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Nelson (Susan B.) Collection
URB.SBN
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Susan B. Nelson Collection
Identifier/Call Number: URB.SBN
Extent:
77.88 linear feet
Extent:
157.79 Gigabytes
Date (inclusive): 1892-2003
Abstract: The
Susan B.
Nelson Collection
documents the professional and personal life of Susan Louise Barr
Nelson, an environmental and community planner, and social and political activist. Nelson
played a fundamental role in the establishment of the Santa Monica Mountains National
Recreation Area, which became the largest urban national park in the United States. The
collection also details Nelson's work with numerous groups and organizations to preserve
open space and parklands for recreational use and includes materials pertaining to a number
of social welfare issues with which she was involved. Additionally, the collection contains
Nelson's personal writings and materials related to her family, home life, and
education.
Language of Material: English
Susan Louise Barr was born in Syracuse, New York on April 13, 1927 to Mr. and Mrs. Winston
Barr. The family moved to California in 1930, first settling in a bungalow in Hollywood
before moving to the Carthay District Center, which today is known as Carthay Circle, Los
Angeles. With 1930's Los Angeles significantly less affected by urban sprawl, Susan spent
her childhood playing in the area's parks and the Ballona-Playa del Rey Lagoon's marsh,
which resulted in a life-long love of the outdoors and its natural resources.
In 1944, Susan graduated from Alexander Hamilton High School in Los Angeles. The following
Fall, she attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she earned a
bachelor's degree in Political Science in 1948. That same year Susan married Earl Calvin
Nelson Jr., a graduate of the University of Southern California. The couple settled in
Mandeville Canyon and had four children: Bradley, Sara, Catherine, and Peter, before the
marriage ended in divorce in 1983. Susan returned to UCLA to earn a Master of Public
Administration in 1969. During the 1970s, she gained employment at the Southern California
Institute of Architecture, UCLA, California State University, Dominguez Hills, and Santa
Monica Community College where she lectured on environmental planning and urban design. She
also held memberships with the American Institute of Planners and the American Federation of
Teachers.
Susan Nelson's distinguished career as an environmental and community planner, writer, and
social and political activist began in the 1960s with her publication of the Mandeville Rose
Newsletter, which served the residents of that community. In 1963, Nelson co-founded the
Friends of the Santa Monica Mountains' Parks and Seashore (FSMMPS) and its subsequent
funding foundation, the Santa Monica Mountains and Seashore Foundation (SMMSF) in 1972. In
conjunction with the FSMMPS, Nelson worked at the local, state, and federal level to provide
testimony, conduct studies, develop conferences and workshops, and contribute to legislation
that led to the creation of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) in
1978 – the first urban national park of its kind. Following the establishment of the SMMNRA,
Nelson served on the park's advisory commission for ten years where she worked to protect
the park from budget cuts and urban development, as well as expand the SMMNRA through land
acquisitions. She also served as a member and advisor to a number of environmental groups,
including the Save Malibu Canyon, Temescal Canyon, and Point Mugu Citizen's Advisory
Committees, and the National Park and Conservation Association, where she worked to secure
Topanga, Point Mugu, and Malibu Creek State Parks as recreational areas. Nelson also lent
her organizing talents to the preservation of California's beaches by opposing offshore
drilling and advocating for marine sanctuaries.
In addition to her work with National and State Parks, Nelson was also engaged in city
planning and social projects. During the 1970s, Nelson organized a number of environmental
groups and homeowner's associations to oppose the development of the Malibu Canyon Freeway,
Pacific Coast Freeway, Mulholland Highway, and the Reseda Boulevard Extension. She also
worked with the art community of the Renaissance Faire to stop the Paramount Ranch
Development in Agoura; aided in the development of numerous community plans; and developed
housing and open space elements for a number of Southern California communities. In the
1980s, Nelson focused her attention on the City of Los Angeles' General Plan, proposing
alternatives and working with the Federation of Hillside and Canyon Associates to file a
lawsuit against the city over zoning issues. She also organized "Save Hollywood Our Town" in
opposition to the city's plan to revitalize Hollywood and opposed numerous plans for urban
development in the Santa Monica Mountains and Los Angeles Basin. A member of the bioregional
movement and advocate of the Green Party, Nelson was a proponent of recycling programs and
safeguarding the public and environment from hazardous pollutants, which led to the 1987
defeat of the LANCER Project that proposed the construction of a trash incineration facility
in South Central Los Angeles. Nelson also worked to address a number of social issues
including the desegregation of public schools and the advancement of women. In 1974, she
founded the National Women's Political Caucus in California to support the election and
appointment of women to public office.
During a career that spanned four decades, Nelson played an integral role in the
preservation of open space and parklands. Her work to establish the SMMNRA earned her the
moniker "Mother of the Santa Monica Mountains," recognizing her contributions which helped
to shape Southern California's landscape. Nelson continued to devote her life to
environmental and social causes until her untimely passing on May 4, 2003.
The
Susan B. Nelson Collection documents Nelson's professional
and personal life, most notably, the fundamental role she played in the creation of the
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in 1978. The collection details the work of
the Friends of the Santa Monica Mountains' Parks and Seashore (FSMMPS) and the Santa Monica
Mountains and Seashore Foundation (SMMSF), which Nelson utilized to realize the dream of an
urban park for residents of the greater Los Angeles area. Materials include governing
documents, meeting minutes, leadership and membership rosters, financial information,
brochures, flyers, pamphlets, publications, reports and studies, testimony, legislative
information, conference and workshop materials, project notebooks, photographic material,
audio and visual recordings, and a large number of oversized maps, plans, and posters. In
addition, the collection contains of records generated by a number of organizations and
groups affiliated with Nelson's work regarding environmental conservation and social and
political causes. The collection is arranged into four series:
Friends
of the Santa Monica Mountains' Parks and Seashore
(1962-2001),
Project and Research Files (1892-1911, 1928-2003),
Publications (1957-2002), and
Personal Files (1905,
1940-2003).
Series I,
Friends of the Santa Monica Mountains' Parks and
Seashore,
contains the organization's working papers, as well as the administrative
papers of its funding partner, the SMMSF. The series includes administrative notebooks,
financial records, and meeting minutes that document the organization's operations and
administrative practices; SMMSF By-laws, Articles of Incorporation, and establishing
documentation, which detail the foundation's origin, governing structure, and procedures for
selecting individuals to its supervisory boards; and contact lists and rosters that identify
organizational officers and members for specific years. Materials also include a brochure
designed to inform the public of the organization's purpose, as well as audio recordings,
flyers, newsletters, and press releases that highlight the FSMMPS's activities within the
community. It also consists of interoffice and general correspondence that documents the
FSMMPS and the SMMSF's interactions with colleagues; environmental agencies such as the
National Park Service and Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy; and local, state, and federal
politicians including California Governor Jerry Brown and President Jimmy Carter. In several
instances, correspondence contains materials of both a professional and personal nature. The
series is arranged alphabetically.
Series II,
Project and Research Files, makes up the bulk of the
collection and documents the social, political, and environmental projects that comprised
Nelson's life work. Materials include legislative information, testimony, conference and
workshop documentation, natural and cultural resource studies, petitions, newspaper
articles, and correspondence pertaining to the creation of the SMMNRA. The series also
details the role that FSMMPS, SMMNRA Advisory Commission, Santa Monica Mountains
Conservancy, and the National Park Service played in the development and management of the
new Urban National Park. It also consists of information regarding the preservation of open
space for recreational use and establishment of California State Parks, as well as the
preservation of its beaches and coastline.
Additionally, the series contains information regarding grassroots and political
organizations, homeowner's associations, and community and conservation groups that lent
their efforts to a variety of environmental and social issues, as well as organizational
flyers, pamphlets, brochures, meeting announcements, newspaper articles, and newsletters
highlighting public outreach events and specific issues of concern. Areas of focus include
the City of Los Angeles General Plan; urban development; city oil pipeline projects and
offshore drilling; solid waste management; Green Party politics; the bioregional movement;
hazardous toxins and radioactive landfills; and air and water quality. Materials also
consist of information on public education, including the "Integration Project" designed to
ensure equal and integrated education, as well as files on women's issues, health care,
housing, and community building. Files on peace depict Nelson's domestic and international
concerns regarding terrorism, nuclear weaponry, war in the Middle East and Yugoslavia, the
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, and election practices in Latin America. The series includes
photographic material; audio and visual recordings; and oversized maps and plans related to
the series' projects. There are also a large number of project notebooks that contain
material of both a professional and personal nature. The series in arranged
alphabetically.
Series III,
Publications, contains reports, studies,
informational literature, and management and community plans pertaining to the environmental
and public issues. The publications in the series are the work of various government,
environmental, and private agencies such as the City of Los Angeles Department of City
Planning, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the State of California Department of Water
Resources, and the Mulholland Citizen's Advisory Committee. The materials in Series III
serve as supplemental and supportive information for the projects and research files
contained in Series II. Topics in the series include the establishment of the Mulholland
Scenic Corridor; Los Angeles' growth, infrastructure, and transportation; municipal waste
management; environmental pollutants; California coastal and water plans; and resource
management plans for Southern California's mountains, canyons, and deserts. The series is
arranged alphabetically.
Series IV,
Personal Files, documents Susan Nelson's life as an
educator, writer, and member of the environmental planning community, as well as provides
insight into her personal relationships with colleagues, family, and friends. The series
includes academic materials pertaining to Nelson's education; biographical information and
resumés that chronicle the evolution of her career; and calendars, daily planners, address
books and lists that detail her personal and professional activities and contacts. Materials
also include travel documentation and photographic material regarding vacations and work
related trips; financial documents, hand drawn sketches, and professional plans related to
the remodeling of Nelson's home; family records that reveal the Barr family's origins; and
photographic materials that depict family and home life. In addition, Series IV consists of
certificates that document Nelson's academic achievements and organizational memberships;
teaching materials pertaining to her role as a college instructor; and personal writings,
journals, poems, and notebooks that contain Nelson's reflections regarding her early life,
family, dealings with colleagues, and professional pursuits. Correspondence includes
letters, holiday greeting cards, postcards, and invitations and announcements of both a
personal and professional nature. The series is arranged alphabetically.
Series I: Friends of the Santa Monica Mountains' Parks and Seashore, 1962-2001
Series II: Project and Research Files, 1892-1911, 1928-2003
Series III: Publications, 1957-2002
Series IV: Personal Files, 1905, 1940-2003
This collection is open for research use.
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has 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
Earl Bradley Nelson, 2004
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style
manual, or see the
Citing Archival
Materials
guide.
Jennifer Shelly, 2018
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Audiovisual materials
Ephemera
Maps
Documents
Photographs