(Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)

Associated Press | The effort to preserve the land beside the world-famous Hollywood sign
has taken a typical Tinseltown twist: “To be continued.”

The Trust for Public Land said Wednesday it has received a 16-day
extension to finish raising the $12.5 million it needs to buy and
preserve the hilltop property from private developers. The trust hopes to buy the land from its Chicago-area owners and give it
to the city so it can be incorporated into the adjacent, 4,200-acre
Griffith Park.

Its purchase option was originally scheduled to expire Wednesday. The group says it’s $1.5 million away from its goal.

Aileen Getty, a billionaire daughter of oil baron J. Paul Getty, and The Tiffany and Co. Foundation have contributed $1 million each to the effort.