A Sign to Safe Haven in West Hollywood During the AIDS Crisis

Back in the mid ‘80s, an artist gifted the newly incorporated City of West Hollywood their own version of the iconic Hollywood sign.

Unveiling of the West Hollywood sign, West Hollywood, 1986. Photo courtesy of Sallie M. Fiske Papers and Photographs/ONE Archives at the USC Libraries. 

Paulo Murillo was a boy back then. He came to StoryCorps with his husband Kevin Chase to remember how that sign showed him the way to where he belonged.

Paulo Murillo on the rooftop of the Sports Connection overlooking Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood in the early 1990s. By Steven DeFalco, courtesy of Paulo Murillo.

Top Photo: Kevin Chase and Paulo Murillo at their StoryCorps interview in West Hollywood, CA on November 17, 2025. By Ryan Doyle for StoryCorps.

This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

This conversation was recorded as part of a partnership between StoryCorps Studios and the City of West Hollywood.

Originally aired January 23, 2026 on NPR’s Morning Edition.