ACT 1: The Original James Dean Memorial

Nearly seven decades ago, actor James Dean died in a fateful crash in a quiet part of San Luis Obispo County where Highways 41 and 46 meet. The short-lived movie star’s legacy on and off the silver screen has endured since the Sept. 30, 1955, crash, forever enshrined in San Luis Obispo County at the Cholame “Y.”

Dean’s life and death on the highway have been memorialized at the “Y” since 1977, when Japanese businessman and James Dean fan Seita Ohnishi spent $15,000 to erect a memorial marker near the site of the crash.

Still, over its 47-year history, the memorial has simply worn down, with letters going missing from the sign and the materials wearing down from being touched and observed by hundreds of thousands of visitors.