31 Days of Paint #6 Icon Gets Fresh Paint

Can you imagine painting this?

Photo by Lori Bucci.  Lori is an amazing photographer and friend.

Check out her website HERE.

Thank you for coming back to my 31 Days of Paint Series. If you would like to see it from the entire series just click HERE.

I love vintage signs. I snap photos of them everywhere I go. The Hollywood sign is one of my absolute favorites. I remember seeing it as a teen and falling in love with it. It is an American icon. The sign was first erected in 1923 and originally read "HOLLYWOODLAND". Its purpose was to advertise the name of a new housing development in the hills above the Hollywood district of Los Angeles.
 

Unfortunately, this old girl is in need of a face lift. And she is getting it in time for her 90th birthday celebration next year.



Did you know the sign was made of galvanized steel? (Another one of my favorite things!) The letters are 45 feet tall and range from 31 to 39 feet wide. This paint job will be quite an undertaking. The painters will use custom swing stage scaffolding – hanging platforms similar to those used by window washers on high-rise buildings. The swing stages are 31 feet to 39 feet across – the full width of each letter. (And I thought climbing ladders to paint my little 2 story house was scary! Can you imagine this?)



In order to restore this beauty to it’s former glory, the sign will need to have all of the old paint stripped, 110 GALLONS of primer and 275 GALLONS of paint applied. With the help of Sherwin-Williams' industry-leading Emerald Exterior Acrylic Latex paint, this is the most extensive refurbishing effort of its kind in nearly 35 years for the Sign. It will be repainted in its signature white.



The process will take about 8 to 10 weeks to complete. As a painter, I cannot wait to see this process unfold. I will be blogging about it and sharing photos along the way.

The Hollywood Sign Trust (a 501(c)3 non-profit trust) is responsible for repairing, maintaining, refurbishing and providing capital improvements to the Hollywood Sign for the benefit of the public at large.

Thank you to Sherwin-Williams for asking me to document this restoration project. To follow the process simply click on the “Painting An American Icon” Button in my sidebar.