their nation’s film industry. They are simply capitalizing on the commercial aspect of the sign, which was actually the original purpose for the Hollywood sign back when it was constructed in 1923.
As DeputyDog reports, the banner actually read “Hollywoodland” in an attempt to sell houses from a new development that was being built within the district. But the sign would still serve a purpose–now everyone driving past Griffith Park knows their exact location.
The DeputyDog article refers to a longer list of places with copycat signs. Since he seems rather pressed to add more pictures to his collection, check out the article here and try your hand at hunting down some more.
Image: DeputyDog
Tags: Hollywood, Hollywood sign, DeputyDog, architecture, Hollywoodland, imitations