Current photographs of the Hollywood Sign will be included in the time capsule, including this photo by RD Willis. (photo courtesy of the Hollywood Sign Trust and RD Willis. All Rights Reserved)

A project to capture the timeless nature of the Hollywood Sign in a time capsule has begun, and the public is invited to get involved.

The Hollywood Sign Trust started the effort in early August with what is being called a “digital” time capsule, which will go live online in coming weeks and will feature a collection of photographs, information and personal testimonials about the Hollywood Sign and its impact on Los Angeles. The goal is to create an online space where people can upload digital photographs and share “fan mail” stories about what the sign means to them. The digital time capsule will give people around the world a way to virtually visit the sign and feel close to the landmark, said Jeff Zarrinnam, Hollywood Sign Trust chairman.

“We know people have a lot of memories, so we are asking them to give us what they have, anything on any significant thing that has happened with the Hollywood Sign,” Zarrinnam said. “It will give people a chance to see what other people have shared and it will show how much it means to Hollywood.”

The trust is also organizing a “treasure trove” of photographs and historic information in its archives for inclusion in the digital time capsule. The sign debuted in 1923 as an advertisement for real estate sales in the Hollywood Hills, and was only supposed to last for a few years. It stood the test of time, however, and was designated a cultural-historic landmark in 1973.

The Hollywood Sign trust was established in 1978 to renovate the Hollywood Sign, which had fallen into disrepair. The trust continues today as the sign’s caretaker, overseeing maintenance and leading efforts to promote it as an attraction. The sign celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023, and Zarrinnam said the digital time capsule project is the “cap” on the celebration.

The trust plans to eventually create a visitors center for the Hollywood Sign and will add some of the items in the online version to a real time capsule. Plans for the visitor’s center are still being formulated.

“If we tried to take everything about the Hollywood Sign and put it in a real time capsule, we wouldn’t be able to because it would be too big,” he added. “There is nothing concrete yet [with the visitors center], but it is something I have been working on for years. If you can dream it in Hollywood, you can make it happen.”

Zarrinnam said legacy businesses and Hollywood celebrities have signed on to contribute testimonials for the digital time capsule, including Carol Burnett, Jay Leno, Alice Cooper and Jimmy Kimmel. The trust will unveil them later, but offered a sneak peek at what people are saying.

“The Hollywood Sign is a great reminder that Hollywood loves us and is always watching over us,” read a testimonial from Kimmel that will be included in the digital time capsule.

“From the earliest days of the entertainment industry becoming established in Los Angeles at the turn of the last century, Musso and Frank and the Hollywood Sign – originally written as HOLLYWOODLAND – have paralleled each other like the closest of siblings,” wrote Mark Echeverria, COO, CFO and proprietor of the Musso and Frank Grill, which opened in 1919. “As Musso’s reached our 100th milestone in 2019, so too, did our younger brother, the Hollywood Sign, shortly thereafter. Musso’s and the Hollywood Sign, now both centenarians, are today more vibrant and popular than ever. These two icons are the epitome of living history in the greatest town in the world – Hollywood.”

Zarrinnam said the response has been overwhelming.

“We are getting a lot of people who are interested,” he added. “It could be an audio file, it could be a photograph, it could be a short story or a poem, an artwork, sculpture or a song.”

Visit hollywoodsign.org to learn more about the digital time capsule project, including information on uploading material.

“Anything they want to share about the sign is something we can put in our digital time capsule,” Zarrinnam said.