Finding Aid for the Citizens Committee to Save Elysian Park records 0320

Jacqueline Morin
Processing of this collection was funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives program.
USC Libraries Special Collections
2010, 2016
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California 90089-0189
specol@usc.edu


Contributing Institution: USC Libraries Special Collections
Title: Citizens Committee to Save Elysian Park records
Creator: Citizens Committee to Save Elysian Park (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Creator: Simons, Grace E.
Identifier/Call Number: 0320
Identifier/Call Number: 148
Physical Description: 23 Linear Feet 23 boxes and 1 oversize folder
Date (inclusive): 1965-2019
Abstract: The Citizens Committee to Save Elysian Park was founded in 1965 to organize public and official awareness and to raise support to preserve the park land as public open space, and to develop it for recreational activities. The mission and efforts of this vibrant "grass roots" organization are ongoing, and the Committee will continue to add materials which document its activities. The collection consists of fifteen boxes of records dating back to the Committee's early history in the 1960s. It was donated by the 2004 Board of Directors of the Committee, with additional materials donated in 2016.
Language of Material: English .

Biographical Note

This collection chronicles the life of Grace E. Simons almost as much as it does the Committee which she established--at least the last twenty years of her life. Without Simons' vision and foresight, Elysian Park might look very different today--much less "park-like."
Grace E. Simons was a journalist who worked for a French news agency in China where she met her husband, Frank Glass, who was an organizer for the Communist Party. They came to Los Angeles in 1939 where Grace worked as a reporter and editor for the California Eagle, an African-American newspaper that finally folded in the early 1960s. During an interview for the Eagle, Simons met Malcolm X who was impressed by Simons' sharp questioning of him concerning his attitude towards women's rights.
It was in the mid-1960s that Simons first became involved in protecting the historic park when the city threatened to take 63 acres for what has become the Convention Center on Figureroa Street. Seeing what had happened with Dodger Stadium, Simons and a few neighbors banded together to become the Citizens Committee to Save Elysian Park (CCSEP). Serving as President of the Committee for many years, Simons led the fight in a series of battles that it won against proposals for an airport, oil drilling by Occidental Petroleum, an Asian Cultural Center, a child care facility, a restaurant and parking lot on Radio Hill, and several condominium projects.
The committee experienced its share of losses, among them a move to expand the Los Angeles Police Academy.
In 1979 the Sol Feinstone Environmental Award was conferred upon Simons--one of only five persons to receive the award nationally.
Grace Simons passed away in 1985 at Barlow Hospital, right next to Elysian Park. Her husband, Frank Glass, passed away in 1987. A memorial sculpture to Simons and Glass designed by ceramicist and sculptor Peter Shire was dedicated in 1994 and is located at Angel's Point in Elysian Park.

Historical Background

Elysian Park is Los Angeles's first and oldest park. It was part of the original 1781 land grant to the pueblo of Los Angeles from King Carlos III from Spain. The initial 550 acres of Elysian Park were, "...forever dedicated to the public..." in 1886, and by 1937 had grown to a little over 600 acres. The park is the site of the first Botanical Garden in Southern California. In the 1880s about 37,000 eucalyptus trees were planted on park land, and in the 1890s the Los Angeles Horticultural Society began planting many specimens of rare trees including the double row of wild date palms north of Stadium Way. About 67 species remain of the original plantings.
Elysian Park serves as an enormous backyard for the families who live in nearby neighborhoods such as Echo Park, Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights, and Elysian Heights. Notable sites and buildings at or near Elysian Park include the Portola/ Fremont Gate, Victory Memorial Grove, the Chavez Ravine Arboretum, the Avenue of the Palms, the rock garden at the Police Academy, the Recreation Center in the Solano Canyon section of the park, Barlow Hospital, tunnels on the Pasadena Freeway, Arroyo Seco Parkway, and the Buena Vista Reservoir. Trees are regularly purchased and planted in Elysian Park by CCSEP members and friends as loving memorials to the living and the dead.
Before the Citizens Committee to Save Elysian Park was formed in 1965, the Pasadena Freeway had already split the park and Dodger Stadium had been built on part of Chavez Ravine and Elysian Park. When a group of promoters presented a plan to take the Avenue of the Palms for the Los Angeles Convention Center, the committee organized itself with Grace E. Simons as its first president. They successfully stopped the development and continued to fight many more battles over the years in an effort to preserve Elysian Park as a public park and an oasis in the heart of Los Angeles. The CCSEP felt that Elysian Park was essentially Los Angeles's Central Park or Golden Gate Park, but had historically not been given the same status or protection as its more famous parks. It was their opinion that the greatest danger to park survival was combined public indifference and special interest pressures to take park land for non-park purposes. All of the Citizens Committee's volunteer energies were aimed at arousing public and official awareness of the value of saving public park land and in preserving the section of the Los Angeles City Charter which reads, "All lands heretofore or hereafter set apart or dedicated as a public park shall forever remain to the use of the public inviolate..."

Preferred Citation

[Box/folder# or item name], Citizens Committee to Save Elysian Park records, Collection no. 0320, Regional History Collection, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California

Conditions Governing Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Scope and Content

The collection documents the activities of the Citizens' Committee to Save Elysian Park from the mid-1960s through the early 2000s. Throughout almost four decades the organization's history, the Committee preserved the records that were generated through its efforts to preserve Elysian Park. The fifteen boxes of materials include court transcripts, environmental impact reports, photographs, correspondence with political figures, media notices, articles, and ephemera related to the topics championed by the Committee. Subjects included in the records are court cases pertaining to the Police Academy, opposition to the widening of the Pasadena Freeway, the Department of Water and Power's proposal to take over part of the Buena Vista Reservoir for a pumping station, the battle to prevent a convention center from being built at the park, issues with Dodger Stadium, etc.

Processing Note

Processing of the Citizens Committee to Save Elysian Park records was generously funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). USC Libraries was awarded a Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives grant from 2010-2012, "Uncovering California's Environmental Collections," in collaboration with eight additional special collections and archival repositories throughout the state and the California Digital Library (CDL). Grant objectives included processing of over 33 hidden collections related to the state's environment and environmental history. The collections document an array of important sub-topics such as irrigation, mining, forestry, agriculture, industry, land use, activism, and research. Together they form a multifaceted picture of the natural world and the way it was probed, altered, exploited and protected in California over the twentieth century. Finding aids are made available through the Online Archive of California (OAC).

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Uncovering California's Environmental Collections Project
Roads -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Tule elk
Echo Park (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- Archival resources
Parks -- California -- Los Angeles
Chávez Ravine (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- Archival resources
Correspondence
Ephemera
Reports
Clippings
Maps
Elysian Park (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- Archival resources
Photographs
Los Angeles (Calif.). Dept. of Water and Power -- Archives
Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- Archives
California. Dept. of Transportation -- Archives
Citizens Committee to Save Elysian Park (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- Archives
Los Angeles Convention Center -- Archives
Los Angeles Police Academy -- Archives
Yorty, Sam -- Archives
Simons, Grace E. -- Archives
Neubauer, Sallie -- Archives

 

Police Academy 50950

Scope and Content

The Los Angeles Police Department established a Police Academy in Elysian Park in the mid 1920s. What began as a private shooting range for officers evolved into the LAPD's main training campus. Since the late 1960s, the CCSEP has been involved in several battles to preserve the Park from the physical expansion of the Police Academy as well as related activities such as terminating the illegal use of Elysian Park for the training of police helicopter pilots, challenging in court the building of a police firing simulator range in the park, challenging the building of police classrooms adjacent to the park, etc. This series contains court transcripts, information on propositions and bonds, environmental impact reports, and ephemera related to the Committee's involvement with the Police Academy and the LAPD.
 

Propositions and Bonds 50951

Box 1, Folder 1-2

General 50952 1967-1974

Box 1, Folder 3

Proposition U, Proposition BB 50954 1972, 1976

Box 1, Folder 4

No on Proposition U 50955 1972

Box 1, Folder 5-6

Proposition U -Miscellaneous 50956 1971-1972

Box 1, Folder 7

Proposition 2 50958 1989

Box 1, Folder 8

Proposed Charter Amendment 50959 1972

 

Court Cases 50960

Box 1, Folder 9

C 38034 -Charter Amendment 50961 1972

Box 1, Folder 10

Relocation of Police Academy 50962 1972

Box 1, Folder 11

Firearms Training Simulator 50963 1976

Box 1, Folder 12

Firearms Training Simulator -Appeal 50964 1976

Box 1, Folder 13

Firearms Training Simulator Building (CPC 8404) 50965 1975-1976

Box 1, Folder 14

Grand Jury Final Report 50966 1992-1993

Box 1, Folder 15

C 44053 -Reporter's Transcript on Appeal 50967 1975

Box 1, Folder 16

C 44053 -Clerk's Transcript, Vol. I 50968 1976

Box 1, Folder 17

C 44053 (Nullify Proposition U) 50969 1972-1976

Box 1, Folder 18

C 55571 50970 1975

Box 1, Folder 19

C 55571, CPC 8404 -Appeals Against 50971 1973

Box 1, Folder 20

C 136378 50972 1975

Box 1, Folder 21-22

2nd Civil 48044 (C 44053) 50973 1976

Box 1, Folder 23

2nd Civil 43747 50975

Box 2, Folder 1

2nd Civil No. 49516 50976

Box 2, Folder 2

2nd Civil C 217020 50977 1978

Box 2, Folder 3

2nd Civil 55574 (C 217020) 50978 1979

Box 2, Folder 4-5

CPC 8404 50979 1977

Box 2, Folder 6

City Plan Case #8404 + C 55571 50981

Box 2, Folder 7

CPC 8404 -C 50982 1976

Box 2, Folder 8

CPC 8404 50983 1976-1977

Box 2, Folder 9-11

CPC 24046 (Conditional Use Permit) 50984 1972

Box 2, Folder 12

CPC 25626 (Conditional Use Permit) -Transcript 50987 1977

Box 2, Folder 13

CPC 29725 (Explosives Stored Near Park) 50988 1981

Box 2, Folder 14

Notes and Clippings 50989 1972-1976

 

Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Reports 50990

Box 2, Folder 15

Police Training Facility 50991 1972

Box 2, Folder 16

Gift for Relocatable Police Training Facility 50992 1973

 

General 50994

Box 2, Folder 17

Bond Program 50995 1992

Box 2, Folder 18-19

Combined LAPD & LACSD Training Facility 50996

Box 2, Folder 20-24

Expansion 50998 1987-1991

Box 2, Folder 25

Miscellaneous Documents 51003

Box 2, Folder 26

New Construction 51004 1991-1994

Box 2, Folder 27

Police Brutality 51005

Box 2, Folder 28

Police Facilities Study 51006 1996

Box 3, Folder 1

Traffic and Parking Study -Draft 51009 1992

Box 3, Folder 2-3

Training Academy Summary of Resources 51010 1991

Box 3, Folder 4

Property Ownership 83263

Box 3, Folder 5

Editorials and Articles 82983

 

Environmental Impact Reports 83264

Box 3, Folder 6

Revised Proposal 83265 1991

Box 3, Folder 7

Notes and Ephemera 83266 1992

Box 3, Folder 8

Police Bond Program - Draft 83267 1992

Box 3, Folder 9-10

Police Bond Program - Police Training Academy - Draft 83268 1992

Box 3, Folder 11-13

Police Bond Program - Police Training Academy - Final 83270 1993

Box 3, Folder 14

Noise Impact Assessment 83273 1992

Box 12, Folder 1

Clippings 1972

Box 12, Folder 2

Phone Lists for Police Academy/ EIR Notification Hearing 1983-2003

Box 12, Folder 3

Police Academy Renovation 1987-2012

 

Roads and Highways 51022

Scope and Content

This series chiefly concerns CCSEP's objection to a proposal to take away parkland for the widening of the Pasadena Freeway between the Golden State Freeway and Hill Street. The plan would require demolition of natural landscape as well as an eight-foot wide walkway which runs parallel to the freeway with several stairways. The series contains petitions, court documents, correspondence, and ephemera regarding the freeway-widening proposal and tree-planting issues.
Box 3, Folder 15

Industrial Freeway 51023 1966-1971

Box 3, Folder 16-21

Caltrans 110 Freeway Widening Project 51024 1994-1999

Box 4, Folder 1-5

Caltrans 110 Freeway Widening Project 54539 1999

Box 4, Folder 6

Route 2 (Beverly Hills Freeway) 82989 1972

Box 4, Folder 7

Stadium Way Extension 54546 1966 - 1978

Box 4, Folder 8

Stadium Way Extension 54547 1966 -1978

Box 4, Folder 9

Stadium Way Extension 54548 1966 - 1967

Box 4, Folder 10

Stadium Way Extension 54549 1966 -1969

Box 4, Folder 11

Stadium Way Extension 54550 1966 -1998

Box 12, Folder 4

Caltrans 110 Freeway Widening Project 1999-2000

Box 12, Folder 5

Federal Lawsuit vs Caltrans 2001-2003

 

Dept. of Water and Power 54551

Scope and Content

Beginning in the 1980s, the CCSEP began a decades-long battle with the Department of Water and Power (DWP) over several issues documented in this series. One was the DWP's proposal to cover up the 55-million gallon Elysian Reservoir with an aluminum roof as part of a water quality improvement project. The series consists of environmental impact reports, petitions, and court documents related to the reservoir roof project, as well as documents concerning the DWP's proposal to take over a portion of the former Buena Vista reservoir site for a pumping and chlorination station.
 

Buena Vista Pumping Station 54562

Box 4, Folder 12

Project Background 82990 1972-1984

Box 4, Folder 13

Project Report 54563 1981

Box 4, Folder 14

Environmental Impact Report - Notice of preparation 54564 1981 -1982

Box 4, Folder 15

Environmental Impact Report - Draft 82991 1983

Box 4, Folder 16-18

Environmental Impact Report - Final 82992 1983

Box 4, Folder 19

Articles and Letters 82995 1985

Box 4, Folder 20

G.G. Baumen Law Offices 54589 1984

Box 4, Folder 21

Correspondence 82996 1980-1984

Box 4, Folder 22

Petitions 54587 1984

Box 4, Folder 23

Phase II 54588 1989 -1991

Box 4, Folder 24

Miscellaneous 82997 1977-1981

Box 5, Folder 1-5

Miscellaneous 82999 1980-1984

Box 5, Folder 6-8

Reservior Roof Project 54593 1983-1990

Box 5, Folder 9

Solano Canyon Redevelopment 78285 1985

Box 12, Folder 6

Elysian Reservoir 1987-2010

 

Oil Lease 78288

Scope and Content

While the CCSEP was challenging the building of a convention center in Elysian Park, they were also opposing the leasing of 77 acres of park land for oil exploration by Occidental Petroleum. In a 1965 petition to City Council (Box 5), Grace E. Simons (for CCSEP) compared the plight of Elysian Park to that of other parks which had suffered from recent development such as Hancock Park with the erection of L.A. County's art museum. A copy of the oil lease is also in this box along with the Superior Court document of the lawsuit between Grace E. Simons et al, and the City of Los Angeles, Occidental Petroleum, and a host of individuals and government entities. The result of the litigation process was that Occidental Petroleum cancelled its plans to drill for oil in the park. The four folders in this series consist of the court documents, correspondence, and ephemera related to this case.
Box 5, Folder 10

Correspondence 78289 1965 - 1966

Box 5, Folder 11

Lawsuits 78290 1965

Box 5, Folder 12

Oil wells 78291 1965

Box 5, Folder 13

Documents 78292 1965

 

Convention Center and Oil Lease 78303

Scope and Content

In 1965 and 1966, the Citizens Committee to Save Elysian Park were fighting two battles simultaneously: the city's proposal to build a convention center on park land, and the plans by Occidental Petroleum to drill for oil. This series contains ephemera, newsletters, and signed petitions regarding both issues at the same time.
Box 5, Folder 14

Petitions 78304 1966

Box 5, Folder 15

Proposal Material 78305 1965

Box 12, Folder 7

Correspondence 1965

 

Convention Center 78307

Scope and Content

This series documents the newly-formed CCSEP's efforts to block the City Council's proposal to build a new Los Angeles Convention Center in the heart of Elysian Park near the corner of Stadium Way and Scott Avenue. The plan, backed by then-Mayor Sam Yorty, would have cost $10 million dollars and taken away 63 acres of the park-- in addition to contributing to the noise and congestion already supplied by nearby Dodger Stadium. The CCSEP rallied public support by mailing letters to City Hall, publicizing the plight of the park in the media, and receivng a visit from Supreme Court Justice William Douglas who urged his support for retaining the site for recreation. In August of 1966, the CCSEP claimed victory, and the City selected 31 acres at Pico and Figueroa as the convention center's new home. Contained in this series are sixteen folders of letters, legal documents, petitions, press clippings, and other papers related to the proposed building of the convention center in Elysian Park. There is some overlap of issues and types of materials with the preceding series which also deals with the oil lease battle.
Box 5, Folder 16

Diane Schroerwke's Letter to City Council Members 78309 1965

Box 5, Folder 17-24

Documents 78310 1965

Box 5, Folder 25

Editorials 78318 1965 - 1966

Box 5, Folder 26

Form Letters 78319 1965 -1966

Box 5, Folder 27

Legal Issues 78320 1965

Box 5, Folder 28

Letters Of Appeal 78321 1965-1966

Box 12, Folder 8

Skit: "That Was the Park That Was" 1966

Box 5, Folder 29

Speaker Statements and Resolutions 78322 1965

Box 5, Folder 30

Summary Report on Proposal 78323 1965

 

Charter Amendment 78327

Scope and Content

The five files in this series document the Committee's battle to defeat several amendments between 1969 and 1977 that would revise L.A.'s city charter and centralize power in the City Council. Beginning in 1969, the CCSEP opposed a ballot measure that would (1) place independent city departments under the control of the Council and the Mayor; and (2) reduce the commissions from policy-making to advisory bodies. The fear was that Elysian Park and other parks and recreation areas would no longer be protected by the charter and would be demoted to the status of "surplus land." The series contains correspondence, clippings, ephemera on various ballot measures ("no on 4," no on "U," "no on 1," etc.), and articles.
Box 6, Folder 1-5

Miscellaneous 78328 1968-1970

 

Chavez Ravine 83014

Scope and Content

The two folders in this series contain information on the Chavez Ravine Arboretum and the proposal for the Chavez Ravine Memorial project. The folder on the arboretum has information on the trees in Elysian Park as well as a short history of the arboretum. The folder on the proposed memorial has a color print-out of Stephen Farley's proposed memorial and a videotape sent to Sallie Neubauer (2000) from Sherilyn Mentes regarding a similar memorial wall in Tucson.
Box 6, Folder 6

Arboretum 83015

Box 6, Folder 7

Memorial Proposal 83016

 

Day Care Center 78336

Scope and Content

The three folders that comprise this series contain information regarding the proposed plan to convert the Elysian Park Recreation Center into a child care center administered by the Board of Education. The CCSEP asked that the Board rescind its decision to make available the Center as a day care center for children of City employees, inasmuch as neighborhood children--many of whom having working mothers and are members of minority races-- would be excluded. The materials in this series consist of much correspondence between Grace E. Simons and city council members and other relevant entities, articles, and newsletters.
Box 6, Folder 8-10

Miscellaneous 78337 1971 - 1972

 

Dodger Stadium 78339

Scope and Content

This series consists of agreements, payment schedules, and memorandums between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the city of Los Angeles regarding the transfer of 300 acres of park land for the stadium in 1959, and subsequent agreements related to a 40-acre parcel adjacent to Dodger Stadium which the Dodgers later turned into a parking lot.
Box 6, Folder 11

Payments 78340 1970 - 1980

Box 12, Folder 9

Correspondence 2001-2002

Box 12, Folder 10

Football Stadium Proposal

 

Irrigation 78341

Scope and Content

This series concerns the topic of an irrigation system in Elysian Park and the necessity of budgeting funds for it. Much of the material in this series consists of correspondence between Grace E. Simons and various local officials and councilmen, newsletters, articles, and newspaper clippings of fires in the area.
Box 6, Folder 12

Petitions 78342 1984

Box 6, Folder 13-14

Documents 78343 1969-1970

 

Stolport 78345 1969

Scope and Content

This series documents the Committee's successful efforts to prevent a STOLport (Short-Takeoff-and-Landing) from being built at or near Elysian Park. Materials include correspondence among and between CCSEP and the organizations involved in the proposal of the STOLport including the Federal Aviation Administration, the 13th district Councilman, then-councilman Thomas Bradley, the Board of Recreation and Parks commissioners, the Los Angeles Police Department, and an acoustical engineer. This series also documents a related topic from around the same time period: the LAPD's plans for a heliport for the training of police helicopter pilots. In their research into both of these projects, the CCSEP kept a large file of correspondence and articles just on noise pollution, also part of this series.
Box 6, Folder 15-17

Miscellaneous 78346 1969

Box 6, Folder 18

Noise Pollution 78351

 

Proposition A Funding 78353 1988-1993

Scope and Content

This small series concerns Proposition A, the Safe Neighborhood Park Acts of 1992 for the acquisition of various properties and grants to non-profit organizations throughout Los Angeles County. The CCSEP was in support of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy's efforts to apply for funding for several different projects including enhancing land along the Los Angeles River. Part of the funds would go towards developing a connecting trail between the historic Pueblo de Los Angeles, Elysian, and Griffith Parks-- a route that most likely was traced by explorers Portola and de Anza. Materials include correspondence, memorandums, articles, and a proposal coordinated by the National Park Service titled, The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail. Original letters of support include those of County Board of Supervisors Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, Gloria Molina, and Michael D. Antonovich.
Box 6, Folder 19

De Anza Trail 78354 1988 - 1989

Box 6, Folder 20

De Anza Trail 78355 1988 - 1989

 

Tule Elk 78356

Scope and Content

The two folders of this series contain newsletters, correspondence, and ephemera concerning the tule elk, including correspondence from the Committee for the Preservation of the Tule Elk. There is a good deal of information conerning a joint resolution to establish the Tule Elk National Wildlife Refuge. The goal was to raise the number of Tule Elk in the Owens Valley to 2000 (from around 300) and to "enhance the recreational opportunities of the area which are compatible with pure water and watershed protection." Materials consist of correspondence, articles, reports, and ephemera.
Box 6, Folder 21-22

Miscellaneous 78358 1967-1973

 

Elysian Park Centennial 83026 1986

Scope and Content

The four files in this series document the activities surrounding Elysian Park's centennial celebration in 1986. A Centennial Committee was formed in 1984; its minutes, correspondence, and notes of proposed activities were saved and comprise the first folder. Other materials in this series consist of publicity materials, historical articles on Elysian Park, correspondence with the artist of the brochures, and samples of the brochure, and information on the 1986 Firecracker 10K Run through Chinatown.
Box 7, Folder 1

Centennial Committee 83027 1986

Box 7, Folder 2, Box 12, Folder 11

Publicity and Brochures 83028 1986

Box 7, Folder 3

Firecracker 10K Run (Chinatown) 83029 1986

Box 7, Folder 4

Miscellaneous 83030 1986

 

Public Events 83031

Scope and Content

This series consists of ephemera related to various CCSEP events, such as the annual Tree Dedication and Planting. Each fall, CCSEP members and friends, in cooperation with the Los Angeles City Recreation and Parks Department, purchase and plant trees as memorials to the living and dead. Photographs of the events are in the Photographs series.
Box 7, Folder 5

That Was the Park That Was 83032 1966

Box 7, Folder 6

Tree Plantings and Dedications 83033

Box 7, Folder 7

Various 83034

 

Miscellaneous 83035

Scope and Content

This series consists of specific topics for which CCSEP kept individual files such as the Firecracker 10K run through Chinatown (for Chinese New Year), the Soledad Canyon Sculpture Garden Project, a file on Elysian Park history, the Grace E. Simons Lodge, etc. Series is arranged alphabetically by folder title.
Box 7, Folder 8

Asian Cultural Center 83036

Box 7, Folder 9

Bishops Canyon 83043

Box 7, Folder 10

Community Planning Flow Chart 83044

Box 7, Folder 11

Elysian Park History and Maps 83045

Box 7, Folder 12

Firecracker 10K Run (Chinatown) 83046

Box 7, Folder 13

Frank Glass (Will) 83047 1989

Box 7, Folder 14

Grace E. Simons Lodge 83048

Box 7, Folder 15

Grace E. Simons Memorial Service and Eulogies 83049

Box 7, Folder 16

Peter Shire Memorial to Grace E. Simons and Frank Glass, Angel's Point 83055

Box 7, Folder 17

Housing Project 83056

Box 7, Folder 18

Los Angeles County Drainage Area Project 83057 1993

Box 7, Folder 19

Los Angeles Public Library 83058

Box 7, Folder 20

Radio Hill 83059

Box 7, Folder 21

Solano Canyon Sculpture Garden Project 83060 1999

Box 7, Folder 22

Treasure Hunting History 83061

Box 7, Folder 23

Century City West 92305

Box 12, Folder 12

Articles on Elysian Park; Letters to the Editor 2002

Box 13, Folder 1-2

Barlow Hospital Redevelopment Project 2006-2012

Box 13, Folder 3-4

Bishops Canyon/ Little League Field 1995-1999

Box 13, Folder 5

Bishops Canyon/ LIttle League-- Little League Contract 1997

Box 13, Folder 6

Bishops Canyon/ Little League-- Field Lights 1997-2002

Box 13, Folder 7

Buena Vista de Los Angeles Project 2000

Box 13, Folder 8

Cellular Installations on Park Property 1998-2002

Box 13, Folder 9

Chinatown Cornfields 2001

Box 13, Folder 10

Frank Hotchkins Beautification Project 2002

Box 14, Folder 1

Frank Hotchkins Beautification Project-- Neighborhood Matching Fund 2000-2001

Box 14, Folder 2

Freeway Signs

Box 14, Folder 3

Geneva Williams Memorial Materials 2002

Box 14, Folder 4

City Council Meeting/ Tribute to Geneva Williams (Videotape) 2002 October 15

Box 14, Folder 5

Grace E. Simons (Videotape)

Box 14, Folder 6

High Speed Train Proposal 2004

Box 14, Folder 7

Mountain Bikes (Part 1) 1991-2002

Box 15, Folder 1

Mountain Bikes (Part 2) 1991-2002

Box 15, Folder 2

Mountain Bikes-- Petitions 2000

Box 15, Folder 3

Park Ranger Security Services 2005

Box 15, Folder 4

Proposal for Land Transfer to Private Property 2001

Box 15, Folder 5

Tree Plaques 1984-1986

 

Publicity 78362

Box 7, Folder 23

Sunset Lane Magazine Article 78363 1965

Box 7, Folder 24-25

Speeches 78364 1965

Box 7, Folder 26

General Articles 83062

Box 7, Folder 27

KNX / KNXT Editorials 78366 1965 - 1966

Box 7, Folder 28

Newspaper Articles - Photocopies 78367 1965 - 1972

Box 7, Folder 29

Newsletters 83063 1965-2002

Box 7, Folder 30

Press Clippings - Mostly Convention Center 78368

Box 7, Folder 31-32

Press Clippings 78369 1965

Box 7, Folder 33

Press Releases 83073 1965-1966

Scope and Content

The eleven folders in this series contain newspaper clippings, press releases, speeches, newsletters, and ephemera publicizing the concerns and activities of the CCSEP. Though the CCSEP Newsletter is represented all the way to 2002, the bulk of these materials date to the 1960s and 1970s. The CCSEP Newsletter is possibly the best overall instrument in the collection for studying the history of the CCSEP over time, as there is a fairly complete run of it from the mid-1960s to 2002 and it is all together in one folder, in chronological order. Another file of interest is that of the KNX and KNXT editorials-- copies of the broadcasts primarily from 1965 and 1966 when there was much public debate regarding the erection of a convention center in Elysian Park.
 

Clippings 83074

Scope and Content

This series consists solely of newspaper clippings, primarily on two different topics. One folder--and the bulk of the series--contains dozens of newspaper clippings from the Los Angeles Times having to do with the 1965 Los Angeles riots in Watts. It is not clear why this particular file was saved with the CCSEP records, except that the topic evidently was of much interest to Grace Simons, who was the keeper of all the Committee's records until her death.
The other major topic represented in the clippings is the two fires that consumed approximately 300 acres of Elysian Park in the Buena Vista Reservoir area in 1981. There is only one newspaper story included in the file, along with a typed report of the fire prepared by Richard Ginevan, Chief Park Maintenance Supervisor, and a photostat of a "fire progress report" from September of that year. Because these items were kept together in their own folder, separate from other clippings, they were left that way in the processing of the collection.
The clippings file from the 1970s contains a few articles on issues very relevant to the concerns of the CCSEP: the Police Academy's presence in the Park, Mayor Sam Yorty vetoing a ban on oil drilling, etc.
The one clipping in the 1990s file is a "letter to the editor" (Los Angeles Times) from Sallie Neubauer, president of CCSEP at the time, concerning the issue of building an NFL stadium in Elysian Park.
Box 8, Folder 1

Fire 83075 1981

Box 8, Folder 2

Watts Riots 92688 1965

Box 8, Folder 3-4

Various 83076 September-October, 1965

 

Correspondence 83080

Scope and Content

This series contains correspondence, chiefly from the 1960s, but also including up to 2000.
There is a folder of correspondence to and from Paul Bruce Dowling, executive director of the America the Beautiful Fund (1969).
The bulk of the series consists of correspondence between the CCSEP and other indiduals, organizations, and government entities on a variety of issues including fund-raising, the convention center proposal, membership, etc.
Box 8, Folder 5

Master Plan 83079 1969

Box 8, Folder 6-8

Miscellaneous 83081 1965

 

Publications 78377

Scope and Content

This series consists of 23 folders of published materials-- magazines, serials, annual reports, booklets, and small flyers and leaflets. Several items are directly related to Elysian Park, such as the Sunset magazine from September 1965 with its article, The Forgotten Forest Retreat Right in Central L.A. or the California History Magazine's Where the Brake Fern Grows-- L.A.'s Elysian Park. Other publications are related to issues concerning the Park and the CCSEP such as Quality on Tap, a customer publication put out by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Box 8, Folder 9

Drafts 78378

Box 8, Folder 10

Annual Report - Board of Park Commissioners, City of Los Angeles 78379 1931

Box 8, Folder 11

Annual Report - Board of Park Commissioners, City of Los Angeles 78380 1933

Box 8, Folder 12

California History, The Magazine of the California Historical Society 78381 Fall 1983

Box 8, Folder 13

Cornell, Bridgers, and Troller A.S.L.A 78382

Box 8, Folder 14

Cry California - The Journal of California Tomorrow 78383 Winter 1965 - 1966

Box 8, Folder 15

Cry California - The Journal of California Tomorrow 78384 Winter 1965 -1966

Box 8, Folder 16

Cry California - The Journal of California Tomorrow 78385 Summer 1967

Box 8, Folder 17

Cry California - The Journal of California Tomorrow 78386 Spring 1970

Box 8, Folder 18

Elysian Park Memorial Tree Plantings 78387

Box 8, Folder 19

Elysian Park Must Be Saved For the People 78388

Box 8, Folder 20

Geology of the Elysian Park - Repetto Hills Area, L.A. County, California 78390 1970

Box 8, Folder 21

The Park That Was Preserved 78391 1967

Box 8, Folder 22

Proposed Public Ownership Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area 78392 May 1979

Box 8, Folder 23

Quality on Tap 78394 1989

Box 8, Folder 24

Recreation and Parks, City of Los Angeles, Annual Report 78395 1963 - 1964

Box 8, Folder 25

Recreation and Parks in Los Angeles 78396 March, 1966

Box 8, Folder 26

Safeguarding a Vital Asset 78404

Box 8, Folder 27

Sunset Magazine 78398 September, 1965

Box 8, Folder 28

Water for Los Angeles 78399 1988

Box 8, Folder 29

Water, Power, and the Growth of Los Angeles 78419 1988

Box 8, Folder 30-31

Flyers, Leaflets, and Pamphlets 78401

Box 15, Folder 6

Elysian Park Committee Notes 2009-2010

Box 15, Folder 7

Intergovernmental Cooperation in Public Personnel Administration in the Los Angeles Area 1944

Author

Judith Norvell Jamison, Research Assistant (UCLA)
 

Awards 83280

Scope and Content

This series is comprised of actual awards and certificates as well as press coverage and other papers regarding the awards. One of the awards conferred upon Grace E. Simons in 1979 was the Sol Feinstone Environmental Award, presented annually by the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Other awards which Simons received which are included in the collection are the Governor's Design Award of Exceptional Distinction (1966), a certificate of recognition from the Echo Park Community Coordinating Council (1983), a community leadership award from KABC-TV (undated), and an Honor Award from the California Conservation Council (1969).
Box 8, Folder 32

Feinstone 83274 1979

Box 8, Folder 33

Governor's Award 83275 1966

Box 8, Folder 34

Certificates 83276 1966 - 1983

 

Administration of CCSEP 83281

Scope and Content

This series is comprised of the files kept by the Citizens Committee to Save Elysian Park, including financial records, membership lists, meeting minutes, etc. See collection inventory for more comprehensive list of types of materials kept.
Box 8, Folder 35

Contributions 83277

Box 8, Folder 36

Sallie Neubauer 83282

Box 8, Folder 37

Correspondence 83283 1965

Box 8, Folder 38-41

Financial 83284 1965 - 1970

Box 8, Folder 42

Financial (Ledgers) 83288 1965 - 1976

Box 9, Folder 1

Meetings and Hearings, Telephone Lists 83289 1965

Box 9, Folder 2-3

Address Lists 83290

Box 9, Folder 4-5

Agendas 83292 1965 - 1970

Box 9, Folder 6

Committee Correspondence 83294

Box 9, Folder 7-8

Meeting Minutes 83295 1973 - 1982

Box 9, Folder 9-10

Steering Committee Minutes 83297 1979 - 1998

Box 9, Folder 11

Master Plan 83299 1971, 1986

Box 9, Folder 12

Park Plans 83300

Box 9, Folder 13

Sponsors 83301

Box 9, Folder 14

City Council Members 83304

Box 9, Folder 15

Prototype Stationery 83305

Box 15, Folder 8

Constitution and Bylaws 2003

Box 15, Folder 9

Elysian Park Master Plan 2003-2005

Box 15, Folder 10

Judith Jamison Memorial Material 2000

Box 15, Folder 11

Marion L. Siu/ Yet M. Siu-- Archives 1971-2003

Box 15, Folder 12

Meeting Minutes 1995-2000

Box 15, Folder 13

Meeting Notes (Ledger) 1984-1986

Box 15, Folder 14

Telephone Tree

 

Photographs 83308

Scope and Content

The Photographs series consists of a few professional photographs, but chiefly candid snapshots of Elysian Park activities, events, and people. Most of the photographs are undated and unlabeled, though some attempt was made to group "like" photos together based on location or estimated age of photo. There are a few slides and negatives included at the end of the series.
Box 9, Folder 16

1965 Protest 83310 1965

Box 9, Folder 17-18

Buena Vista Pumping Station 83312

Box 9, Folder 19

Buena Vista Resevoir 83314 1974

Box 9, Folder 20-21

Caltrans 110 Freeway Expansion Lawsuit 83316

Box 9, Folder 22-26

Citizens Committee 83318 1970s

Box 9, Folder 27

Dedication of Grace E. Simons Lodge 83326

Box 9, Folder 28

DWP Illegal Slurry BV Meadows 83388

Box 9, Folder 29

Elysian Park Centennial 83389 1986

Box 9, Folder 30

Event 83390 1965

Box 9, Folder 31-36

Miscellaneous 83391

Box 9, Folder 37

Little League Field 83396

Box 9, Folder 38

Memorial Service 83397 1985

Box 9, Folder 39

Photo Journalism by Joe Stermer 83398

Box 9, Folder 40

Police Academy (Open House) 83399 1973

Box 9, Folder 41

Police Academy (Little League) 83400 1974

Box 9, Folder 42

Swim Lake 83401

Box 9, Folder 43

Tree Planting 83402 1987

Box 9, Folder 44

Slides 83403

Box 9, Folder 45

Negatives 83404

 

Maps 93365

Box 10

Elysian Park Lodge Drawings 99079 1978

Scope and Content

Four architectural drawings for the new Elysian Park lodge (later named Grace E. Simons Lodge), by Abrahamian & Pagliassotti.
Box 10

Project Description of Lodge 99084 1978

Scope and Content

One-page project description of the new lodge described on stationery of Abrahamian & Pagliassotti.
Box 10

Memorandum 99085 1978

Scope and Content

Memorandum to Grace [E. Simons] from Allen Habicht regarding schematic plans for the new lodge.
Box 10

Stone Quarry Hills Maps 99091 1868

Scope and Content

Photocopy of 1868 map of Stone Quarry Hills, stamped by the city clerk in 1918. Also, the photocopy from which this photocopy was made-- by taping together several 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of paper, as the map was copied in sections.
Box 10

Los Angeles Map 99092 1887

Scope and Content

Photocopy of a map of Los Angeles, showing Elysian Park.
Box 10

Ordinance 99093

Scope and Content

Photocopy of an 1886 ordinance dedicating Elysian Park as a public park.
Box 10

Park in Quarry Hills 99094 1886

Scope and Content

Photocopy of a recommendation by the Committee on Parks that the park in Quarry Hills be known as Elysian Park and that $200 be spent on plowing and planting of trees.
Box 11

Season's Greetings Drawings 99106 1973-1975

Scope and Content

Two large drawings with the caption of "Season's Greetings"-- one for 1973-1974 and one for 1974-1975. One is a drawing of a church and canal in Leningrad; the other is described as "Imrpression Manaznillo, Mexico." Both say, "From A. Quincy Jones, FAIA, & Associates, Architects."
Box 11

Elysian Park Map 99152 1917

Scope and Content

Large photocopy of a map of Elysian Park, 1917.
Box 11

Elysian Park Map 99153 1931

Scope and Content

Photocopy of a map of Elysian Park, 1931.
 

Ephemera

Box 15, Folder 15

Clippings About Elysian Park 1965-1967

Box 15, Folder 16

Elysian Park Stationery

Box 15, Folder 17

"Sequoia National Park" by Erle Stanley Gardner

Box 16, Box 17, Box 18, Box 19, Box 20, Box 21, Oversize-folder 1

Marian Harlow Memorial Grove photograph album, CCSEP membership lists, Elysian Park Memorial Tree Plantings, and other material donated in January, 2020 [minimally processed]

Scope and Contents

The materials added to the collection in January of 2020 include:
  • Photograph album labeled: "Marian Harlow Memorial Grove"
  • Negatives and photographic prints of the park
  • 1990 environmental impact report drafts for potential development projects in the area
  • Brochures and clippings re: Elysian Park and CCSEP
  • A compact disc (CD) containing documents
  • Committee Correspondence and with Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners
  • Correspondence re: monuments, memorial events, park maintenance, permits, Barlow Respiratory Hospital, fundraising
  • Historic Resources Inventory
  • Los Angeles Superior Court proceedings from 2001
  • Copies of 2005 Elysian Park Master Plan
  • CCSEP membership lists
  • Awards and City of Los Angeles Certificates of Appreciation
  • Printouts from CCSEP's Facebook page
  • Elysian Park Memorial Tree Plantings – brochures, maps, clippings
  • CCSEP newsletters
  • CCSEP meeting minutes

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Daniel Reza, President of CCSEP, on January 8, 2020.
Box 22, Box 23, Oversize-folder 1

Elysian Park Master Plan, photographs, Elysian Park Centennial, Armitage Estate, certificates, and other material donated in April, 2021 [minimally processed] 1965-2005

Scope and Contents

The materials added to the collection in April of 2021 include:
  1. Elysian Park Master Plan, 2005
  2. Elysian Park Centennial (1886-1986) stationery and notecards, printed March 1986
  3. A folder labeled "Armitage Estate" with materials dated 2001
  4. Two certificates relating to Elysian Park issued by the City of Los Angeles, 2005
  5. Various photographs of Elysian Park and CCSEP activities, 1965, 1979, 1983, 1986, undated

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Philip Murphy, Co-President, Citizens Committee to Save Elysian Park, April 23, 2021 and April 30, 2021.