Michael Badillo Benjamin White Genaro Fernandez Will Arnspar

1. Michael Badillo Benjamin White Genaro Fernandez Will Arnspar An Historic Overview of the Hollywood Sign and the Surrounding Area

2. Current Access to the Hills There are three trails that permit public accessibility to the hollywood hills near the actual iconic sign: The Hollyridge Trail, Brush Canyon Trail, and Burbank Peak Trail, Tourism rates are extremely high due to people visiting the iconic Hollywood sign each year. According to travelandleisure.com, “More than 45 million visitors come to Los Angeles every year, and about 10 million of them make it to Griffith Park.” (Plautz, travelandleisure.com)

3. History of the Hollywood Hills • The Hollywood Hills were originally inhabited by the Tongva people and the Chumash people. • The first Europeans in the Hollywood Hills were a company of spanish soldiers and settlers who arrived in January 1776 • In 1885 Griffith J. Griffith purchased the hills and and on December 16, 1896, he sold the land to the city of Los Angeles. • He intended the land, which came to be known as Griffith Park, to be a place for urban populations to visit and admire nature.

4. Environmental Impact Benefits: • Home to a wide diversity of plants and animals • Local Species and little to no exotic species • Natural with little outside help, plants are able to grow in a natural way Consequences: • The trail invades on these numerous species • The Cellular tower at the top of the park

5. Regulations/Planned Renovations • Between December 24th, 2018 and January 1st, 2019, two additional LAPD officers and one LAPD sergeant, as well as one additional Park Ranger will be deployed to hot spots around the Hollywood Sign popular with visitors. • According to a Comprehensive Strategies Report Commissioned by the Los Angeles Council District 4, there are 29 suggested ways, in 7 different categories, that can be worked on to improve access, safety, and mobility around Griffith Park and the Hollywood Sign • The Categories include: Enhance Pedestrian Safety Improve Access to Griffith Park and Trailheads Expand Transit Opportunities Improve Traffic Flow and Reduce Congestion Improve Emergency Vehicle Access Increase Parking Efficiency and Compliance Rates Actively Manage and Provide Optimized Visitor Opportunities

6. Thrills In The Hollywood Hills Hollywood Hills Virtual Reality Tours

7. What Is It? An interactive engagement project that puts Angelenos and their neighbors alike behind the scenes of the real Hollywood hills and their ecological presence in the past, present, and future of Hollywood. It is important to inform residents of their personal footprint and impact this great historical area of Southern California.

8. A Project for the People Our Ambition and hope for this Museum is to establish an exciting virtual tour that for a small cost of entry, will be able to give visitors the ultimate guide to the enthralling history that we have just displayed. We believe today’s technology will make it possible to get a complete appreciation of the Hollywood Hills combining History, Ecology, and Culture. This complete overview of the area will educate people on more than just a precise location and enable them to understand the landscape they live in from a deeper perspective.

9. The Plan Now, Ideally, we would like to purchase 25 to 30 VR headsets that are compatible with both Apple Iphones and Samsung smartphones. Visitors would be able to download a free App that seamlessly pairs with the VR headset and only works through our tours. We will combine history with the future and take such important information about the Hollywood Hills and implement it into a virtual landscape that depicts 3D images and pop up facts about various parts of the iconic trails as they are being seen by visitors.

10. Logistics There will definitely be some heavy up-front costs that will come with purchasing the VR headsets of preferably only the highest of quality. According to theverge.com, “By almost any metric, high-end headsets cost a lot. The Oculus Rift is $599, plus the still-unknown cost of its motion controllers. The HTC Vive is $799.” (Robertson, theverge.com) However, by charging an admission fee of about 10 to 15 dollars per person, we project those upfront costs will soon be diminished. GIS will also be implemented to guide visitors to the most important aspects of the area from native and non-native plants, historic constructions and plans, areas that were potentially inhabited by natives, among other important facts

11. The Benefits According to the Association of Talent Development, “Many experts contend that the memory retention of subjects after a VR experience tends to be higher than after viewing video- or text-based learning materials” (Dinsmore, td.org) As well as that “...it is easily repeatable, scalable, and provides isolation from distractions.” (Dinsmore, td.org)

12. More Benefits As time moves on, it will become increasingly hard to maintain physical facilities to use as museums. By developing environmental and historical information about the Hollywood Hills into a technological format that requires very little time consuming maintenance, we will not only be able to preserve that crucial history for all of Los Angeles, but we will be able to better bring that history back into the spotlight.

13. -Bahr-Evola, Amanda J, “Hollywood sign.”, Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2018, EBSCOhost, ezproxy.whittier.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=88960825&site=eds-live. -Braudy, Leo. The Hollywood Sign : Fantasy and Reality of an American Icon. Yale University Press, 2011. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.whittier.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=359531&site=eds-live. -Graham, Jefferson. "Tram proposed for Hollywood sign." USA Today, 13 July 2018, p. 03D. Biography In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A546519036/BIC?u=whit75390&sid=BIC&xid=5d785017. Accessed 22 Jan. 2019. -Rylah, Juliet B. “Griffith Park Turns 120 This Year: Here's Why It's LA's Most Important Park.”, Thrillist Los Angeles, 17 January 2017. https://www.thrillist.com/lifestyle/los-angeles/griffith-park-observatory-los-angeles-history-anniversary# -Pampanin, Mark, “PRESS RELEASE: Hollywood Sign Security Increased for the Holidays” LaCity.org, December 21, 2018, http://davidryu.lacity.org/press_release_hollywood_sign_security_increased_for_the_holidays THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN TRUST, “THE SAGA OF THE SIGN”, Hollywood Sign Trust, 2018, https://hollywoodsign.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Hollywood-Sign-Brochure-FINAL_v2_110118.pdf Sources

14. Sources Continued “Trails to the Hollywood Sign in Griffith Park” hikespeaks.com, Accessed January 24th, 2018. https://www.hikespeak.com/california/la/griffith-park-hollywood-sign-hikes/ Dinsmore, Alejandro. “Research Backs Benefits of VR Training” td.org, Thursday, June 7, 2018. https://www.td.org/insights/research-backs-benefits-of-vr-training Robertson, Adi. “The Ultimate VR Headset Buyer’s Guide” theverge.com, accessed January 24th, 2018. https://www.theverge.com/a/best-vr-headset-oculus-rift-samsung-gear-htc-vive-virtual-reality Mukri, Jon K. “An Urban Wilderness Identity.” Vision Plan 2007, http://www.hollywoodunitednc.org/GP%20Vision_Plan_draft_Final_7_10_13.pdf