Some 15 or so years ago, I got curious on the
Paramount Pictures logo and decided to try and find out where the mountain idea came from. I knew it wasn't a real mountain, but the inspiration for it had to come from some where.
The jury may always be out on this one because history didn't provide exact details, but here's my theory, backed by some strong evidence --
William Wasdsworth Hodkinson was the man who started Paramount Pictures and he designed the mountain logo in 1914.
He grew up in the early 1900s in Ogden, Utah, 25 miles north of Salt Lake City. From his home, a 9,712-foot majestic mountain -- Ben Lomond Peak -- dominates the skyline to the north, rising a full vertical mile above the valley floor.
Although the 2 history books written on Paramount, "Paramount Pictures and the People Who Made Them" and "Mountain of Dreams" both fail to identify the inspirational mountain by name, here's what Leslie Halliwell who wrote "Mountain of Dreams" stated:
"The mountain he (Hodkinson) doodled on the back of an envelope was a memory of childhood in his home state of Utah."
After also growing up near Ogden, I believe Ben Lomond had to be the "Mountain of Dreams" inspiration. It's by far the most dominant mountain in view, though Hodkinson did exaggerate its summit a lot in the logo.
Ironically Ben Lomond isn't even the Weber County highpoint for that area. Willard Peak, about 50 feet higher is, though that peak is smaller in size and set back further to the north.
I climbed Ben Lomond a dozen or so times in my early years and challenge anyone who knows the Ogden area to find another such majestic mountain that could have been the inspirational "Mountain of Dreams."