Guide to the Albert Zoraster Collection
Special Collections & Archives
University Library
California State University, Northridge
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330-8326
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Albert Zoraster Collection
Creator:
Zoraster, Albert
Identifier/Call Number: URB.AZ
Extent:
1.51 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1948-1979
Date (bulk): 1951-1979
Abstract: A resident of the San Fernando Valley
from 1920 to the mid-1970s, Albert Zoraster devoted much of his life to improving the
quality of services in the community, particularly in the areas of transportation and
municipal services. An active committee volunteer, Mr. Zoraster worked with the Los Angeles
City Board of Education, the Mayor's Valley Transportation Committee, Los Angeles City
Department of Airports, Valley Presbyterian Hospital, and California State University,
Northridge. The
Albert Zoraster Collection documents various
aspects of Zoraster's civic career, covering such topics as Birmingham High School, city
planning, land use, the proposed Malibu Freeway Project, transportation in the Valley, and
the development of the Van Nuys Airport.
Language of Material: English
Biographical Information:
As a resident of the San Fernando Valley from 1920 to the mid-1970s, Albert Zoraster
devoted much of his life to improving the quality of services in the community, particularly
in the areas of transportation and municipal services. An active committee volunteer, Mr.
Zoraster worked with the Los Angeles City Board of Education, the Mayor's Valley
Transportation Committee, Los Angeles City Department of Airports, Valley Presbyterian
Hospital and California State University, Northridge.
From 1954 to 1975, he served as the director of the West Van Nuys Chamber of Commerce, and
served as president of the organization from 1958-1959, again from 1962-1963 and again in
1965. Mr. Zoraster was also actively involved with California State University, Northridge,
serving as president of the CSUN Presidents Club from 1971-1973, a member and trustee of the
CSUN Foundation in 1973-1974, and a member of the CSUN Advisory Club from 1973-1975. Some of
his contributions to CSUN include the establishment of the Zoraster Pioneer Scholarship Fund
and the Zoraster Endowment for Adaptive Physical Education, as well as a number of monetary
donations to CSUN's Urban Archives Center.
Mr. Zoraster was a member and leader of several Valley rotary clubs and chambers of
commerce including the Van Nuys Rotary Club which he was a charter member of from 1954-1975,
and the Van Nuys Chamber of Commerce which he was a member of from 1928-1975. He also served
on many advisory committees for the improvement of the Valley, most notably, the Industrial
Association of the San Fernando Valley [now the Valley Industry and Commerce Association].
He received various civic awards, including the prestigious Fernando Award in 1975 for his
philanthropy. Zoraster continued to donate his time to Valley causes throughout his
retirement until his death after a long battle with cancer in April 1995.
Scope and Contents
The
Albert Zoraster Collection documents various aspects of
Zoraster's civic career, covering such topics as Birmingham High School, city planning, land
use, the proposed Malibu Freeway Project, transportation in the Valley, and the development
of the Van Nuys Airport. The collection is especially conducive to the study of legislative
lobbying techniques. The records date mostly from 1948-1979, with the majority of records
dating after 1951, and includes correspondence, maps, minutes, newspaper clippings,
photographs, press releases, reports, resolutions, and speeches. Of particular interest are
the files pertaining to the Malibu Freeway controversy, issues surrounding the growth of San
Fernando Valley Airport and the Van Nuys Airport, studies of population and housing in the
San Fernando Valley, the development of transportation systems in the San Fernando Valley,
and San Fernando Valley's early attempt to secede from Los Angeles County in 1976. The files
are arranged in alphabetical order by subject, and chronologically within.
Related Material
Conditions Governing Access:
The collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing 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
Albert Zoraster, 08/05/1980
Preferred Citation:
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style
manual, or see the
Citing Archival
Materials
guide.
Processing Information:
Robert G. Marshall, Claire C. LaFia; November 1985
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Maps
Documents
Photographs
Box 1, Folder 1
Albert's Manufacturing & Supply Company: correspondence;
memoranda,
1951
Box 1, Folder 2
Birmingham High School Stadium: correspondence; memorandum;
resolution,
1965
Box 1, Folder 3
Capital Improvement Financing - Los Angeles: report,
1967
Box 1, Folder 4
Children's Hospital: correspondence; rosters,
1957-1958, 1960-1961
Box 1, Folder 5
Citizen of the Year: correspondence,
1963
Box 1, Folder 6
City Planning: article; correspondence,
1961, 1967
Box 1, Folder 7
City Planning: report, "Population and Housing Inventory, City of Los
Angeles,"
1963
Box 1, Folder 8
City Streets: assembly bill; correspondence; press release,
1958-1960, 1962-1964
Box 1, Folder 9
Corman, James C.: correspondence,
1961-1963, 1967
Box 1, Folder 10
Education and Taxes: correspondence; reports,
1960; 1962, 1966-1968
Box 1, Folder 11
Gas Tax Diversion: report,
1971
Box 1, Folder 12
Hollywood-Burbank Airport: report,
1976
Box 1, Folder 13
Malibu Freeway: articles,
1966, 1970
Box 1, Folder 14
Malibu Freeway: correspondence; memorandum; telegram,
1964-1965, 1970
Box 1, Folder 15
Malibu Freeway: maps,
1966
Box 1, Folder 16
Malibu Freeway: presentations; resolutions,
1961, 1964-1967, 1970
Box 1, Folder 17
Malibu Freeway: reports,
1967, 1970
Box 1, Folder 18
Newspaper Clippings: general,
1930, 1956-1959
Box 1, Folder 19
Newspaper Clippings: general,
1960-1961
Box 1, Folder 20
Newspaper Clippings: general,
1962
Box 1, Folder 21
Newspaper Clippings: general,
1963-1965
Box 1, Folder 22
Newspaper Clippings: general,
1966-1967
Box 1, Folder 23
Newspaper Clippings: general,
January 1968
Box 1, Folder 24
Newspaper Clippings: general,
February 1968
Box 1, Folder 25
Newspaper Clippings: general,
March 1968-April 1968, June 1968, August 1968, November 1968
Box 1, Folder 26
Newspaper Clippings: general,
1969-1972, 1974-1975
Box 1, Folder 27
Newspaper Clippings: general
Box 2, Folder 1
Office of Appropriate Technology: organization; program and purpose,
1976
Box 2, Folder 2
195th Air Transport Squadron: correspondence; memorandum,
1965-1966
Box 2, Folder 3
Parks & Recreation: correspondence; master plan,
1960, 1970, 1973
Box 2, Folder 6
Population: statistics,
1960, 1966, 1968, 1970-1979
Box 2, Folder 7
Population: quarterly bulletin,
1970, 1973-1978
Box 2, Folder 8
Proposition A - Elementary Tax Limit Increase: fact sheets; general
information,
1959
Box 2, Folder 9
Propositions 8 [Owner Occupied Dwellings Tax Rate] & 13 [Property Tax
Limitation]: correspondence,
1978
Box 2, Folder 10
Rehabilitation Services: correspondence; minutes,
1963
Box 2, Folder 11
San Fernando Valley Airport: correspondence,
1948, 1956, 1957, 1959
Box 2, Folder 12
San Fernando Valley Airport: facts; plans; reports,
1954, 1956, 1961, 1967
Box 2, Folder 13
San Fernando Valley Airport: maps
Box 2, Folder 14
San Fernando Valley Award: historical background of SFV; programs,
1962, 1965, 1966
Box 2, Folder 15
San Fernando Valley Committee Investigating Valley Independence from
City/County: reports,
1976
Box 2, Folder 16
San Fernando Valley Growth & Development: reports,
1955, 1962, 1968
Box 2, Folder 17
San Fernando Valley Health Consortium: article; correspondence; membership
list; minutes; newsletter,
1972-1974
Box 2, Folder 18
San Fernando Valley State College [CSUN]: memorandum; statements,
1969-1970, 1979
Box 2, Folder 19
Southern California Association of Governments: report,
1978
Box 2, Folder 20
Transportation: article, "Living and Travel Patterns Auto-Oriented
Cities,"
1964
Box 2, Folder 21
Transportation - Freeway Dedication: article; correspondence;
reports,
1960, 1962-1963
Box 2, Folder 22
Transportation - General: brochure; reports,
1976
Box 2, Folder 23
Transportation - General: correspondence; minutes; notes,
1953, 1962-1963, 1972-1973, 1976, 1979
Box 2, Folder 24
Transportation - Highways: brochure; bulletin; magazine articles,
1963, 1967, 1971
Box 2, Folder 25
Transportation - Preferential Treatment Program: memorandum; report,
1976, 1977
Box 3, Folder 1
Van Nuys Airport: article; editorials; fact sheets; resolutions,
1962-1963, 1967-1968
Box 3, Folder 2
Van Nuys Airport: correspondence,
1959, 1961-1962, 1967-1968
Box 3, Folder 4
Van Nuys Airport: maps,
1960-1961
Box 3, Folder 5
Van Nuys - Van Owen Drainage: correspondence; memorandum,
1960-1967, 1970-1971
Box 3, Folder 6
Van Nuys - Van Owen Drainage: reports,
1962, 1967
Box 3, Folder 7
Van Nuys - Master Plan: articles; correspondence; reports;
resolutions,
1961-1965, 1972
Box 3, Folder 8
Van Nuys - North Sherman Oaks Community Plan: brochure; report,
1976
Box 3, Folder 9
West Van Nuys Chamber of Commerce: correspondence,
1958-1963, 1969
Box 3, Folder 10
West Van Nuys Chamber of Commerce: reports; resolutions,
1958-1963, 1966-1967, 1970-1971, 1974-1975
Box 3, Folder 11
Whitnall - Simi Freeway Controversy: correspondence; reports,
1962, 1964-1966
Box 3, Folder 12
Woodley Avenue - Right of Way: correspondence; lettergram; maps;
report,
1959, 1962-1966
Box 4, Folder 1
Photograph of Albert Zoraster Speaking at Rotary Club
Box 4, Folder 2
Aerial Photos of Route 64, Malibu Freeway
Box 4, Folder 3
Aerial Photos of Route 64, Malibu Freeway
Box 4, Folder 4
Aerial Photos of Route 64, Malibu Freeway
Folder 1, Item 1
Malibu Freeway: Alternatives to Malibu Canyon for Route 64
Folder 1, Item 2
Malibu Freeway: Proposed Route 64 Freeway
Folder 1, Item 3
Malibu Freeway: Proposed Route 64 Freeway [anr. copy]
Folder 1, Item 4
Population: Census Tracts Statistical Areas and Councilmanic Districts of the
City of Los Angeles,
August 1968
Folder 1, Item 5
San Fernando Valley Airport, Master Plan - Land Acquisition
Folder 1, Item 6
Woodley Avenue - Right of Way: Woodley Ave. bet. Roscoe Blvd. & Sherman
Way,
1963 May 21
Folder 1, Item 7
Woodley Avenue - Right of Way: Woodley Ave., Land Use Plan Sepulveda District
City Planning Commission,
1969 June 25
Folder 1, Item 8
Van Nuys Airport, Master Plan Drawing Number 60-1,
1960 February 8
Folder 2, Item 1
Malibu Freeway: Route 64 Freeway,
January 1964
Folder 2, Item 2
Parks & Recreation: Sepulveda Dam Recreational Area, Master Recreational
Plan,
July 1960
Folder 2, Item 3
Van Nuys Airport: F.A.A. Master Plan, Runway Data,
January 1961
