Guide to the Miss Billy Riley Papers MS 215
Finding aid prepared by Alison Hennessey
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.
San Diego History Center Document Collection
May 17, 2012
1649 El Prado, Suite 3
San Diego, CA, 92101
619-232-6203
Title: Miss Billy Riley Papers
Identifier/Call Number: MS 215
Contributing Institution:
San Diego History Center Document Collection
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.25 Linear feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1965-2000
Abstract: The collection contains materials related to the tourism promotion activities of civic leader Miss Billy Riley.
creator:
Riley, Billy, Miss
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.
This collection is open for research.
The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.
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.
Miss Billy Riley Papers, MS 215, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.
Collection materials are arranged by subject.
Biographical / Historical Notes
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.
Original photographs separated to Photograph Collection.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession number 2001.042.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Center City Association (San Diego, Calif.).
Half Moon Inn (San Diego, Calif.).
Horton Grand Hotel.
Reagan, Ronald
Riley, Billy, Miss
San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau.
San Diego Convention Center.
Soroptimist International Association.
Awards
Gaslamp Quarter (San Diego, Calif.)
Hotels -- California
San Diego (Calif.)
Tijuana (Baja California, Mexico)
Tourism
Box-folder 1:1
Box-folder 1:2
Box-folder 1:3
Box-folder 1:4