Hugh Hefner, others donate money to save Hollywood sign from developers [Updated]

Playboy founder Hugh Hefner has come to the rescue of the Hollywood sign on Monday, anteing up $900,000 to help in the effort to preserve the land to the west of the famed landmark.

Another $500,000 matching grant came from the Tiffany Foundation and Aileen Getty, it was announced Monday by the Trust for Public Land, which spearheaded the rally to save the sign in the Hollywood Hills.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had been an early supporter of the effort to save the 138-acre property, attended a news conference to announce that the money had been raised. He said the Hollywood sign is a “symbol of dreams and a symbol of opportunity and hope.”

When Schwarzenegger heard that developers might sell the land to build luxury homes, he said he did "What a Terminator is supposed to do, which is to jump into action.”

The grassroots fundraising effort included residents holding bake sales to raise $12.5 million, which includes a purchase price of $11.7 million and related costs needed to purchase the land back from its Chicago owners.

The Trust for Public Land's leaders say Fox River Financial Resources Inc. executives had sought $40 million for the acreage, which features a spectacular 360-degree panorama of the Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley. The trust negotiated the lesser amount.

The company paid nearly $1.7 million for the peak eight years ago.

[Updated at 10:21 a.m.: An earlier version of this report incorrectly stated the land surrounds the Hollywood sign.]

-- Ching-Ching Ni

Photo: L.A. City Councilman Tom LaBonge, at lectern, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, second from left, along with Will Rogers, president and CEO of the Trust for Public Land, left, and Chris Baumgart, chairman of the Hollywood Sign Trust, announced that a $900,000 donation from Hugh Hefner of Playboy Enterprises closed the gap on their Save the Peak campaign to buy 138 acres of hillside near the famed Hollywood sign from developers at a news conference. Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Matches Malone]

Who was the Yahoo that sold the land in the first place? To a company in Chicago no less. I don't get it....

[Gilda]

Thrilled to hear it! Thank you to ALL the people who so graciously donated to this worthy cause.

I also want to thank the company who is selling the land for being willing to negotiate their original asking price down so far.

[Abbie Grant]

Arnold got it right. It does symbol hopes and dreams, and fercryinoutloud, we can't have enough of that to share in this war torn, depressed world. . . .

[Edgar]

Has anyone considered relocating the sign to another location. I think it would be more appropriate to move it westward to another hill closer to Hollywood instead of Silver Lake, which would make it more central to all the action. Its so far away that a large segment of Westsiders don't even get to see the sign anyway. The need for new up to code, earthquake safe homes is crucial and in short supply.

[Joaquinn]

When Schwarzenegger heard that developers might sell the land to build luxury homes, he said he did "What a Terminator is supposed to do, which is to jump into action.”

What a dweeb! He still thinks his movie roles were real. Tis explain oh so much...

[Jeff K.]

With all of the wealthy film celebrities in Hollywood, it is frankly embarrassing that it has taken this long to come up with the money to preserve this landmark from being encroached by developers. Let's round up to 13 million. 650 celebrities paying only 20K each (less than some pay for airfare) could have covered this with no problem. I am not a Hefner fan, but at least he did the right thing in this case.

[Clare]

Thank you Hugh Hefner! Thank you Tiffany Fdn. and Aileen Getty! And to anyone else who donated to save the sign. Thank you.

[Marcus B. Torrance.]

Very sad and quite ridiculous that in this city full of gazillionaires - many of whom make twice the $12 million required in just one film shoot - it was such a struggle to raise this money...to save the world famous symbol of the very industry and town that for many of them got them their ultra-lavish lifestyles in the first place!! Greed and selfishness reign supreme among L.A.'s wealthy and elite, with a few notable exceptions such as Hanks, Spielberg and Hefner... Thank you to them.

[Jon B. Patton]

This is great news for the City of Los Angeles and for the next generations who will live in the city for years to come. I am so proud of public and private partnerships that came together to preserve the land to the left of the H in the Hollywood sign. It is an example of what can be accomplished between public and private partnerships. Many, many important matters going on in the world today, but preserving this land was also important. So glad, in '04 when I heard the land was quietly purchased I thought that was the end of it. The recession hit and made this possible to purchase but I worried with the recession people wouldn't care- but they did and people from everywhere stepped up! To TPL, all of the government state and city officials, Hollywood community who stepped up, and all the millions of people who made donations - thank you. This was an important day in Los Angeles history whether people realize it or not. CONGRATS TO ALL! Now Arnold, I know you love California land so let's start helping runaway production and industrial businesses from fleeing the state, shall we? - JBP

[James]

Not surprisingly those people most closely identified with the Hollywood sign contributed nothing. I would think with all the millions of dollars that are bestowed on those celebrities that some of it would have trickled down. I guess the stars are too busy doing drugs, hiring strippers and getting plastic surgery.

[clam608]

Hollywood sign is not just a symbol of Tinseltown. To the world, it's a symbol of the America just like the Status of Liberty is.

[ridiculous]

I can't believe they'll shell out this much money for a sign. What about all the homeless people??

[ray]

Why not just change it to... Sanctuary City.

[My opinon means nothing]

Oh great, I suppose he wants a giant bunny put up there next to the sign.

[REA]

Will they put bunny ears on the O's?
Thanks Hef.

[Douglas Eisenstark]

Let's see...they paid 1.7 million and are selling it for 10 times as much? Talk about "flipping" realty! What other national landmarks can we threaten to despoil?

[Jim Everett]

Take a look at a panorama of the whole valley from the other side, showing the Hollywood sign in context.

[RIC]

THE MAN -THE MYTH- THE SIGN SAVER!!!!

[Carol]

There are many, many movie stars who could easily have given money to pay this off much earlier. All those who were earning $15-20M per picture even a few years ago, where are you now?

[westsidesvs]

wow this land only sold for 1.8 mil eight years ago? why wasn't it bought then? that company made almost a 600% return on their investment.

[CSUN Student]

This is ludicrous. Instead of this meaningless junk, why doesn't Arnold terminate tuition hikes at the State University system instead?

[cshargeit]

how many more times will i thank hugh hef--- now just shut down the oil-military machine and back all electric cars.

[Robert Richard]

I think of the Hollywood sign as a good luck symbol and always sit on the right side of the airplane so I can see it when flying into LAX. Congratulations to Hollywood for obtaining the land around this iconic symbol.

[Zabar]

Look at that site. There's no way the developers could have made anything decent around there in this economy.
The slope is terrible, access is poor.
Los Angeles was basically blackmailed into paying 12times of the value of the property by a real estate squatter who paid a million for it.
The city should have declared it a historical monument and made it impossible to develop.
The developer highballed the intitial offer at 40 mill-which absurd. We all know where real estate prices have gone since 2007-in the tank!
If anything, it's maybe worth 3 million-but really, folks. There is no way the developer could have made 40 million building high-end houses on a slide zone. 12 million for raw land! Are you out of your nut?
They should have take the signs down and rebuilt them in Griffith Park for 500,000 bucks. LAME

[Violet]

It should not have been sold to an out-of-towner in the first place. This is a California LANDMARK! It is ridiculous - paying 6 times more than what it's worth 8 years ago! What if the media just kept quiet and people did not rally to save the sign? We would be left with that cardboard backdrop at the Universal Studios :-(