About 40 Cal Tech students and 1 U.S.C. student met at the base of the Hollywood sign at 1:30 a.m. They came in groups of 3 and 4 so as not to arrouse the suspicion of residents. With them they had walkie-talkies, mountain climbing gear, sheets of heavy black and white plastic and twine for lashing. They passed through a chain link gate which the last man locked with a kryptonite bicycle lock, so they wouldn't be disturbed on their errand. They then hiked about a mile to the sign itself. With mountain climbing harnesses and ropes they scaled the approximately 50-foot high letters of the "Hollywood" sign. Lashing the pieces of black and white plastic to the letters, they changed it to read "CALTECH". About halfway through the chore, police and rangers gathered outside the chainlink fence and watched the process, and at times they shined a powerful floodlight on them. But, neither police nor rangers got to the sign, and the police were too busy taking the gate off the hinges--they couldn't open the lock. The students finished their job about 5:30 a.m. and hiked out to the main road. Police and rangers had left, no one was in sight. Students said they began planning the prank at the beginning of the school year, September "86". It was open to all underclassmen and women. They said they did it "because it was there, because it looks good, and as a present to Hollywood on its 100 birthay." It was, they said in keeping with CAL TECH's tradition of high visibility of pranks which began in 1947. Photograph dated May 18, 1987.
California Institute of Technology Hollywood Sign (Los Angeles, Calif.) Signs and signboards--California--Los Angeles College students--California--Pasadena Mountains--California, Southern Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.) Hollywood Hills (Los Angeles, Calif.) Santa Monica Mountains (Calif.) Los Angeles Herald-Examiner photographs Herald-Examiner Collection photographs Group portraits
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
