Hollywood Sign Site Preserved

With the help of state bond money, a chunk of land around the famous Hollywood sign will be preserved as open space, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Monday.

The governor was present at the announcement by the nonprofit Trust for Public Land that it has secured the necessary funding to purchase Cahuenga Peak, the 138 acres of land surrounding the Hollywood sign, which was bought by a group of Chicago investors from the estate of billionaire Howard Hughes in 2002.

The state will provide $3.1 million of the $12.5 million raised for the campaign, largely with funds from Proposition 40, a $2.6 billion bond measure approved by state voters in 2002 to finance parks, recreation, and conservation programs.

Local public funds provided $2.7 while private philanthropy raised $6.7 million, the last $900,000 of which was donated by Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner, who called the sign “Hollywood’s Eiffel Tower.”

“Of all the iconic landmarks in the world, the Hollywood sign is truly one of the most recognizable symbols of the California dream and land of opportunity,” Schwarzenegger said. “It called to me when I left Austria and made my way to the U.S., with a few dollars in my pocket and the dream of becoming an actor.”

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