Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
National Housing Exposition scrapbook
7034
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Title: National Housing Exposition scrapbook
Identifier/Call Number: 7034
Physical Description:
1.96 Linear Feet
2 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1935
Abstract: The Pan-Pacific Auditorium, originally located at 7600 West Beverly Boulevard in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, was
designed by Plummer, Wurderman and Becket and financed by a commmittee led by Clifford W. Henderson and his brother Phillip.
The National Housing Exposition, the Pan-Pacific's inaugural event, was one of a number of similar expos held across the country
after the passage of the National Housing Act in 1934, which was designed to make home ownership affordable for all Americans.
The expo opened on May 18, 1935, and was the subject of a massive media campaign and billed as a "mini world's fair." The
show ran until mid-June, and was a huge success, credited with jumpstarting the construction business in Los Angeles, and
helping to ease the effects of the Great Depression for Angelenos. The scrapbook contains stationery, posters, invitations,
reports, and printed ephemera documenting the development of the exposition.
The Pan-Pacific Auditorium, originally located at 7600 West Beverly Boulevard in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, was
designed by Plummer, Wurderman and Becket and financed by a commmittee led by Clifford W. Henderson and his brother Phillip.
Built in just fifty-six days, it opened on May 18, 1935 to a fanfare of Boy Scout bugles as "the largest of its sort in the
West and one of the three largest in the nation." Famous for its streamlined moderne facade and its distinctive flagpole pylons
curved like the fin of a fish, the auditorium was essentially Los Angeles's first convention center. In the 1940s, the Pan-Pacific
became a permanent full-service auditorium. The concrete slab floor was claimed to be the world's largest indoor ice rink.
Along with the Grand Olympic and Shrine auditoriums, the Pan-Pacific became one of Southern California’s major indoor sports
facilities.
The National Housing Exposition, the Pan-Pacific's inaugural event, was one of a number of similar expos held across the country
after the passage of the National Housing Act in 1934, which was designed to make home ownership affordable for all Americans.
The Federal Housing Administration, which promoted these expos, encouraged the formation of a citizens committee in Los Angeles
in order to stage the most ambitious of these events. Clifford and Phillip Henderson took charge of the committee, secured
funding and a 12-1/2 acre parcel of land near the La Brea Tar Pits. The expo opened on May 18, 1935, and was the subject
of a massive media campaign and billed as a "mini world's fair." The show ran until mid-June, and was a huge success, credited
with jumpstarting the construction business in Los Angeles, and helping to ease the effects of the Great Depression for Angelenos.
1 scrapbook documenting the development and marketing of the 1935 National Housing Exposition at Pan Pacific Auditorium (organized
by Clifford Henderson, USC alumnus, and Phillip Henderson). Includes stationery, posters, invitations, reports, and printed
ephemera.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian.
Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
[Box/folder no. or item name], National Housing Exposition scrapbook, Collection no. 7034, Regional History Collection, Special
Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Kim Housken/Palm Desert Historical Society, March 12, 2016.
The original scrapbook was highly acidic, so the contents were removed and foldered. The original order of the material in
the scrapbook has been retained.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Exhibitions -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History -- Archival resources
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- Social conditions -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Printed ephemera
Reports
Scrapbooks
Henderson, Clifford W. -- Archives
Henderson, Phillip -- Archives
Pan-Pacific Auditorium (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- Archives