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That Cahuenga Peak has remained undeveloped to this day is a lucky result of Howard Hughes' difficulty with women. A remnant open space in a spreading sea of development, the peak had already become famous as a backdrop for the Hollywood Sign when the famed industrialist, aviator, and film producer bought it in 1940. Hughes planned to build a mansion for his girlfriend, famed film star Ginger Rogers, whom he intended to marry.

But the relationship failed before the house got built. The reason for the breakup was Hughes’s indiscreet infidelity. Rogers dumped Hughes as he lay in a hospital bed after a serious car crash. She returned all of his gifts of jewelry in a basket before hurling her emerald engagement ring at him.

Huges died in 1976, and the land remained in his estate for another 20 years. In all that time--sixty years total-- hikers drifted over from Griffith Park, butterflies bred in the chamise, and lizards scuttled beneath the chaparral. The city expanded to the edge of the peak, making it even more valuable as a rare close-to-home open space. And the Hollywood Sign and its undeveloped backdrop became a symbol of fame, fortune, and infinite opportunity--the Hollywood Dream.

In 2002, the Hughes estate put 138-acre Cahuenga Peak on the market, presenting a rare opportunity to protect a large, iconic open space in the heart of the nation's most densely settled region. The City of Los Angeles hoped to purchase the land as a natural extension of Griffith Park. But at the height of the real estate market, fundraising fell short, and a development group from Chicago scooped up the property and secured rights to build several estates along the ridgeline.

With the land subdivided, it was again listed for sale in 2008 for $22 million--and once again it seemed that there might be a chance to protect it. In April 2009, The Trust for Public Land secured a one-year option to purchase the property with the hopes of preserving it for generations to come. And because of the falling real estate market, this second chance comes at a very reasonable price of $12.5 million, a little more than half of what the land was listed for in 2008.

Visit back tomorrow for a fun post about the history of the sign and some amazing pics. Thank you!

For more information about the campaign and how to help, please visit SaveHollywoodland.org 

This is the listing for the property, pretty incredible.

 

Reblogged Via SaveHollywoodLand.org

My one other aquisition during my all-too brief visit to CT last weekend was this batch of 4 Lobby Cards from the 1940 Warner Bros. film "Castle on the Hudson", directed by Anatole Litvak. For the un-initiated Lobby cards are generally 11"x14" in size, printed on heavier paper than the thin 27"x41" one-sheet posters and usually have 8 cards to a set, often including what is known as a "Title Card" as the first card. John Garfield and Ann Sheridan are two of the main stars I have focused on in my collecting escapades and I have quite a few items for each of them but none from this film so I am genuinely excited to have these in the house! Of particular note is that these are printed on a weird linen type paper that Warner Bros sometimes used for their lobby cards. It always has a more yellow/brown coloring to it than the regular heavy white paper that most LC's are printed on. Many thanks to my good friend Mr Door Tree for making it possible for me to add these to my collection!

In the words of the immortal John Huston:
"He was endowed with the greatest gift a man can have - talent. The whole world came to recognize it . . . his life, though not a long one measureed in years, was a rich full life . . . We have no reason to feel any sorrow for him - only for ourselves for having lost him. He is quite irreplaceable. There will never be another like him."

well said!!!!

Here's the rest of Bogey's rogues gallery of classic characters with interesting names!

Bogart as Sam Spade along with Peter Lorre, Mary Astor and Sidney Greenstreet in a scene from John Huston's masterpiece "The Maltese Falcon". One of the best examples of every single aspect of a film coming together and meshing perfectly! There was no looking back for Bogey after this one!

A lot of actors have played characters with interesting, unique or just plain silly names but I dont think any can compare to the motley bunch that Humphrey Bogart played during his amazing career!

Bogey's colorful cast of character's started with his unforgettable performance as killer "Duke Mantee" in Archie Mayo's 1936 production of "The Petrified Forest". Bogey had played the part on stage with star Leslie Howard and legend has it that Howard insisted Bogey also play the part in the film version or he wasnt going to be involved!