One of the world's most famous landmarks, the 82-year-old Hollywood sign perched high above Los Angeles, is to follow Tinseltown tradition and get a face lift, officials said.
The giant letters spelling out the word that is synonymous with movie production will undergo a little restoration and some cleaning, followed by several weeks of painting for the first time in 10 years.
Like many inhabitants of the city they overlook, the huge white letters that stand 13.6 meters in height and which are 10.9 meters wide originally need the occasional work done to maintain its appearance.
Two firms Red Diamond Coatings, a manufacturer of architectural coatings, and Bay Cal Commercial Painting, are donating their time and materials to the project, which is set to start Monday.
Between them, the firms will remove dirt, rust and bubbling from the letters before a
rust inhibitor primer is applied along with 1,140 liters of a white, fire-resistant coating.
"The Hollywood Sign Trust is grateful to Red Diamond and Bay Cal for their generous contribution to help keep the Hollywood sign looking its best for years to come," said Chris Baumgart, chairman of the nine-member trust.
The Hollywood sign was first erected in 1923 and was declared a Cultural Historical Monument in 1973.
Erected by Harry Chandler, the publisher of the Los Angeles Times, to advertise land for new homes, the sign originally had four extra letters and read "Hollywoodland."
The letters were only meant to be in place for a year and a half, but remained and in 1949 the local chamber of commerce decided to remove the then-decrepit sign's last four letters stripping the sign down to read "Hollywood."
Built for an initial cost of 21,000 dollars, the remaining white letters have since become an international symbol for the mystique of Hollywood and film-making.

座落在洛杉矶市郊山顶上的HOLLYWOOD标志已有82年历史，是当今世界最著名的地标之一。当地官员介绍说，这个标志即将依照Tinseltown的传统，即将进行修整翻新。
这些巨大的字母拼写而成的HOLLYWOOD是美国电影工业的标志，有关部门已决定对这些字母进行修补和清洗，还要粉刷几个星期，这是10年来第一次大规模维护。
这些巨大的白色英文字母高13.6米、宽10.9米，它们的外表就像它们脚下这座城市的广大居民一样，也需要进行不定期的维护。
建筑涂层生产商红钻石涂层公司和Bay Cal商业涂料公司将投入大量的时间和材料来完成这项工程，开工日期订在周一。
这两家公司的技术人员首先将清除大字表面的污垢、铁锈和气泡，然后粉刷一层添加了防锈剂的底漆，再用1140升白色防火漆将它重新粉刷一新。
“好莱坞标志保护委员会非常感谢这两家公司的慷慨出资，让好莱坞标志在未来保持最佳的形象，”好莱坞标志保护委员会主席克里斯·勃嘎特说。这个保护委员会共有9名成员。
好莱坞标志最早是在1923年建成的。1973年，被评为美国文化历史遗迹。
这个标志是《洛杉矶时报》的发行商哈里·钱德勒修建的，当时是为了吸引人们前来买地兴建家园，所以最早的广告比现在要多四个字母，写的是Hollywoodland（好莱坞庄园）。
这些字母本来只打算在这里放上一年半，可是因为各种原因，这个标志竟一直保留了下来。到1949年，当地商会决定去掉当时已经破旧不堪的最后四个字母，成为我们今天所见到的Hollywood。
这个标志建造初期的成本只有2.1万美元，而如今它们已经成为一个国际性的标志，标志着好莱坞和电影制作的奥妙。