Hollywood Sign

In September 1932, when the sign on Mount Lee still read HOLLYWOODLAND and advertised a housing development, Peg Entwistle, a 24-year-old English-born stage actress who had struggled to find work in films, took her own life by jumping from the top of the H. Since at least the 1940s, hikers, joggers and park rangers have described a young woman in 1930s clothing on the trails below the sign, usually late at night and in fog, looking sad or lost before she vanishes. One longtime ranger said he had smelled gardenias, the scent associated with Entwistle, several times near the sign, always on cold nights when no flowers nearby were open. The sign can be seen from trails and viewpoints in Griffith Park, but the sign itself is fenced off and closed to visitors. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.