by Garth Meyer
An update to the “Redondo Beach/King Harbor” sign is coming. The city council narrowed down changes in a Nov. 4 discussion, later to confer with its design consultant and finalize details.
Jordis Small of Stellen Design – who created the city’s new logo – put forth seven options for the 1960s arched sign at 190th Street and Catalina Avenue.
The Redondo council considered whether new lettering should appear in “just blue” or “branding blue,” and what revisions should be made to the amenities list beneath the arc: should “boat launch” be added, should “sportfishing” be taken out, since the sportfishing pier is gone from the harbor, could “restaurants” be replaced with “dining” or “food,” for space reasons?
“Portofino Inn” would be dropped in favor of “hotels.”
“There’s been a vitriolic response about taking out sportfishing,” said City Councilman Zein Obagi, Jr.
“I would prefer to keep ‘sportfishing’ on there.”
Should the main sign’s font which Ms. Small proposed be thickened? Should the original font be kept?
Should the word “marinas” remain on the sign?
Mayor Jim Light said no, that was unnecessary, as boaters already know where local marinas are.
Mike Witzansky, city manager, said “Seaside” could be cut from “Lagoon,” if need be.
“Do we need a nod to the old sign?” asked Councilmember Paige Kaluderovic.
“The nod is the sign itself,” Councilman Chadwick Castle said.
The shape of the sign will not change, only lettering and art would be modified.
“This isn’t just to make it prettier,” Obagi, Jr., said. “It’s for consistency, to continue to get investment in Redondo Beach by branding Redondo Beach.”
Lee Coller of the Harbor Commission spoke in public comment in support of keeping “sportfishing.”
“I strongly recommend including the boat launch,” added Mark Hansen, longtime King Harbor boater and city volunteer – just named the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce 2025 “Man of the Year.” “We’ve gone 65 years without a boat launch. It’s a wonderful advertisement. Let’s put in stuff unique to our harbor.”
“It’s tough to do this by committee,” Mayor Light said.
Witzansky pointed out that the planned boat launch would not be built for at least five years.
In the end, the city council settled on Option 7 for the sign update – with the new city logo in the center circle, and a potentially-thicker new font for the words “Redondo Beach / King Harbor.”
Wording for the amenities list was not decided upon. City staff aims to bring back a final draft for approval in December.
Earlier this year, the Redondo city council approved $134,000 in the 2025-26 capital improvements budget for the sign work.
It is expected to be finished midway through next year. ER
Design by committee is never a good idea. This new rendition of the grand arch is devoid of any personality, much like the modern huge box houses that are replacing the cottages on the avenues. And the fact that the new logo was designed by a contest for free, robbed a talented graphic designer and/or design agency of some income.
Her firm was paid for the design. The Council also ran a public contest at the request of the public. The original design from the design firm was selected. The graphics in the center of the arch has changed each time the sign was maintained. While some like the hand painted look, it is too detailed to be memorable – I asked over two dozen long term residents what was in the center of the sign. None answered correctly. I am a big advocate for preserving history in Redondo. But I don’t consider the artwork at the center of the sign to be historic. It was last updated sometime after 2010, so it is less than 15 years old. The objective of the gateway sign is for visitors. It should be something that is memorable in the short time a driver passes under or by the sign.
Frankly I think the sign is fine as is, and we shouldn’t be spending $100k to change our font to sans-serif to blend in with the Manhattan Beaches of the world. I for one, like the sign and its serifs as is, and I think the effects of this “branding” effort will be marginal.
The sign is due for maintenance. It has been in the CIP since 2023. The structure needs rust treated and then repainting. The plastic parts of the sign are faded and the paint is cracking. The cost will not change regardless of the font and artwork selected.
The needless redesign has all the charm of an eye chart.
Like most other residents I do not like the new sign and wonder why we are spending all this money on it when there’s other more important problems to solve in the city.
The sign is due for maintenance. The structure is rusting, the plastic sign is faded and the paint is cracking. It has been on the CIP since 2023. The cost will be the same no matter what graphic and font are chosen.