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Los Feliz Improvement Association Records
URB.LFIA
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Los Feliz Improvement Association Records
Creator:
Los Feliz Improvement Association
Identifier/Call Number: URB.LFIA
Extent:
12.13 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1922-2002
Abstract: The Los Feliz Improvement Association
was formed in 1922 to represent the homeowners of the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles. The
association worked to protect historic trees and homes, and to prevent developments they
felt would harm the upscale residential feel of the neighborhood. Much of the collection
deals with fights against zoning changes that would have allowed construction of unsightly
walls or that would have allowed commercial development.
Language of Material:
English
Founded in 1916, the Vermont Canyon Improvement Club was later reorganized and changed its
name to the Los Feliz Improvement Association on July 7, 1922. The organization played a
significant role in the development of the neighborhood, located just east of Hollywood, for
nearly a century. A central area in the neighborhood continues to be Griffith Park, willed
to the city of Los Angeles by Col. Griffith J. Griffith in 1919 with specific instructions
to maintain the area as a public space. Griffith Park's approximately 4,000 acres includes:
the Greek Theater, the Los Angeles Zoo, and the Griffith Observatory, as well as the William
Mulholland Memorial Fountain and the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage. The Los Feliz
Improvement Association played an important role in determining the locations of all the
attractions in Griffith Park. In addition, any future maintenance of the Park and its
surrounding neighborhood would be the organization's responsibility.
In the 1930s, the Association oversaw the building and opening of John Marshall High
School. The Los Feliz Improvement Association played a vital role in maintaining the
neighborhood's residential character and integrity as well, and fought rigorously over the
years to prevent zoning changes on Los Feliz Boulevard that would have allowed commercial
real estate development and to save 100-year-old trees.
The
Los Feliz Improvement Association Records include board
minutes, general correspondence, by-laws, president's reports, newsletters, newspaper
clippings, and membership lists from 1922 to 2002. In addition, the collection contains a
descriptive historical survey of all the homes located in the Los Feliz neighborhood. The
collection details the role the organization played in the development of the Los Feliz
neighborhood, and has been arranged in three series:
Administrative
Files
(1922-2002),
Correspondence (1932-1999), and
Special Project Files (1929-2002).
Series I,
Administrative Files, contains general records
regarding board membership and committee memberships, as well as minutes of the board's
monthly meetings and have been divided into two subseries: General Administrative Files
(1927-2002) and
Minutes (1922-1999). These materials are filed
alphabetically by committee.
Series II,
Correspondence, contains correspondence to and from
the association. This correspondence covers a multitude of subjects, from printing the
association directory to concerns about zoning changes, membership issues, and restrictions
on residential development. This series has been divided into two subseries:
General Correspondence (1932-1999) and
Ruth Ney
(Corresponding Secretary)
(1981-1989). Documents are filed chronologically.
Series III,
Special Project Files, includes files and
photographs for projects undertaken by the association. These include an historical home
survey, an effort to save historic avocado trees, efforts to coordinate with the Hollywood
community redevelopment project, a push to save the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Ennis-Brown
house, beautification efforts in the neighborhood and in Griffith Park. Materials have been
divided into two subseries:
Los Feliz Historical Survey (2001)
and
LFIA Special Projects (1929-2002), and are filed
alphabetically by subject.
Series I: Administrative Files, 1922-2002
Subseries A: General Administrative Files, 1927-2002
Subseries B: Minutes, 1922-1999
Series II: Correspondence, 1932-1999
Subseries A: General Correspondence, 1932-1999
Subseries B: Ruth Ney (Corresponding Secretary), 1981-1989
Series III: Special Project Files, 1929-2002
Subseries A: Los Feliz Historical Survey, 2001
Subseries B: Los Feliz Improvement Association Special Projects, 1929-2002
The collection is open for research use.
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Los Feliz Improvement Association, 2003.
Related Material
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style
manual, or see the
Citing Archival Materials
guide.
Haig Avakian, Katherine Gould, 2011-2012
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Documents
Photographs