Council zeroes in on changes to “Redondo Beach/King Harbor” entrance sign
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