But after the Depression it became clear Hollywoodland was a bust. Although the real estate development might have failed, the sign, though in disrepair, was still standing.

Despite calls to dismantle it, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce took over its maintenance and ownership. They repaired the sign and left “land” off, erasing any memory of the previously failed real estate development project.

However, in the late 1970s, it was decided the Hollywood sign needed a complete rebuild, and for three months no sign sat atop the Hollywood Hills.

After raising the necessary $250,000 through auctioning off the dilapidated letters, the Chamber was able to rebuild the sign in August 1978, which is the one we see standing today.

But during its construction a “mistake” was made.

“I always get a kick out of telling people this when they’re standing in front of it,” Zarrinman says.

“Even though people just stand and stare at it when they visit it, they never notice.”

“When I point it out and tell them one of the ‘V’s in the ‘W’ is wider than the other by a significant margin, they’re always amazed.”

When the sign was rebuilt, it was done in proportion to the design in the early 1920s, “so the ‘mistake’, if you want to call it that, is still there.”