On the 101 freeway in Hollywood, an artistic floral structure known as the “Hollywood Heart” beautifies the passage of thousands of passers-by every day.
It is not surprising that flower hearts, elaborate arrangements of heart-shaped flowers discovered on the side of highways, are the subject of debate as to their authorship. This was long true of the remarkable example on the 101 Freeway in Hollywood, where two magenta-colored bougainvillea bushes were formed into a giant heart on a retaining wall near the Capitol Records building. Dubbed the “Hollywood Heart” by local fans, the wispy shrubbery's quiet elegance embellishes the otherwise mundane and stressful experience of driving on this urban highway in the City of Angels and endless traffic jams.The Hollywood Heart had already become an urban legend in 2015, charming over 200,000 Californians caught up in the daily stop-and-go routine, when the Los Angeles Daily News began investigating this and another mysterious heart (albeit one made only of artificial roses). After talking to floral experts, neighbors, Caltrans officials and a photographer who was inspired by the shape, it was clear that it wasn't natural. But it was still not clear who had installed it there and why.
