Hunt (Anne) Collection, 1958-1996

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Summary

Title:
Anne Hunt Collection
Dates:
1958-1996
Creators:
Hunt, Anne
Abstract:
The collection contains materials collected by Anne Hunt related to the operations of the San Diego and Coronado Ferry Company and the creation of the organization Air/Space America and the planning of their air shows.
Extent:
3.0 Linear feet (3 boxes)
Language:
and Collection materials are in English, Russian, and French.
Preferred citation:

Anne Hunt Collection, MS 281, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains materials collected by Anne Hunt while employed at the San Diego and Coronado Ferry Company and Air/Space America. San Diego and Coronado Ferry Company materials include employee bulletins, memorandums, and notices, as well as passenger tabulations and San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge commemoration materials from August 2, 1969. The bulk of the collection relates to the formation of the organization Air/Space America and the planning of two air shows. The collection includes organization overview presentations, Board of Directors meeting minutes and biographies, and research conducted on the Pacific Rim. Materials relating to Air/Space 88 also include correspondence and planning for opening day activities, such as participation of Vice President George Bush, San Diego Mayor Maureen O’Conner, and other politicians. Exhibitor materials include invoices, applications to exhibit, finances, and correspondence. Air/Space 90, the planned but not executed air show, includes correspondence, participation, and press. Additionally, press and correspondence related to Congressman Bob Wilson, one of the Air/Space America founders, are also contained in the collection.

Biographical / historical:

Little is known about Anne Hunt, except that she had a connection with and collected materials from both the San Diego and Coronado Ferry Company and Air/Space America.

The San Diego and Coronado Ferry Company moved all modes of transportation, from horse drawn buggies to cars, from downtown San Diego to Coronado Island beginning April 15, 1886. The need for ferry service ended with the opening of the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge, August 2, 1969.

Anne Hunt held the positions of Exhibitions Coordinator, Marketing Assistant, and Marketing and Exhibit Coordinator with Air/Space America. Air/Space America was a San Diego-based non-profit organization founded in 1985 to put on an international air show that would compete with the most well-known air shows in Paris, France and Farnborough, England. Air/Space America organized and conducted an air show, May 13-22, 1988, at Brown Field in Otay Mesa. The next air show planned for May 4-13, 1990 was abruptly cancelled in late April 1990 and the organization declared bankruptcy shortly thereafter. At the time of its bankruptcy, it owed 300 creditors between $2.5 million and $4.5 million. The creditors included the City of San Diego, which wanted the organization to pay $150,000 for damages to Brown Field incurred after the 1988 air show.

Few of the major airframe manufacturers, like Boeing, Lockheed or McDonnell Douglas attended the 1988 show, instead favoring the aerospace industry’s already established shows.

Air/Space America officials blamed the City of San Diego for the demise of the aerospace shows. They claimed that by postponing approval of the 1990 air show, City officials hampered fund-raising activities planned by the organization to erase debt incurred from the 1988 show. Air/Space America officials said the City would not provide the organization with a multiyear commitment for Brown Field, which caused a group of investors, who were ready to put up nearly $3 million, to change their mind.

The City of San Diego blamed Air/Space America for its own destruction, citing mismanagement and an adversarial relationship with City staff. Council member Bob Filner also blamed Air/Space America for being poorly managed and for not having a sound financial plan. No creditor ever received all the money they were owed. At the time of its bankruptcy Air/Space America only had about $24,000 in assets. Four former Air/Space America employees approached The City of San Diego with plans for another 1990 air show called The U.S Airshow, but the plans never came to fruition.

Acquisition information:
Accession number 2002.103.
Processing information:

Collection processed by Alison Hennessey on May 2, 2012.

Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.

Arrangement:

Collection is arranged into five series:

Series I: San Diego and Coronado Ferry Company

Series II: Air/Space America

Series III: Air/Space America 88 (air show)

Series IV: Air/Space America 90 (air show)

Series V: Miscellanea

Items within each series are arranged by subject.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Alison Hennessey
Sponsor:
Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.
Date Prepared:
May 2, 2012
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2012-08-30T17:11-0700

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.

Preferred citation:

Anne Hunt Collection, MS 281, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.

Location of this collection:
1649 El Prado, Suite 3
San Diego, CA 92101, US
Contact:
(619) 232-6203
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