| What makes it historical? |
The Great Hollywood Cross, or Hollywood Pilgrimage Memorial Monument, was raised in 1923 in honor of Christine Witherall Stevenson, who founded the Philadelphia Art Institute and, after seeing the horrors of World War I, came to Los Angeles and co-founded the Hollywood Bowl! Originally, she wanted to show only spiritual plays, like The Light of Asia about the Buddha, and The Pilgrimage Play about Jesus, but divisions within the Art Alliance in favor of more secular fare led to Christine leaving the Bowl!
So, she went across the Cahuenga Pass and founded the Pilgrimage Theatre, now known as the Ford Theatre! After she died at the tender age of 44, a stone cross was erected at this site over the Ford Theatre. It came under criticism because it was funded by public dollars and even appeared on the Los Angeles County Seal, which bridged the church-state gap! For many years, the cross sat in disrepair until a brush fire took it all the way out! Luckily, it was restored in 1993 and now lights up every night with private funds! |
Hello, is it indeed possible to walk up/hike to the cross? I saw people discussing doing so on the cross’s Yelp listing, but wasn’t sure if they had done so legally or not (and didn’t want to assume it was OK and risk trespassing). If so, where is it recommended that one park in order to do so? Thank you!;
Hi Brian! Thanks for your question! I started my hike at the base of the hill on Cahuenga Blvd. I didn’t see any No Trespassing signs at the time, but that was six years ago. There were other folks coming and going, so I suspect there is another trail that comes in from the north. Not sure what it’s called, though.
Hi Bill, This is the photo I was getting in touch about. The ‘Contact’ function on your sight is still not working for me. Can you please contact me by e-mail. Many thanks!
Hi Geoff! You should see an email from me dated August 26. Check your spam folder, just in case!