In honor of our week of stepping out into the limelight, I thought I’d test the weight of a Hollywood Icon.  I wasn’t able to find exact verifiable statistics on the weight of the Hollywood Sign, but I was able to get enough of an estimate going to state definitively that the sign falls into the “weighs more than me” category.

When you see the sign on television or in pictures, it’s difficult to imagine just how BIG this thing is.  (Unlike most things that look awesome and large and fabulous on TV and seen in real life make you say, “meh.”  I’m talking about YOU Mann’s Chinese Theater.)  But seen up (relatively) close this thing is jumbo sized.

Each of the letters is about as tall as a 4-story building.  The letters are 50 ft. tall and are drilled 20 ft. into concrete in the soil.  Each letter is backed by 140 feet of steel I-beams with about 100 feet of crossbeams.  I-beam of that type weighs in at about 150 lbs. per foot.  Then you have to add in the weight of the facing material and other supporting materials.  This gives us enough for a basic, back of the envelope computation:

Letter Height: 50 ft.

Letter I-beam supports: about 20,000 lbs.

Letter I-beam cross beams: about 10,000 lbs.

Other materials: about 10,000 lbs.

Estimated letter weight: 40,000 lbs. or about 20 tons.

Number of letters: 9

Total sign weight: about 180 tons

Conclusion: The Hollywood Sign weighs more than me.

P.S. The Fit Fatties are contemplating a hike to see this amazing icon.  Any interest in going?  Comment below.

Love,

The Fat Chick