Riley (Miss Billy) Papers, 1965-2000

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Summary

Title:
Miss Billy Riley Papers
Dates:
1965-2000
Creators:
Riley, Billy, Miss
Abstract:
The collection contains materials related to the tourism promotion activities of civic leader Miss Billy Riley.
Extent:
0.25 Linear feet (1 box)
Language:
Preferred citation:

Miss Billy Riley Papers, MS 215, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains materials related to Miss Billy Riley’s contribution to promoting tourism in Downtown San Diego and the Gaslamp Quarter. The collection includes correspondence regarding local hotel/motel tax propositions in the 1960s and 1980s. Awards and articles highlight Riley’s civic involvement in promoting and expanding tourism in San Diego, especially Downtown.

Biographical / historical:

Born in Erick, Oklahoma, Miss Billy Riley, as she prefers to be known, moved to San Diego in 1944. She became a civic leader in San Diego after becoming the first woman manager of a major hotel, the Half Moon Inn on Shelter Island, in the 1960s. She would later become part owner. In 1967 she was the first female president of the San Diego Hotel-Motel Association. She was also the first woman director of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce in 1968. Her civic contributions to San Diego ranged from fighting litter to forging a better relationship with Mexico to co-chairing the 1968 World Surfing Olympics. Miss Billy Riley moved back to Oklahoma in 1979 before returning to San Diego. In 1981, she then joined the restoration and renovation efforts at the Horton Grand Hotel. In 1985, she was the first woman to serve on the Board of Directors of the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau. She also served on the Gaslamp Quarter Council and Old Town Chamber of Commerce. In the early 1990s she moved to Dallas, Texas where she remarried and lived for a few years before again returning to San Diego. Miss Billy Riley has six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Acquisition information:
Accession number 2001.042.
Processing information:

Collection processed by Alison Hennessey on May 17, 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 materials 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 17, 2012
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2013-01-08T15:01-0800

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:

Miss Billy Riley Papers, MS 215, 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
Website