Just in case you were wondering...

The sign lit the way for millions of travelers for almost forty years.

In 1985, Claude Landreville (left) and Richard Coons began building the Coons Gallery sign foundation.

For nearly forty years our brightly illuminated Coons Gallery sign alerted motorists that their High Sierra adventure was just ahead.

That all ended on the morning of September 26th when a motorist veered out of the fast lane into the sign, completely demolishing it.

With its large backlit art palette, the sign was a recognizable landmark for literally millions of travelers.

It was designed and built by Richard Coons as a memorial of sorts to his mentor and fellow artist, Robert Clunie who built the gallery building between 1945-1948. Claude Landreville, aka Frenchy, owner of Frenchy Signs made the sign and helped Richard build the masonry base, which was reinforced with rebar.

Richard carried the rocks used in the masonry base, all the way down from the North Fork of Big Pine Creek where he often joined his friend and mentor, Robert Clunie, who camped and painted near Fifth Lake for almost forty years.

As for the accident, according to witnesses, the driver, who was traveling north bound in the fast lane, fell asleep and veered directly into the sign, never hitting his brakes. The impact sent rocks and reinforced masonry flying forty feet with the custom-welded art palette landing in the historic Matlick Ditch that flows next to the gallery. The injured driver was transported to the hospital. His injuries, though serious, were not life-threatening.

For almost forty years, the sign was lit until midnight as a beacon for weary travelers, first by California artist Richard Coons. After Richard died in 2003, I continued to leave the sign lit until midnight.

Patty Sheaff, noted Southern California surfer and sky-diver said. “I love that sign. Always used it as a marker knowing that Mammoth was coming up!”  

Today, without a signmaker in Bishop, the only options for constructing a sign of this nature are located in Reno, Nevada, over five mountain passes and two hundred miles north, or south in Los Angeles.

Some will say, ‘It’s just a sign,’ but it was more than that—Richard and I saw it as a kind of guiding star that helped light the way for millions of travelers who passed by it every year.