Unveiling Marks Sign of NoHo’s Evolution

A group of men and women, dressed in business suits and holding small automatic cameras, stood at the corner of Magnolia Boulevard and Tujunga Avenue across from North Hollywood Park on Wednesday afternoon staring skyward.

They gathered to see not the clouds that were quickly filling the November sky, but a tall metal sign, hidden under a veil.

Although most agreed it was on the wrong side of the road and facing the wrong way, their joy was not diminished. Wednesday was the day the first North Hollywood Arts District sign would be unveiled, signifying the crowning achievement of all those people in those business suits whose efforts made NoHo a reality.

“Today is a big day for all of us who worked so hard in creating the NoHo Arts District,” said Sharon Pfeiffer, president of the Universal City/North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

The two-dozen people in attendance felt likewise as they waited for Mayor Richard Riordan to come and tear off the veil of the first of four signs to be placed on the borders of the district, which is bounded by Burbank, Lankershim and Magnolia boulevards and Tujunga Avenue.

When the mayor arrived, he shook hands, exchanged smiles and then, with the help of a group of children from the YMCA Child Care Center, pulled on a yellow string attached to the orange veil over the blue sign.

Nothing. The veil remained, and the celebration was temporarily delayed as a fireman was brought in to loosen the shroud enough so that Riordan and the children could give it another tug.

The veil fell away, finally revealing the “NOHO Arts District” sign. “It looks great,” Riordan said. Everyone clapped.