Los Angeles police Monday pulled the wraps off a surprise that an environmental group was planning for Thursday.
Authorities disclosed that the Hollywood sign will be covered Thursday as part of “an international campaign” and will remain draped “until further notice.”
The e-mailed “community alert notification” to Hollywood residents urged that they “not be alarmed” because the 450-foot-long landmark “will remain in place and there will be no changes done to the sign.”
Police said the notification was issued “so we do not receive phone calls from worried citizens.”
The temporary alteration is being planned by the Trust for Public Land, which is scheduled to announce a land preservation initiative Thursday.
A spokesman for the San Francisco trust, Tim Ahern, said late Monday that his group was still awaiting permission to cover the sign from Los Angeles officials and the Hollywood Sign Trust, which maintains the sign. “The Police Department jumped the gun,” he said.
— Bob Pool in Hollywood
Photo: L.A. Times file