POULSBO — Family and friends of Bill Austin, the sign painter and builder whose work shaped the look of downtown Poulsbo, have formed a nonprofit to catalog, maintain and add to the signs, murals and landmarks he left behind.
The Bill Austin Foundation was incorporated in Washington on Oct. 13, about two weeks after Austin died Sept. 29 at 91 from injuries suffered in a fire at his home. It is now taking donations under the banner “Help Keep Poulsbo Beautiful.” The foundation says gifts will go toward preserving 67 hand-painted works by Austin.
Foundation President Gary McVey said the group will catalog Austin’s murals, statues, signs and other creations, set maintenance schedules and estimate upkeep costs. It also plans new projects, and ideally a new generation of makers and craftspeople to carry them out.
“We want the foundation to be the financial and organizational vehicle that continues to propel Bill’s vision and work forward,” said McVey, who said he came up with the idea during a restless night right after Austin’s death. “There will never be another Bill Austin but, with the community’s help, his vision and influence can live on.”
Jan Ryan, Austin’s widow and the foundation’s vice president, said he would have wanted his public art preserved “and to see others adding to Poulsbo’s Scandinavian charm and beauty.”
The board also includes longtime Austin friend and former judge Jay Roof as secretary and Paula Gritzmacher as treasurer. John and Sarah Giacomi of Poulsbo are among the founding volunteers.
Honor, preserve, continue
Beyond upkeep, the foundation’s plans include community beautification and build days, awards for people who carry on Austin’s work, and new hand-crafted signs, murals, building facades, statues and other public art. It also says it will advocate for a cohesive town identity in keeping with Austin’s vision of Poulsbo as “Little Norway.”
Residents can “adopt” one of Austin’s pieces by sponsoring its upkeep, or sign up for a build or beautification day, where volunteers can learn hand-crafted skills, according to the foundation’s website.
Five decades of signs
Austin, who was British, came to the Pacific Northwest for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and stayed. For more than 50 years, through Austin Sign Co., he hand-painted signs for downtown businesses including Sluys Bakery, Boehm’s Chocolates of Poulsbo, JJ’s Fish House and Liberty Bay Books, and redesigned tired storefronts with new facades.
He built the Austin-Kvelstad Waterfront Pavilion, coordinated the Norseman statue installed in 2012 and renovated the downtown clock tower. He also designed and donated the entrance arch and pergola at the city cemetery and repainted the British-style red telephone booth downtown. Some locals took to calling the town “Billsbo.”
His Poulsbo work began and ended at the North Kitsap Senior Center, according to the foundation. His first project in town was knocking down a wall and making a sign there at no charge. His last was a renovation of the center’s entrance, and the day before he died, the center renamed its front lounge the Bill Austin Lounge before a crowd of about 70 people.
Ryan tells his story in her book “Poulsbo Bill: The Public Art of Bill Austin,” sold at Away with Words Books and Gifts, 18954 Front St. NE, and on Amazon.
How to give
Donations can be made online at billaustinfoundation.org or by scanning the QR code on the foundation’s “Help Keep Poulsbo Beautiful” flyer. Checks payable to Bill Austin Foundation can be mailed to 19689 Seventh Ave. NE, Ste. 183-120, Poulsbo, WA 98370.
The foundation has applied for federal 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status and expects a decision from the IRS around Jan. 15, 2027. If approved, the status would be retroactive to the Oct. 13 incorporation date, the foundation said.
Austin’s family invited the public to a celebration of life open house Sunday, Nov. 8, at Sons of Norway in Poulsbo and asked that, in lieu of flowers, people donate to the foundation.
More information: info@billaustinfoundation.org.
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