Shawn Styles / CBS8 / Sept.22, 2026
The Ocean Beach Pier has been closed for nearly three years, leaving many residents frustrated and saddened by the loss of one of the community’s most recognizable landmarks.
For local graphic designer Brad Fernbaugh, the closure is personal.
“The pier holds a special place in my heart,” Fernbaugh said. “My wife’s grandmother is the one that put on the contest, and it’s been closed for three years. I look at it every day and it bums me out.”
Fernbaugh is behind the “’66 Poster Project,” a fundraising campaign built around Ocean Beach’s connection to the 1966 World Surfing Championships. The competition, held near the Ocean Beach Pier, is remembered as a pivotal event in surf culture.
A tribute to 1966 surf history
Fernbaugh recreated the style of the original poster used to promote the 1966 contest.
“The original that looks like this was done for the 1966 contest, so I replicated something similar,” he said.
The artwork also honors Australian surfer Nat Young, who won the championship. Young’s approach represented a shift in surfing style, emphasizing turns from the top to the bottom of the wave rather than simply riding down the line.
Fernbaugh brought a smaller version of the poster to a monthly Ocean Beach community meeting, where he presented the idea to Ocean Beach Community Foundation President Cody Machado and the organization’s vice president.
“They had just finished their meeting,” Fernbaugh said. “I walked in with a small version of the poster. I said, ‘Hey, I got this idea,’ and he and his vice president lit up with excitement.”
Funds set aside for pier
Machado said the project arrived at a moment when residents were increasingly eager to support the future of the pier.
“It was a match made in heaven. You couldn’t have wished for better timing,” Machado said. “It’s like the community as a whole knows something needs to be done. The whole town is in a place to start doing something.”
Money raised through poster sales will be placed in a separate account designated for the Ocean Beach Pier project, organizers said. The goal is to make the money available when the city needs support for the pier’s future.
“We can make sure that the money gets directly to the pier project when the time comes, [if] the city needs that money,” Machado said.
For Fernbaugh, the campaign is about more than commemorating a major moment in local surfing history. He hopes it gives the community a tangible way to help bring its landmark back.
“It would mean that we have a pier again and that I had something to do with it,” he said.
Where to buy
The ’66 Poster Project is available through 66poster.com and at participating stores in Ocean Beach.
