The Port of San Diego on March 2 will dedicate a new $113,000 entrance sign welcoming visitors and touting businesses on Shelter Island.
A 10:30 a.m. ceremony is planned in the parking lot of Brigantine Restaurant, 2912 Shelter Island Drive, according to a Feb. 28 port district statement.
Replacing an older sign off Shelter Island Drive, the new version is 25 feet tall and 12 feet wide. Its design features three sails constructed from fabricated aluminum. The sign lists Shelter Island businesses, including restaurants, hotels, yacht brokers, retailers, fishing and maritime-related firms.
The sign was built by Stanford Sign & Awning of Chula Vista and includes travertine tile, a waterfall that reclaims the water it uses, and LED lighting. Shelter Island is spelled out in blue letters that glow white at night.
Working with local businesses, the port district embarked on a Shelter Island landscaping and streetscape improvement project in the 1970s, intended at the time to include an entry sign and sail sculpture. The project was completed in 1984, but the sculpture was not constructed.
The original Shelter Island sign was created and installed at the roundabout on Shelter Island Drive but is not readily visible. The port and Shelter Island tenants worked to create a new sign design with better visibility, and the port district moved forward with the project in January 2010.
The statement said the port district is paying for the sign from its maintenance budget, and local businesses will perform future maintenance.
— Lou Hirsh
