The sign that found a new life
For years a way-finding sign stood in Baywood, until one day it fell over due to a fatal case of rust. It turned into an opportunity. Celebrate Los Osos knew the County wouldn’t require a permit if original sign was replaced in the same location and with the same footprint.
We just needed to convince the County a new sign in Baywood was grant-worthy during a very tight budget year. We put our heads together and wrote another grant and talked about the value of…signs.
Think about it. What would we do without signs? Crosswalks, road junctions, parking, street names — signs are a critical element in our lives. When they are well done, we take them for granted because they help to get from one place to another.
Technology has changed some things with the GPS and Google Maps, but people still want to live in, work in and visit neighborhoods with character that have a unique sense of place. Hence, places like Baywood still need to be distinguished, not only with historic sights (and the world’s only a cow-bear), but with wayfinding signage to help people find points of interest. Signs are tools that help define a place and let people know they’ve arrived at, or are heading for, someplace special. They can also inform people, especially visitors, that there is more to an area than the single destination they may have come for.
Very special thanks to Supervisor Bruce Gibson who has supported Celebrate Los Osos’ projects for years and from donors who made this new sign financially possible. Then there are those special people like Bob Crizer of Crizer Construction who when asked if he could “help” build a new sign was already designing how the new one could be so much better and longer lasting than the last one. He decided it needed to be built from Ipe wood, one of the densest woods on earth, making it very durable and resistant to scratches, splinters and the marine environment. It's also naturally resistant to rot, abrasion, and insects.
The way-finding “map” was provided by Visit Los Osos-Baywood and highlights all of the unique features of our “off-the-beaten-path tiny town.
When it came time to finish the sign, Tom Needham (of the Red Barn painting fame) sanded and coated the new sign. Gary and staff from Goofy Graphics applied the “map” portion and Bob Crizer, crew and friends installed it in exactly the same spot where the old one had been.
It does take a village. And what a village this is!
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