The sign was not constructed, as one might suppose, by the movie business as a means of celebrating the importance of Hollywood to this industry ; instead, it was first constructed in 1923 as a means of advertising homes for sale in a 500-acre housing subdivision in a part of Loa Angeles called “Hollywood” The sign that was constructed at the time, of course, said “Hollywood”. Over the years, people began referring to the area by the shortened version “Hollywood” and after the sign and its site were donated to the city in 1945, the last four letters were removed.