|
|
|
February 16th, 1916 was the end of an era. That day saw the end of film-making in the township of Niles, a small rail town on the outskirts of the East Bay near San Francisco. The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company in Niles had made its last film and the big money had moved south to found what now is Hollywood whose community and film-making industry has been galvanized since 1923 with their world famous hillside sign. In Niles the memories of Charlie Chaplin, Bronco Billy and other legends of silent movies lingered on in the township and surrounding canyons and lent an air of nostalgic magic to the historic community left behind.
|
|
Although there are many varied accounts of how the sign came about our research so far has it that the very first sign to be seen on the hillside was on a barn towards the top of the hill. Some enterprising locals had marked the side of that barn with the words "Watch Niles Grow". Later, in 1926 (or thereabouts) the Niles Junior Chamber of Commerce first marked the hillside with the word "Niles" but the marking was not substantial or permanent. The purpose of this marking was to promote the local community and moreover, to promote local Niles businesses. These landmark letters soon became popular with the emerging aviation industry as a visual guide for pilots. The US Geological Survey quickly included this sign in their maps. During the Second World War the sign was disguised by scraping dirt under and over the sign for fear of being used as a visual reckoning point for enemy pilots. During the late 60s and 70s the sign fell into disrepair and a movement emerged from local residents to renovate and improve the sign. In 1990 a group of Niles volunteers led by local families constructed permanent reinforced concrete letters to create the local historic monument that can be seen from around the south bay today. The details surrounding this account is being determined through a series of filmed interviews with local antiquarians. The Foundation has an Honorary Historian, David Kiehn, as part of the team and we are endeavoring to determine the true course of events that led up to the sign as we know it today.
|
|