ACT 2: The Refurbishment of the Memorial

Now, as Dean fades into the memory of American popular culture, an effort to upgrade and update the 1977 memorial is getting underway.

Neil Sheehan, a James Dean memorabilia collector, is spearheading the restoration effort. Bearing a tattoo of Dean’s likeness on one arm and depictions of the California Highway markers for Highways 41 and 46 — formerly Highway 466 — on the other, Sheehan is no stranger to studying and preserving Dean’s legacy.

Sheehan has collected James Dean memorabilia since college and recently loaned his extensive collection to the James Dean Museum in Fairmont, Indiana. He said it’s important to uphold the legacy of one of the most influential actors of the 1950s. “People ask that question all the time — ‘Why are you a Dean fan?’ and ‘Why would this be important?’ — and I think it means different things to different people,” Sheehan said. “I don’t know if it’s important to memorialize James Dean as the person, because I don’t think people knew who he was, but I think the characters that he played are impactful.”

There will be some minor additions to the memorial, but Sheehan said he intends to keep the site essentially as is, maintaining Ohnishi’s monument in its original form.