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Inventory of the Rebuild LA Collection
CSLA-6
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Title: Rebuild LA Collection
Dates: 1992-1997
Collection number: CSLA-6
Creator: Rebuild LA
Collection Size: 254 boxes, 5 oversize boxes/items, 1 map case drawer (122 linear feet)
Repository: Loyola Marymount University. Library. Department of Archives and Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90045-2659
Abstract: The Rebuild LA Collection contains the administrative and organizational records of Rebuild LA, the most important response
to the Los Angeles riots of 1992. The collection spans the entire life of the organzation from its beginning in 1992 to its
dissolution in 1997.
Physical location: Research use requires both an advance notice of intent to use the collection and an appointment. To schedule an appointment,
please contact the Department of Archives and Special Collection, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University:
310-338-5357.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection:EnglishSpanish
This collection is part of the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles Research Collection, a program
of the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount University. The Research Collection
is administered by the Department of Archives and Special Collections, Loyola Marymount University. The Rebuild LA Collection
is open to research under the department's terms of use.
Materials in the Department of Archives and Special Collections may be subject to copyright. Unless explicitly stated otherwise,
Loyola Marymount University does not claim ownership of the copyright of any materials in its collections. The user or publisher
must secure permission to publish from the copyright owner. Loyola Marymount University does not assume any responsibility
for infringement of copyright or of publication rights held by the original author or artists or his/her heirs, assigns, or
executors.
[Identification of item], Series number, Box and Folder number, Rebuild LA Collection, CSLA-6, Department of Archives and
Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University.
Gift of the Rebuild LA organization, 1997.
Rebuild LA (RLA) was formed the weekend of April 29-30, 1992 immediately following the civil disturbances in Los Angeles sparked
by the acquittals of four white policemen in the beating of Rodney King, a drunken-driving suspect who was African-American.
The civil disturbances left 55 people dead, thousands injured, more than 1100 buildings damaged or destroyed, and a repair
bill of nearly $1 billion.
Former baseball commissioner and Olympics organizer Peter Ueberroth was called upon by Mayor Bradley to spearhead the 5-year
rebuilding project which would spur investment in the neglected areas, defined as Los Angeles neighborhoods with poverty rates
of 20 percent or higher. In response to public pressure for a more diverse leadership, Ueberroth added four co-chairs to the
organization: Tony Salazar, Linda Wong, Barry Sanders, and Bernard Kinsey. RLA was also represented by a large board of directors
that at one time had 96 members.
RLA achieved some measure of success with its economic strategies using eleven task forces to tackle the problem of rejuvenating
Los Angeles, receiving nearly $500 million in corporate commitments. However, progress was severely stalled by the recession
and Northridge earthquake. (The repair bill from the Northridge earthquake was about 20 times that of the riots.)
Early in 1994 RLA streamlined its operation and refocused its mission under the leadership of its new president and CEO, former
deputy mayor and restaurateur Linda Griego. The four remaining co-chairs were replaced with a single chair, ARCO's then-chairman
Lodwrick Cook; the remaining RLA staff was trimmed in half. (Peter Ueberroth had resigned in May 1993 as a co-chair but had
remained a member of the board.) As its new vision, RLA adopted a "bottom up" strategy which sought to foster the development
of existing businesses rather than trying to lure major corporations to locate facilities in neglected areas. Thus the eleven
task forces were dissolved or merged with outside agencies.
The RLA project began in May of 1992 and ended in 1997, the last year of which was a "Transition" period. During this transition
near the end of 1996, RLA transferred its assets and its databases to the Los Angeles Community College District which hoped
to link industries with classroom programs through its own Community Development Technologies Center. The new agency called
itself LA Public Resource and Occupational Support Program for Economic Revitalization, or LA PROSPER Partners.
The Los Angeles Community College District received RLA's cash assets, computer hardware and software, and all of its active
records. The remainder of RLA's records was transferred to Loyola Marymount University's Center for the Study of Los Angeles
Research Collection.
| 1992 | Rebuild LA (RLA) formed under the directorship of Peter Ueberroth. |
| May 1993 | Ueberroth resigns as director but remains as a board member. |
| 1994 | Linda Griego assumes leadership of RLA as president and CEO. |
| 1996 | RLA helps form the Los Angeles Urban Consortium to expand retail services in South Central Los Angeles. |
| 1997 | RLA is dissolved, and its assets are turned over to the Los Angeles Community College District. |
Scope and Content of Collection
The Rebuild LA Collection contains the organization's records from its inception in 1992 to its dissolution in 1997. Some
of RLA's records followed the new organization--LA PROSPER Partners--to the Los Angeles Community College District. The remainder
of RLA's records came to Loyola Marymount University's Center for the Study of Los Angeles. The records include administrative
files as well as files from the various task force groups including the Economic Development group and the Labor Force Development
group. Personnel files, press communications, video and audio tapes, photographs, published materials, business advertisements
and brochures, and correspondence also comprise the collection. A few of the significant topics covered in the collection
include the General Motors Van Distribution Program, manufacturing networks, all of the speeches of Linda Griego (CEO, 1994-1997),
and the Vacant Lots project. Due to staff changes and mobility within RLA, the files of the various departments were maintained
by different people at different times. Every effort was made to retain original order when feasible, though structural changes
in RLA over the years caused records in some instances to change departments or to be consolidated into fewer departments.
For maximum accessibility as well as integrity regarding original order, the collection was divided into thirteen series,
most of which have subseries: Series 1: Board of Directors, Series 2: President's Office, Series 3: Communications, Series
4: Operations and Finance, Series 5: Economic Development, Series 6: Labor Force Development, Series 7: Community Resource
Development, Series 8: Transition, Series 9: Research and General Reference, Series 10: Audiovisual Materials, Series 11:
Maps, Series 12: Ephemera, and Series 13: Published Materials. Most of the series also contain subseries; a few of the subseries
have sub-subseries.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Rebuild LA
Ueberroth, Peter
Griego, Linda
Urban Renewal--California--Los Angeles
Community Development Corporations--California--Los Angeles
Los Angeles (Calif.)
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Rebuild LA (Organization)
Riots--California--Los Angeles.
Los Angeles (Calif.)--Social conditions.
Los Angeles (Calif.)--Race relations.