Collection Guide
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Watson (Raymond L.) papers
MS.R.120
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
Title: Raymond L. Watson papers
Identifier/Call Number: MS.R.120
Physical Description:
15.8 Linear Feet
(32 boxes and one oversize folder)
Date (inclusive): 1954-2010
Abstract: This collection comprises the extant files of Raymond L. Watson (1926-2012), former President and CEO of the Irvine Company.
Beginning in 1960, Watson served the company as Architect Planner, Vice President of Planning, Senior Vice President of the
Land Development Division, Executive Vice President, and Vice Chairman, as well as in other positions until his retirement
in 2003. Included in the collection are Watson's speeches, correspondence, and writings; Irvine Company records, publications,
and reports; subject files relating to the Irvine Company, the Irvine Ranch, the City of Irvine, the University of California,
Irvine, and Orange County, California (including Upper Newport Bay); and professional files on topics such as city planning,
housing, and new towns. Of particular interest are Watson's own writings on community development and the City of Irvine.
Language of Material:
English
.
Collection is open for research.
Raymond L. Watson Papers. MS-R120. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this
collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.
Gift of Raymond L. Watson, 2004 and 2011.
A portion of this collection was processed, described, and digitized with support from the Raymond L. Watson Library Fund.
This collection was donated in two separate accessions, in 2004 and 2011. The first accession comprised 10 linear feet and
was arranged and described by Rachel Sandoval and Anne Mar, 2006. In 2011, a second accession, measuring 5.8 linear feet,
arrived and was arranged and described by Patricia Glowinski, 2012. The additional material was incorporated into the arrangement
scheme of the initial collection and descriptive information was added to the original finding aid to reflect this. It should
be noted that the arrangement of the collection was imposed by the archivists during processing to facilitate access, and
does not necessarily represent the way the papers were created, organized, and used over time by Raymond Watson.
| 1926 | Raymond L. Watson born in Seattle, WA |
| 1951 | Receives B.A. in Architecture from UC Berkeley |
| 1953 | Receives M.A. in Architecture from UC Berkeley |
| 1960 | Joins The Irvine Company as chief planner |
| 1964 | Named Vice President, Planning for The Irvine Company |
| 1966 | Named Vice President, Land Development Division of The Irvine Company |
| 1968 | Named Senior Vice President, Land Development Division of The Irvine Company |
| 1970 | Named Executive Vice President of The Irvine Company |
| 1973 | Named Acting CEO upon death of William R. Mason |
| 1973 | Appointed President and CEO by The Irvine Company board |
| 1977 | Resigns from The Irvine Company |
| 1977 | Co-founds Newport Development Company, serves as president and partner |
| 1983 | Named Vice Chairman of the Board, The Walt Disney Company |
| 1983 | Named Chairman of the Board, The Walt Disney Company |
| 1983 | Rejoins Board of The Irvine Company |
| 1984 | Resigns as Chairman of The Walt Disney Company |
| 1986 | Named Vice Chairman of The Irvine Company |
| 2003 | Retires from The Irvine Company, remains a board member |
| 2004 | Donates his papers to UCI Libraries |
| 2005 | Pedestrian bridge at UCI named Raymond L. Watson Bridge |
| 2011 | Donates an additional portion of his papers to UCI Libraries |
| 2012 | Watson passes away on October 20, 2012 in Newport Beach, California at the age of 86. |
Raymond L. Watson, former president of The Irvine Company, began his career with The Irvine Company in September 1960. With
the exception of the years 1977 to 1983, was continuously involved with the company in various capacities.
With landholdings encompassing over 90,000 acres, The Irvine Company's origins date to 1864, when James Irvine I established
the Irvine Ranch upon acquiring 185 square miles of Mexican and Spanish land grants. His son, James Irvine II, incorporated
the holdings in 1894, founding The Irvine Company.
Born in Seattle, Washington, on October 4, 1926, Watson was raised in Oakland, California and attended UC Berkeley, where
he received a B.A. in Architecture in 1951 and an M.A. in Architecture in 1953. Stan Ott, planning director of the City of
Stockton, California, gave Watson his first job planning a civic center for the City. In 1960, Ott, who then worked at The
Irvine Company, hired Watson to be the first manager of planning. In that role, Watson was instrumental in the early years
of development of the Irvine Ranch and the City of Irvine.
Under his guidance, the City of Irvine became a model planned community, with award-winning housing developments such as Woodbridge
and Westpark, complemented by the City's many parks, trails, open spaces, and commercial developments.
Watson moved up the ranks through various vice president positions, and in 1973 was named president and CEO, positions he
held until his resignation in 1977. From 1983 to 2004, Watson was a member of the board at Walt Disney Company, serving as
its chairman from 1983 to 1984. In September 1986, he rejoined The Irvine Company as vice chairman until his retirement in
2003. As a tribute to Watson's many years of service to the City of Irvine, the bridge connecting the University of California,
Irvine campus to the University Center across Campus Drive was named the "Raymond L. Watson Bridge" in October 2005. Watson
died on October 20, 2012.
Collection Scope and Content Summary
This collection comprises the extant files of Raymond L. Watson (1926-2012), former president and CEO of the Irvine Company.
Included in the collection are Watson's speeches, correspondence, and writings; Irvine Company records, publications, and
reports; subject files relating to the Irvine Company, the Irvine Ranch, the City of Irvine, the University of California,
Irvine, and Orange County, California; and professional files on topics such as city planning, housing, and new towns. Of
particular interest are Watson's own writings on planning, community development, and the City of Irvine.
The materials in this collection were personally collected by Watson over the years. They represent his very selective record
of topics of particular interest, rather than a complete record of his professional work and activities. The official records
of his various positions with the Irvine Company remain with the Company.
This collection is arranged in 5 series.
- Series 1. Writings and professional files, 1961-2008. 2.2 linear feet
- Series 2. The Irvine Company files, 1954-2008. 7.3 linear feet
- Series 3. City of Irvine files, 1970-2005. 2 linear feet
- Series 4. Subject files on city planning and planned communities, 1963-2006. 2.5 linear feet
- Series 5. Other subject files, 1954-2009. 1.8 linear feet
The following collections in Special Collections and Archives contain related material:
- AS-089, Regents of the University of California Papers on the Irvine Community Plan
- AS-067, Philip L. Boyd Collection on University of California, Irvine Site Selection
Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and
their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of the Special Collections and Archives.
As requested by the donor, .6 linear feet of material was returned to the donor as the items were either duplicates and already
represented in the collection or out of scope.
The digital files and images can be searched and accessed through Calisphere.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Community development -- California -- Orange County
Speeches
Reports
Publications
Irvine (Calif.)--History.
Slides
Planned communities -- California -- Orange County -- History -- Sources
Born digital
Cities and towns -- Growth
Photographic prints -- California -- Orange County.
Campus planning -- California -- Irvine.
Academic dissertations
Correspondence
New towns
City planning -- History -- 20th century
Newport Beach (Calif.)
University of California, Irvine -- Planning -- Archives
Irvine Company -- Archives