For over 35 years arrivals to Los Osos/Baywood Park have been greeted by welcoming signs, designed and painted by well-known Los Osos sign maker Robert Brooks, on both Los Osos Valley Road and South Bay Boulevard.  The years were not kind to the signs and it became evident they were starting to fall apart, showing severe weathering and faded, peeling paint.  Celebrate Los Osos undertook the project of restoring the iconic Los Osos bear signs as one of our community projects.  In the Spring of 2013 local contractors Bob Crizer and Gerard Ages and sign maker Sean Beauchamp, of Southpaw Signs, along with CLO volunteers' removed the old and tattered Los Osos Bear signs and started the restoration work.

1stBearSign

While the project was an important one, it turned out to be very complicated.  Besides the faded peeling paint, the old redwood was dry, splitting and crumbling in places.  Volunteers sanded, glued and rotary ground the signs in preparation for the art restoration.  The wood was repaired, bracing was placed on the back of the signs, and steel reinforcing "L" brackets were placed on the sign posts.  The repainting and preservation work was done by Sean Beauchamp and muralist Rebecca McFarland.  The restoration was completed in Spring 2014 and in June the signs were reinstalled along South Bay Blvd and Los Osos Valley Road by Brandon Walker, Jerry Matheny and Beauchamp.  Photos