Hollywood Sign Watch: Preservationists Ask Californians for Help

Advocates trying to preserve the iconic mountaintop Hollywood sign in Los Angeles have less than two weeks to come up with the remaining $1.5 million dollars needed to buy the $12.5 million plot of land from a consortium of Chicago investors, reports a Los Angeles Times blog.

In a last-ditch effort, The Trust for Public Land, has asked Californians to donate the final million dollars by April 30. Philanthropist Aileen Getty and The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, who have already donated $1 million each to the cause, are offering an additional $500,000 grant if the community reaches the benchmark.

While the land's current owner, Fox River Financial Resources Inc., agreed to push back the sale deadline, it warns that if its price is not met it plans to build four luxury homes on the rugged, historically untouched site.