Point Loma finally gets its own neighborhood gateway sign

No one can say there weren’t signs.

San Diego’s gateway signs have long been a way to signify the unique character of a neighborhood while paying homage to the region’s history.

Now Point Loma has joined other San Diego neighborhoods by installing its own gateway sign. The towering monument project was erected at night last week over Rosecrans near Lytton Street.

Electricity to light up the new display is expected to follow by the end of the year.

Numerous such signs have been erected in neighborhoods countywide, including North Park, Gaslamp Quarter, Barrio Logan, and the cities of Carlsbad and Chula Vista. The signs also guide the way into La Jolla, East Village, University Heights, Hillcrest, Little Italy, El Cajon Boulevard, and Kearny Mesa’s Convoy District.

The Point Loma project was funded by the all-volunteer nonprofit Point Loma Association and generous private donations.

“We polled the community when we had our annual meeting three years ago, soliciting their feedback, and that was the overwhelming suggestion,” said PLA chair Beth Roach of the sign’s origin.

She added that Point Loma wanted its gateway sign to be special.

“It was designed to really pay tribute to our long history and heritage, make a nod to our lampposts in Loma Portal in welcoming visitors and locals,” she said. “The sign is elegant and symbolizes our community.”

Point Loma’s new gateway sign complements other PLA projects, such as the Village Lights near the Assembly Hall and various murals commissioned by the PLA, which are being painted on private buildings around the Peninsula.

With membership now close to 600 households, Roach pointed out that each community beautification project has been funded based on private donations and the PLA’s fundraising. Plus, the gateway sign project has all been locally funded and carried out, with work performed by San Diego-based companies.

“Our board and past board members have had the expertise to plan projects like this, and we raise the money ourselves and hire professionals to do the job,” Roach said.

The new Point Loma gateway sign on Rosecrans was assembled in the middle of the night between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. so as to not exacerbate heavy traffic during working hours.

Installing the sign took several weeks.

“It was super windy, and the welding gun they used got disrupted by the wind,” Roach said about the difficulties with the sign’s construction.

Roach said that the organization is also planning other beautification projects and that they are currently planning to do one mural per year. She added their group is in discussion right now with an artist to do another mural somewhere in Point Loma Village.

“We’re looking for building owners who would like to have a mural,” she said. “We’re inspired that we can do projects like this with volunteers and private donations.”