Located in the hills above the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California is one of the most iconic signs in the world.

The sign consists of just nine letters, made out of steel and painted white.

Each letter stands 45 feet tall, and together they represent the entire motion picture industry.

Yet this historic sign was never intended to become an icon or even represent where it was located.

Learn more about the Hollywood sign and the area known as

Hollywood on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. The very word

word Hollywood has become synonymous with motion pictures.

If you make it big in Hollywood you aren't referring to getting a well-paying job

in a particular neighborhood of Los Angeles,

you're probably referring to making it in movies.

This episode is not about the motion picture industry, at least not directly.

In past episodes I've discussed how and why this industry wound up in this particular place.

And just to summarize it, Hollywood was about as far away as you could get from Thomas Edison

and his attempts to enforce his patents on motion pictures.

And it was also close to Mexico if early filmmakers

needed to make a run for the border and of course there was really nice weather.

The history of the area which is known as Hollywood for the purposes of this

episode dates back to the 19th century.

Los Angeles barely existed as a city in the 19th century.

Most of the land, which is today one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world was nothing more than agricultural

land.

The beginning of Hollywood as a residential area began with a Canadian businessman Hobard Johnston

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