The Hollywood sign officially turns 100! Iconic LA landmark is lit up with original lights to mark the occasion

The iconic Hollywood sign in Los Angeles is turning 100 years old today and will be lit up with its original lights to celebrate the birthday. 

On December 8, 1923, the sign - which read 'Hollywoodland' - was first illuminated to advertise an upscale residential real estate development in the Hollywood hills - the sign was shortened to 'Hollywood' in the 40s.

The sign will be illuminated once again tonight with some of the original lights from 1923, and two smaller replicas will recreate how it once blinked in the night as 'Hollywoodland,' KTLA reported. 

Non-profit group the Hollywood Sign Trust preserves the landmark and made sure the sign saw a new coat of paint for the big day.

The birthday makeover used up 400 gallons of white paint. 

L.A. Times publisher Harry Chandler built the billboard for $21,000 a century ago. 

Chandler was responsible for many more iconic 20th century SoCal landmarks - including the L.A. Coliseum, the Biltmore Hotel, the Hollywood Bowl and the California Institute of Technology. 

Each letter of the LA landmark is 45 feet tall and at least 30 feet wide - making it a difficult sight to miss when exploring the city of stars. 

In 1923 - workers used mules to haul the huge letters made of wood and sheet metal up the slope to where the sign sits today. 

The original version of the sign was lit up at night with the help of a German immigrant named Albert Kothe who maintained its 4,000 light bulbs.

Intended to last just a year and a half, the sign has since persisted, becoming one of the US' most identifiable landmarks and capturing the grandeur of an industry irrevocably linked to Americana and the golden age of cinema.

However, by the 1970s, the sign had become dilapidated, during a decade that marked a temporary decline in Hollywood and its lifeblood movie industry - fueled partially by the then then new advent of television and other home entertainment.

After years of neglect, the sign's now-storied letters had lost their trademark sparkle and were falling into disrepair.

By the late 70s, several letters from the sign had fallen over or were in pieces, and the landmark looked set to follow the seven wonders of the world into becoming nothing more than a relic of a former age.

However, thanks to an unlikely savior, the sign was ultimately saved - but not before being completely torn down and transformed.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hefner, 52 at the time, threw a lavish fund-raiser, and actually auctioned off letters from the old sign for $27,000 apiece.

Notable buyers included rock stars like Alice Cooper and actors like Gene Autry, who ended up forking over enough cash to restore the sign with new letters - the ones that stand today.

Following these efforts, The Hollywood Hills actually stood empty for about three months, without its trademark adornment, until the chamber was able to physically replace it with the new sign.

Hollywood would then enjoy a period of prosperity for the next three decades, during which time the film industry swelled to a semblance of its former glory.

During this span, as is standard practice today, the sign would undergo periodic cleaning every ten years, as to keep its emblematic sparkle.

The Daily Mail was given exclusive access to admire the dazzling 45-ft-high letters up close a week before the anniversary.

Not many people can boast that they’ve clambered over the Hollywood Sign - which is off-limits to the general public.

Members of the public who trespass into the sign's area could be arrested and subject to a fine of up to $10,000.