The Sign Vandals Love to Touch Up : Hollywood Landmark Will Get Protection From Graffiti Artists

City officials launched a new effort Tuesday to discourage vandals and graffiti artists who for years have done their best to make an eyesore out of one of Hollywood’s best-known landmarks.

The big HOLLYWOOD sign, which i s more apt to read HOL L WOO D or something even less recognizable, will be better protected by a 100-foot-long fence being erected by the Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Department along a section of West Mulholland Drive.

The fence, officials said, will block access to the steep, half-mile trail up Griffith Park’s Mt. Lee that is used by most of the daily tide of tourists, youth gang members and others seeking a spot for a picnic or to leave their marks on the big white letters with cans of spray paint.

Frequently Vandalized

Jaybee Beswick, a painting contractor who removes graffiti from the sign about twice a month for Community Youth Gang Services, a county-financed program, said the 400-foot-long, corrugated-metal and steel-girdered sign is vandalized virtually every day.

“When I was up one Saturday,” he said, “there must have been 100 people up the hill to see the sign. Sometimes I’ll be up here covering some graffiti and someone will be writing on another part of the sign.”

Richard Ginevan, chief park supervisor, said the city is spending $1,000 to build the eight-foot, screen-like barrier along Mulholland Drive, the same type of fence it uses to stop errant balls at city golf courses. After it is completed Friday, it will be difficult to scale because the links are too small to get a shoe through, he said.

Ginevan said the department is trying to discourage hikers, but not tourists who drive up to Mulholland for a look at the sign.

“What we are trying to do is prevent people from walking up to the sign, those who bring alcohol up there, and who climb and deface the sign,” he said. “It’s not a designated hiking trail, and its a very dangerous part of the park. The sign is built on a very steep hillside. We don’t want to make it an attractive nuisance.”

The Parks and Recreation Department decided in April to erect the fence, but postponed it because crews were busy repairing swimming pools. The fence was given a higher priority, however, in the face of pressure from the hillside residents and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which maintains the sign.

Residents Complain

Hollywoodland residents below the sign complain about noise and drinking. They are fearful of brush fires that may be started by vandals.

Last Thursday, Ginevan met with representatives of Councilmen Michael Woo and John Ferraro, chamber president Bill Welsh and homeowners to discuss how to fence off the sign. The decision to start work this week came as a result of the meeting.

Ginevan said park officials shelved a proposal by the chamber to border three sides of the fence with 1,200 feet of chain link and barbed wire equipped with sensors to warn police at the touch. Parks and Recreation officials did not like the idea of fencing off such a large section of the public park, and deer or other park animals could trip off the sensors, Ginevan said.