Title
Public Art Collection Monthly Spotlight: Sign Hill Letters (Erin O’Brien, Business Program Manager)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
It is recommended that the Cultural Arts Commission receive information about the City’s existing public art collection through a monthly highlight.
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BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
In response to the Commission’s interest in learning more about the City’s public art collection, staff have been providing a monthly spotlight featuring selected works from the collection. This month’s feature is the Sign Hill Letters, located on Sign Hill Park.
The graphic monument commonly referred to as “Sign Hill” is South San Francisco’s most noticeable and beloved art installation. The historical artifact was created by City leaders in the early 20th century to advertise, attract and invite heavy industry to relocate into the hospitable and budding community.
Although the wording, composed of three lines that read: "South | San Francisco | The Industrial City," has remained, two versions of the sign evolved over time. Located on Sign Hill Park, the original 1923 whitewashed lettering was created by using a mixture of powdered lime, white cement, and water. The lettering was set on the southern side of a steep, 581-foot-high hill, that forms part of the San Bruno Mountains.
Years later, to reduce the maintenance of the impermanent lettering, the South San Francisco Chamber of Commerce advocated for the creation of a concrete sign. In 1929, the goal of a prominent and permanent hillside sign that attracted industry and invited new residents was realized. The individual letters ranged in height from 48 to 65 feet, in an anamorphic arrangement on the contoured hill to create the illusion, from a distance, of straight, regularly sized and spaced text against the uneven surface of the natural landscape.
By the mid 1980’s, the area had been moving away from heavy industry and towards biotech technologies, light industry, transportation and other late 20th century economic priorities. A segment of the population considered the sign’s appellation, “Industrial,” irrelevant and archaic. There was a movement to remove or alter the sign. Consequently, to preserve the graphic monument, in 1986, Sign Hill was designated a historic resource by South San Francisco's Historic Preservation Commission.
Ten years later, through the efforts of Edna Harks, town historian and archivist, Sign Hill was placed on the California Register of the Office of Historic Preservation and the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service’s - National Register of Historic Places.
The cherished artistic marker continues to serve as a guiding symbol, visibly identifying the City of South San Francisco, celebrating its industrial origins and promoting community pride to new generations.
More information on the overall public art collection can be found under the “Interactive Map” tab on the Cultural Arts website: www.ssfca.gov/culturalarts <http://www.ssfca.gov/culturalarts>. Note, as previously mentioned, the “Interactive Map” is in the process of being refreshed.
Attachment 1: March 2026 Cultural Arts Commission Public Art Spotlight - Sign Hill Letters