Via the Daily News:
Picture it: Hollywood 2010. The iconic Hollywood sign is in danger of being obstructed by hulking mansions. There’s fear that future generations will point toward Mount Lee and ask: Mommy, why can I only see the letters “OO” on the hill? If the demise of the view of the Hollywood sign were a movie, then Danish architect Christian Bay-Jorgensen is among the hopefuls auditioning to be the swashbuckling hero. His plan: Transform the sign itself into a hotel, each giant letter hosting guests marveling at the sweeping views of the Los Angeles basin. The hotel-letters would be about twice the size of the current 45-foot tall sign, and include amenities such as an observation deck. The ultimate goal, he says, would be to preserve an internationally recognized landmark while helping the city generate badly needed funding. “I’m a fan of the Hollywood sign and the unused spaces of America,” Bay-Jorgensen, a Denmark-based architect, said Monday after visiting Los Angeles. “It could be interesting to make it a center for such events as the Golden Globes and Oscars. This could be the future of the sign.” But those who watch over the sign’s legacy say ideas like his have come and gone over the years like first-draft screenplays in a studio mailroom. They’ve been pitched ideas from casting bright lights on the letters to running trams up Mount Lee. But in this city, folks have a saying: The Hollywood sign is the Hollywood sign and shall always remain so.
“That three-dimensional hotel makes a good story, though it’s not going to happen,” said Chris Baumgart, chairman of the Hollywood Sign Trust, the group in charge of repairing, maintaining, refurbishing and raising funds to preserve the sign. Each time the sign is threatened or in the news, someone just happens to come up with a sure-fire way to save it while bringing themselves quick fame, Baumgart said. “We’re always intrigued, amused by people’s creativity.” “Let’s not forget, this is Hollywood.” While the landmark sign itself is owned by the city of Los Angeles, the rugged area in back and to the left of the sign is privately held and investors had planned to sell the land for $22 million to real estate developers, who in turn wanted to build mansions. The Chicago investors later agreed to sell the land to the city for $12.5 million. Los Angeles Councilman Tom LaBonge and the Trust for Public Land have worked since February to raise the money to secure the 138-acre parcel to the west of the Hollywood sign called Cahuenga Peak.