How About a Gondola Ride to the Hollywood Sign?

[Updated 12-25-2017] Barry Diller and Diane von Fursterberg, the billionaire philanthropists who donated $35 million to the High Line in New York City and tried to follow that up with plans for a new park in the Hudson River at Pier 55, are back with another pie-in-the-sky proposal that could reshape the public realm.

This time the object if Diller's interest is located in Los Angeles, where the power couple has been pushing "a plan to fund a $25-30 million gondola that would ferry tourists to the Hollywood sign," reports Gene Maddeus. The couple first pitched the idea three years ago, but gained little traction. According to Maddeus, the project has gained renewed attention under the leadership of von Furstenberg’s son, Alexander.

"The project would carry tourists from the parking lot of the L.A. Zoo up to Mount Lee, where it would afford a close-up view of the Hollywood sign," according to Maddeus. "In the early discussions, Alexander von Furstenberg has emphasized the parallel to New York’s High Line project, even referring to the gondola as the "Sky Line.'"

Maddeus also offers details of the current status of the project (which is extremely speculative) and what kind of political support and environmental review would be necessary to deliver the project.