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San Diego Chamber of Commerce Records
MS-0040
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & University Archives
Title: San Diego Chamber of Commerce Records
Creator:
San Diego Chamber of Commerce
Identifier/Call Number: MS-0040
Physical Description:
40.66 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1826-1980
Date (bulk): 1907-1980
Language of Material:
English
.
The
San Diego Chamber of Commerce Records document the Chamber's activities and major Chamber-sponsored events in San Diego, such as the 1915 World Exposition at Balboa
Park, San Diego's 200th Anniversary celebration, and the establishment of the University of California, San Diego. The majority
of the material is from the 1950s-1970s and deals primarily with industrial growth and education, both of which directly relate
to the Chamber's commitment to "broad-based economic value." The collection consists of newspaper clippings, promotional materials
for San Diego events and attractions, correspondence, county data, meeting minutes, and committee reports. It is organized
into two series:
Committee Files and
Subject Files.
The
Committee Files (1826-1980) document the activities of individual committees or departments, and how these committees shaped San Diego and
its economy. The series provides evidence of each committee's work with small local businesses and with the California Chamber
of Commerce and the State Legislature to increase the overall prosperity of San Diego in general, and the small business community
in particular. The series is made up of 62 alphabetically filed sub series.
Each committee sub series is typically composed of committee correspondence, meeting minutes, news clippings, member lists,
and action reports. The Education Committee, Industrial Department, Parks and Recreation Facilities Committee, Research and
Information Department and both of the oceanic committees are most extensively documented. The Education Committee, the Industrial
Department, and the Parks and Recreation Facilities Committee contain several sub-series. The
Education Committee sub-series documents different aspects of education, such as higher education, public schools, and special needs beginning
in the 1950's. Consequently, there is little information regarding San Diego State University. The
Industrial Department sub series reflects various types of local industrial development, as illustrated by the Industrial and Business Development
Committee and the Industrial and Economic Sub-Committee. The
Parks and Recreation Committee sub series record land development projects the Chamber was involved with, such as Balboa Park and Mission Bay, and various
projects the Committee implemented, such as Plant-a-Tree Week. The collection contains limited documentation for the Atomic
Energy Committee, the Information Department and the Tourist Committee. These gaps in committee information usually tend to
reflect either how active the committee was, or the Chamber's main priorities and how successfully it was able to achieve
them.
Both the
Baja California Committee and
Mexico Committee files contain some documents in Spanish. There are also several notes throughout the Committee Files which are written in shorthand.
The
Subject Files (1907-1980) consist of alphabetized files pertaining to Chamber of Commerce projects and/or specific community events, such
as San Diego's 200th Anniversary celebration. The
Subject Files document local business licenses, the promotion of San Diego as both a major tourist attraction and as a place to live, internal
chamber meeting minutes, member lists, community events, the United States Department of Labor, and the United States Chamber
of Commerce. In addition, an extensive amount of newspaper clippings serve to highlight the Chamber's successes and failures,
and track the Chamber's progress with certain projects. There is also a wonderful collection of promotional materials dating
back to 1907. In short, a wide-range of materials are documented in the
Subject Files.
I. Committee Files, 1826-1980
1. Advertising Committee, 1958-1970
2. Advisory Committee, 1962-1977
3. Advisory Council of the Supplementary Education Center, 1966-1967
4. Agricultural and Natural Resources Committee, 1947-1971
5. Ambassadors, 1963-1965
6. American Chamber of Commerce Researchers, 1962-1972
7. Atomic Energy Committee, 1965-1966
8. Baja California Committee, 1969-1970
9. Bay Crossing Committee, 1935-1963
10. Build Industrial Growth (B.I.G.) Committee, 1956-1966
11. Blue Ribbon Committee for Charter Review, 1965-1969
12. Blue Ribbon Pilot Committee, 1962-1969
13. Board of Port Commissioners, 1963-1969
14. Business-Education Day Committee, 1953-1963
15. California State Chamber of Commerce, 1946-1972
16. Career Development Services Committee, 1966-1967
17. Census Tract Committee, 1944-1974
18. Chamber City Charter Review Task Force, 1969-1974
19. City Industrial Development Committee, 1956-1962
20. Community Health Committee, 1965-1972
21. Comprehensive Health Planning Association, 1966-1974
22. Construction Industries Committee, 1956-1964
23. Department of Corrections, 1963-1969
24. County Fair Committee, 1949-1962
25. Department of Defense, 1955-1963
26. Economic Research Bureau, 1959-1981
27. Executive Committee of the Economic Research Bureau, 1953-1970
28. Education Committee, 1928-1978
a) General Committee Files, 1928-1978
b) Citizens' Advisory Committee, 1968-1975
c) Growth Needs Expansion Task Force Group, 1971-1973
d) Higher Education Sub-Committee, 1965-1973
e) Honors Employment Sub-Committee, 1956
f) Public Schools Sub-Committee, 1960-1973
g) School Contest Advisory Committee, 1958-1960
h) Speakers' Sub-Committee, 1964-1971
i) Special Education Sub-Committee, 1963-1969
j) Tuition Task Group, 1974-1975
k) University of California Sub-Committee, 1959-1973
29. Education Contest Committee, 1962-1969
30. Department of Employment, 1955-1972
31. Department of Engineering, 1952-1962
a) General Files, 1960-1961
b) Engineering Personnel Survey Sub-Committee, 1952-1962
32. Evaluation-Steering Committee, 1966-1972
33. Export-Import Committee, 1946-1965
34. Harbor Department, 1946-1969
35. Health Sciences Council, 1966-1974
36. Housing Committee, 1953-1965
37. Industrial Department, 1924-1975
a) General Committee Files, 1953-1971
b) Industrial Advisory Committee, 1960
c) Industrial and Business Development Committee, 1924-1975
d) Industrial Coordinating Committee, 1959
e) Industrial Development Committee, 1949-1975
f) Industrial Development Corporation, 1949-1964
g) Industrial Development Council, 1959-1960
h) Industrial Development Steering Committee, 1940-1968
i) Industrial and Economic Development Committee, 1953-1972
j) Industrial Health Education Committee, 1959
k) Industrial Information Committee, 1960-1961
l) Industrial Promotion Committee, 1953-1961
m) Industrial Relations Committee, 1956-1957
n) Real Estate Sub-Committee, 1956-1957
38. Information Department
39. Labor and Statistics Department, 1947-1975
40. Local Affairs Committee, 1956-1960
41. Manufacturers Committee, 1962-1969
42. Mayor's Host Committee, 1956-1966
43. Mexico Committee, 1954-1978
44. Narcotics Task Force Committee, 1968-1971
45. Oceanographic Coordinating Committee, 1966-1970
46. Oceanographic Development Committee, 1964-1972
47. Old Town San Diego State Historic Park Advisory Committee, 1926-1976
48. Parks and Recreational Facilities Committee, 1934-1974
a) General Committee Files, 1947-1974
b) Balboa Park Sub-Committee, 1956-1973
c) Mission Bay Sub-Committee, 1934-1974
d) Open Space and Planning Division, 1958-1974
e) Plant-A-Tree Sub-Committee, 1957-1958
f) San Diego Beautification Committee, 1954-1957
49. Populations Projections Study Committee, 1957-1967
50. Public and Governmental Affairs Division, 1972-1975
51. Recreational Development Committee, 1955
52. Research and Information Department, 1927-1979
53. San Diego Chamber of Commerce, 1947-1970
54. San Diego Citizens' Scholarship Foundation, 1963-1975
55. San Diego City Council, 1955-1969
56. School Contest Advising Committee, 1962-1975
57. Tourist Committee, 1953-1954
58. Tract Housing Committee, 1960-1965
59. University of California Committee, 1910-1973
60. United States International University (USIU) Committee, 1974-1975
61. University Task Force Committee, 1959-1973
62. Water Committee, 1924-1978
II. Subject Files, 1907-1980
This collection is open for research.
The copyright interests in some of these materials have been transferred to or belong to San Diego State University. The nature
of historical archival and manuscript collections means that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine.
Copyright resides with the creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. Requests for permission to publish
must be submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. Permissions
is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission
of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish. Materials from our collections are made available
for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including
but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.
San Diego Chamber of Commerce
1978-016, 1980-008, 1981-008, 1985-009
Economic Research Bureau Records
San Diego Junior Chamber of Commerce Records
Coronado Chamber of Commerce Records
East San Diego Chamber of Commerce Records
Lemon Grove Chamber of Commerce Records
Identification of item, folder title, box number, San Diego Chamber of Commerce Records, Special Collections and University
Archives, San Diego State University Library.
Alonzo Horton established the San Diego Chamber of Commerce on 20 January, 1870, making it the second chamber of commerce
on the west coast. Initially, the Chamber sought to promote San Diego as a place to live; it even created the first City Directory
in 1874. In order to endorse San Diego, it advocated events such as the 1915 World Exhibition in Balboa Park. It also encouraged
the establishment of military bases in San Diego. In 1917, during World War I, the city approved the creation of a Marine
base and Naval Hospital. Later, in 1919, the United States Navy made San Diego the home base of its Pacific Fleet. Eventually
Point Loma became the site of the Naval Training Center, and Miramar gained prestige as a naval air station. In 1942, the
Navy acquired land that would later become Camp Pendleton. Hence, San Diego had firmly established itself as a major military
center, which increased the overall prosperity of the county.
In 1944, the Navy began construction on an aqueduct that would bring water from the Colorado River to San Diego. Two years
later, the city completed the aqueduct with the use of bonds, which the Chamber helped to attain. During this time, the Chamber
also assisted with the development of Mission Bay Park, which officially opened in 1949. Similarly, turning Old Town into
a historic state park also proved to be a major undertaking for the Chamber. In the early to mid 1970's the Chamber helped
to organize Old Town's anniversary celebration and the creation of Old Town's Seeley Stables Hazard Museum.
Besides water and land development, both the Chamber and the City hoped to establish San Diego as a center for research, industry,
and education. The Chamber launched its "Build Industrial Growth" (B.I.G.) campaign in 1956 in order to bring industry and
research to San Diego. Ads, paid for and created by the Chamber, promoted San Diego as a fast-growing industrial center. It
encouraged entrepreneurs to send it their ideas and inventions, then the Chamber helped to find a manufacturer to produce
the new item. Similarly, the Chamber set up seminars and conferences, and circulated informational material that dealt with
creating and expanding new businesses. It even helped small businesses obtain licenses. The Chamber also heavily supported
government legislation that promoted small business, industry, and education, and it encouraged the public to do the same.
Not everyone totally supported the B.I.G. campaign, however. Many San Diego residents wished to keep San Diego small. Los
Angeles had grown rapidly, and not all San Diego residents wanted to mimic LA's explosive growth. After all, an increase in
industry meant an increase in population, traffic, and cost of living. The Chamber's B.I.G. campaign proved successful, however,
and San Diego's industrial sector prospered. In fact, by 1970, San Diego was California's second largest city with a city
population of 696,769 and a county population of 1,357,854. Although the Chamber's push for industry led to a greater demand
for housing, roads, and infrastructure, the Chamber addressed these new demands and lobbied for more schools, housing, and
freeways.
San Diego's schools and universities also experienced a rapid transformation. Although San Diego State University had been
established in 1898, the Chamber wanted to promote San Diego as a center of higher education, and therefore sought to promote
the establishment of other universities in the San Diego area. The University of San Diego was founded in 1954, and shortly
thereafter, the Chamber began to endorse the purchase of land for a future University of California site. Finally, in 1964
the University of California, San Diego was established. The Chamber even sought to make San Diego the California State University
system headquarters, but this task proved unsuccessful. Community colleges and trade schools were also endorsed by the Chamber.
It set up essay contests at junior high schools on the topic of free enterprise, and it created Business-Education Day, in
which teachers could be exposed to various types of businesses and careers. The Chamber also set up a Career Development Services
Committee to help San Diego residents find jobs.
Today, the Chamber remains a non-profit business advocacy group, and still plays a major role in public policy and economic
development. It consists of 8 divisions: the Economic and Research Bureau, the Government Division, the Educational Division,
the Motion Picture and Television Bureau, the Small Business Development Center, the Membership Division, the Military Affairs
Division, and the Communications and Marketing Division.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
San Diego (Calif.)--Boards of trade
San Diego (Calif.)--Commerce--Sources
Small business--California--San Diego--Sources
Organizational Records
San Diego (Calif.)--Economic conditions--Sources
San Diego Chamber of Commerce