Laura Davick collection on Crystal Cove, 1910-2021

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Summary

Abstract:

The Laura Davick collection on Crystal Cove contains materials documenting the history of Crystal Cove, California, and the cottages there, including records from families who resided in the Crystal Cove community starting in the 1910s, and more specifically from Laura Davick's family's residency at Crystal Cove from approximately 1937-2001. The collection encompasses materials from approximately 1910 to 2021.

Extent:

2.8 Linear Feet (7 letter-size document boxes)

Language:

English .

Preferred citation:

Laura Davick collection on Crystal Cove. MS-R213. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. [Date accessed].

For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

Background

Scope and content:: The Laura Davick collection on Crystal Cove contains materials documenting the history of Crystal Cove, California, and the cottages there, including records from families who resided in the Crystal Cove community starting in the 1910s, and more specifically from Laura Davick's family's residency at Crystal Cove from approximately 1937-2001. The collection encompasses materials from approximately 1910 to 2021. Laura Davick has been gathering research and family history collections for forty years. The collection contains historic cottage written histories, photographs, oral histories, and legal documents. The binders are arranged by cottage number and the residents that inhabited them. The folders contain original photographs, handwritten histories from former residents, and printed emails.
Biographical / historical:: Crystal Cove origins started in 1864 when James Irvine I purchased the land and his son James Irvine Jr. provided camp access in the 1920s to the coastline. This property became a year-round residency for some in the 1930s with vernacular California architectural cottages constructed from natural resources found on the beach; many cottages used local materials like palm tree fronds for roofing materials. It was a summer tradition for guests to reside along the shoreline in these cottages and tents. Seasonal guests became full time "Coveites" who recalled Prohibition, the Great Depression, WWII, and Post-War growth with neighboring El Toro Marine Base. Crystal Cove became a California State Park in 1979. Crystal Cove's Historic District was recognized as a National Register of Historic Places on June 15, 1979. Crystal Cove Conservancy (formerly the Alliance to Rescue Crystal Cove and Crystal Cove Alliance) was founded in 1999 by "covite" and third-generation resident Laura Davick to preserve the cottages. Laura lived in Cottage #2 with her parents Bob and Peggy (née Webb) Davick. They met in the summer of 1940. Laura Davick's family cottage #2 was built in 1926. In June 1979, Crystal Cove was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as twelve acres with forty-six cottages. The earliest cottage dates to 1917 (no longer standing) and the oldest in 1950. In December 1979, California Department of Parks and Recreation purchased the park from the Irvine Company. Laura Davick, founder of the Alliance to Rescue Crystal Cove (ARCC), spearheaded the effort to stop a contract for the luxury resort plan. The mission of ARCC was preservation, education and conservation. Laura preserved her community and gathered book research while residing at her cottage in the early 2000s. The collection includes her photographs, slides, legal documents, maps, handwritten notes that developed into the Crystal Cove Cottages book first published in 2005. The Crystal Cove Cottage: Islands in Time on the California Coast was published by Chronicle Books in 2005 and had a reprint in 2016.
Acquisition information:: Gift of Laura Davick, 2024.
Processing information:: Processed by Jennifer Keil, 2022-2024, Cindy Keil, 2022-2024.
Arrangement:: Original order and naming principles created by Laura Davick have been maintained. Series are arranged alphabetically by topic or material type. This collection will retain the original arrangement based on the cottage numbers and families that resided there throughout the years.
Rules or conventions:: Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:: Cottages -- California -- Crystal Cove State Park.
Historic buildings -- California -- Crystal Cove State Park.

Access and use

Restrictions:: The collection is open for research. Access to original audio and video recordings is restricted; contact the Department of Special Collections and Archives at spcoll@uci.edu for more information.
Terms of access:: Property rights reside with the University of California. Copyrights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.