People and Events

First, colorized movies. Now, a colorized HOLLYWOOD sign?

That’s the idea of Jim Weinberg, the design consultant for an anti-graffiti project in Hollywood.

He believes the film capital’s landmark is, well, sort of white bread. Dull.

“White can be very serene and beautiful,” he said. “But the use of color brings so much life to an area.”

His solution: Color the upper portions of the sign in shades such as Mountain Grey, Cypress Green and Sahara Rose. It would be the most radical change to come over the 65-year-old landmark since 1945 when the chamber shortened it from HOLLYWOODLAND (originally the name of a real estate development).

The colorization talk has Richard Adkins seeing red. Adkins, chairman of the nonprofit preservationist group Hollywood Heritage, says you can’t daub paint on landmarks.

Dino Williams of Hollywoodland Homeowners Assn., a group that represents about 250 property owners in the area, also takes a dark view of the idea. He fears that the paint job would draw more noisy tourists to their already congested neighborhoods.

Weinberg, however, has the backing of the Hollywood Chamber, which says the hues would cover up the graffiti that now mar the sign.

If approved by a Hollywood sign committee, the proposal would be submitted to the city Department of Recreation and Parks.

Meanwhile, there’s also a plot afoot to wrap a seat belt around the sign on May 23. This isn’t a Caltech students’ project. It’s a proposal by promoters of Seat Belt Awareness Week.