Jump to Content

> Home > University of Southern California > California Social Welfare Archives
Collection Guide
∞ https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt8p303913/
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Finding Aid for the All Nations Church and Foundation photographs 0421
0421  
No online items No online items       Request items ↗
Collection location Contact University of Southern California::California Social Welfare Archives
View entire collection guide What's This?
Search this collection
Entire Collection Guide
Online Items
Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Acquisition
  • Related Archival Materials
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Conditions Governing Use
  • Preferred Citation
  • Organization note
  • Historical note
  • Processing note
  • Scope and Content
    • Title: All Nations Church and Foundation photographs next hit
    Collection number: 0421
    Contributing Institution: USC Libraries Special Collections
    Language of Material: English
    Physical Description: 5.0 linear ft. 6 boxes
    Date: circa 1924-1967
    Abstract: The All Nations Church and Foundation previous hit photographs next hit (circa 1924-1967) consist of photographic material in a variety of formats; the collection provides a rich view of the people, community, and activities associated with the All Nations Foundation's operations in Los Angeles. Among the subjects documented in the previous hit photographs next hit are All Nations centers and community life; arts and education; recreation and leisure; groups and individuals; and publicity materials. The collection complements the All Nations Church and Foundation records, also held in the California Social Welfare Archives at USC.
    creator: All Nations Foundation (Los Angeles, Calif.).
    creator: Church of All Nations (Los Angeles, Calif.).
    creator: Dick Whittington Studio. -- previous hit Photographs next hit

    Acquisition

    Gift of James Blaine, former Director of All Nations Boys Club.

    Related Archival Materials

    All Nations Church and Foundation records, Collection no. 0403, California Social Welfare Archives, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California

    Conditions Governing Access

    Advance notice required for access.

    Conditions Governing Use

    The use of archival materials for on-site research does not constitute permission from the California Social Welfare Archives to publish them. Copyright has not been assigned to the California Social Welfare Archives, and the researcher is instructed to obtain permission to quote from or publish manuscripts in the CSWA's collections from the copyright holder.

    Preferred Citation

    [Box/folder# or item name], All Nations Church and Foundation previous hit photographs next hit , Collection no. 0421, California Social Welfare Archives, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California

    Organization note

    The previous hit photographs next hit are organized into seven series: Centers and Community; Arts and Education; Recreation and Leisure; Groups and Individuals; Statistical Maps (Slides); Publicity Picture Packets; and Films and Film Materials. Grouping of images is based on their main subject matter.

    Historical note

    All Nations, in its heyday the largest and most effective social welfare organization in Los Angeles, was begun in 1918 in an east-central section of the city known as "Eastside." The City Missionary Society of the Methodist Church, under pastor Bromley Oxnam, established and ran the church settlement, gathering donations, organizing volunteers, buying land and buildings, and equipping gymnasiums, playgrounds, libraries, and clinics for a community where three-fourths of the families were on public assistance and where much of the population consisted of immigrants from Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Oxnam initially developed the physical facilities of All Nations, acquiring a complex of buildings at 810-816-824 E. Sixth Street just before his resignation from the organization in 1927.
    Oxnam's successor was the Reverend Robert A. McKibben, whose work as administrator, social worker, fund raiser, and collaborator with other social welfare agencies, including the Federal and Los Angeles Relief Administrations and the National Youth Administration, ensured the continued success of All Nations. Character-building activities for the children, a vacation bible school, the library, and medical programs--including medical and dental clinics served by a cadre of approximately fifty volunteer doctors, optometrists, and dentists--were critical services in the work of All Nations. Especially noteworthy was All Nations' extraordinarily successful Boys' Club, which became a Boys' Club of America in 1927 with some 950 members from thirty nationalities and fifteen religions. All Nations also operated two other community centers: the Sunset Community Center at 1001-1005 Sunset Boulevard, and the Hollenbeck Heights Social Center at 200 North St. Louis Street. These branches of All Nations concentrated on work with youths. When McKibben began his work with All Nations, the Eastside had the highest delinquency rate in the city, but within the next three years, that rate would drop by 65%.
    Reverend McKibben left All Nations in 1952, and was succeeded by James Mixon. By the 1960s, new industrial development in the area and slum clearance had reduced the area's population. Such changes led to questions about the usefulness of traditional settlement programs in this area; at the same time, All Nations' principal support began to come from the United Way rather than from the Methodist Church.
    Information in this note is based on the Historical Note for the All Nations Church and Foundation records collection (0403) finding aid, developed by Jane Adler and Clay Stalls, with additional information and editing by Sue Tyson. All information in this history comes from material in the collection; from Robert McKibben, With The Master into the Heart of the City: First Forty Years of All Nations Foundations ([S.l.] [s.n.], 1977?); and from Mark H. Wild, Street Meeting: Multiethnic Neighborhoods in Early Twentieth-Century Los Angeles (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005). The founding date of 1918 is referenced in Wild's book.

    Processing note

    Clay Stalls partially processed this collection in 2000. In 2011, Sue Tyson completed processing the collection and produced this finding aid.
    The order in which the collection's series are arranged reflects their relative cohesiveness of subject matter and level of specificity. Centers and Community; Arts and Education; and Recreation and Leisure appear first because they provide the most specific references to or indications of the All Nations Church and Foundation's areas of operation and functions. The Groups and Individuals series follows these series because of its more miscellaneous character; though this series has the most previous hit photographs next hit , its images reflect a wide range of activities. The Statistical Maps (Slides) and the Publicity Picture Packets series follow these others because they represent narrower areas of focus. Because the contents of the films in the Films and Film Materials series are unknown, this series appears last.

    Scope and Content

    The All Nations Church and Foundation previous hit photographs next hit (circa 1924-1967) contain approximately 800 previous hit photographs next hit , including approximately 350 regular and 15 oversize previous hit photographs next hit ; 113 slides; 139 glass slides; 66 negatives in various formats; and 140 previous hit photographs next hit that were used for a publicity campaign. The collection also contains textual material, in the form of lists of captions for the publicity campaign, and two short films, the contents of which are unknown. Most of the collection's materials are undated and unidentified, though some images provide dates, captions, or other writing that can aid in identification; dated materials encompass the years 1924-1967, with the bulk of this material dating from the 1940s to the 1960s; one slide from the Statistical Maps (Slides) series is dated 1914.
    Despite the lack of identifying information or attribution, the All Nations Church and Foundation previous hit photographs next hit provide a rich view of the All Nations organization, as seen in images of people, community, activities, and facilities. The previous hit photographs next hit portray a range of subject matter, including All Nations centers and community life; arts and education; recreation and leisure; groups and individuals; and publicity. Within these broad themes, images depict churches and religious services; learning activities such as reading and arts and crafts; music and drama; sports and excursions; festivities such as dances and parties; and medical and dental care at the organization's clinics. The collection's statistical map slides cover a range of issues pertinent to social services and social work in Los Angeles, including but not limited to data concerning neglected children; vagrancy; sexual assaults; runaways; and various crimes committed by youths. The textual materials in the Publicity Pictures series were organized by All Nations into seven packets, with the following titles: The Nature of the Inner City; Forms of Inner City Ministry; Inner City Preschoolers; Inner City Children; Inner City Youth; Inner City Adults; and Meditations. The contents of the films in the Films series are unknown. While this series also contains boxes for shipping films, the collection does not include the films mentioned on these containers.
    Images in the collection include All Nations Boys' Club and All Nations Clinic. The collection also includes several previous hit photographs next hit by the "Dick” Whittington Studio.
    The condition of the materials in the collection ranges from poor to good. Some of the previous hit photographs next hit are bent or torn, and several of the glass slides are cracked.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    All Nations Boys Club (Los Angeles, Calif.). -- previous hit Photographs next hit
    All Nations Clinic. -- previous hit Photographs next hit
    All Nations Foundation (Los Angeles, Calif.). -- previous hit Photographs next hit
    Church of All Nations (Los Angeles, Calif.). -- previous hit Photographs next hit
    Art and recreation-- previous hit Photographs next hit
    Arts--Study and teaching--Activity programs-- previous hit Photographs next hit
    Clinics-- previous hit Photographs next hit
    Community centers-- previous hit Photographs next hit
    Community health services-- previous hit Photographs next hit
    Los Angeles (Calif.)--History-- previous hit Photographs next hit
    Los Angeles (Calif.)--Social conditions-- previous hit Photographs next hit
    Outdoor recreation-- previous hit Photographs next hit
    previous hit Photographs next hit
    Recreation-- previous hit Photographs next hit
    Slides ( previous hit photographs next hit )
    Social history--Societies and clubs--Social aspects-- previous hit Photographs next hit
    Social service--California--Los Angeles-- previous hit Photographs next hit
    Social work with youth-- previous hit Photographs next hit
    Sports-- previous hit Photographs next hit
    Urban youth--Services for--California-- previous hit Photographs next hit
    79 Search hits
    Clear search hits
    Collection Contents
    Centers and Community [11 hits]
    Arts and Education [8 hits]
    Recreation and Leisure [3 hits]
    Groups and Individuals [8 hits]
    Statistical Maps (Slides)
    Publicity Picture Packets [14 hits]
    Films and Film Materials
    Home | Contributing Institutions | Collection Guides | Browse Map | About OAC | FAQs | Contact Us | Privacy Statement | Terms of Use | Accessibility
    The Online Archive of California is a service of the UC Libraries, powered by the California Digital Library.