Detroit’s new ‘Hollywood’ sign is up, but some aren’t impressed: Here’s why

Sign installed ahead of NFL Draft in Detroit

Detroit sign on I-94. (City of Detroit)

DETROIT – Ahead of the NFL Draft in Detroit, the city installed its own “Hollywood” style sign along I-94, for visitors to see as they entered the area.

The sign was unveiled along eastbound I-94 between Central Street and Cecil Avenue, a collaboration between the city, DTE Energy, MDOT, FHWA and the Fairmount Sign Company.

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It took several weeks for the letters to be built and then a few days for them to be installed, but now that it’s up, some people aren’t thrilled with the look.

Comments on the city’s Facebook page feature jokes like, “They got the letters off someone’s refrigerator,” and, “When you order your “Hollywood style” sign from Wish.”

Detroit sign on I-94. (City of Detroit)

Detroit rapper GMac Cash already dropped a song dissing the sign, which is just classic GMac Cash. The song starts with “it looks like they got these letters from Toys R Us, bruh!”

One of the biggest discrepancies people are pointing out is that it doesn’t look like a “rendering” that was floating around the internet, but that rendering, linked here, was never an official rendering -- it was just an AI generated image spread by Instagram accounts like MetroDetroitNews.

The sign was never going to be almost as big as the Ren Cen, guys. Come on.

The official rendering that was released by the city is below, and it’s pretty close to the real sign.

Detroit I-94 sign rendering. (WDIV)

Not everyone hates it, there are plenty of supportive reactions on social media, but when you’re comparing the real world to the AI world, you’re going to have some issues.


About the Author

Ken Haddad has proudly been with WDIV/ClickOnDetroit since 2013. He also authors the Morning Report Newsletter and various other newsletters, and helps lead the WDIV Insider team. He's a big sports fan and is constantly sipping Lions Kool-Aid.

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