John Gray's letter returning State funding for the Southwest Museum

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[See a recent Los Angeles Times blog post about the Southwest Museum Tunnel]

Autry’s Decision to a Complete Closure of the Southwest Museum Shuts Off
All Public Access to the First Museum in Los Angeles;
Autry Returns Scarce State Funding Secured for Southwest Museum

Statement from Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition:

LOS ANGELES (December 16, 2009) – “The revelation that Autry intends to ‘quietly’ completely close the Southwest Museum to the general public on December 31st is the latest proof of Autry’s continued disrespect to our community, to the City of Los Angeles and to the history of the Southwest,” said Nicole Possert, Chairperson for the Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition.

In 2003, Autry merged with the Southwest Museum with the stated intent to save the Southwest Museum institution. In the ensuing seven years, Autry has done just the opposite. It has not complied with the legal merger agreement and Autry’s pattern of contrarian actions proves that they never intended to stay and continue to operate the first museum in Los Angeles.

“This is the last stab in Autry’s ‘death by a 1,000 cuts’ strategy to kill the first museum in Los Angeles and take for themselves the priceless Southwest Museum Collection,” continued Possert. “Wake up Los Angeles. Our history is unnecessarily going away.”

This news piles on top of more negative news and a financial red-flag alert. Autry recently returned scarce grant funds to the State of California for over $160,000 to waterproof the historic tunnel entrance to the Southwest Museum – the entryway with unique dioramas used by schoolchildren coming by bus and visitors using public transportation (Southwest Museum Metro Gold station and Metro Bus lines are immediately adjacent).

The Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition had originally supported that grant request and is alarmed by Autry’s actions of disinvestment in the promised rehabilitation of the Southwest Museum and our community. “In light of Autry’s financial condition, this is a strange and illogical way to be a responsible steward and uphold their fiduciary responsibilities to the merger,” concluded Possert.

The Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition has watched, warned and worked to prevent this from occurring. Self-labeled IMBY’s (In My Back Yard), the Coalition has worked to keep the Southwest Museum a key museum destination for Los Angeles. It has proposed various win-win solutions including a modest expansion of the Mt. Washington site for more exhibition space, supported Autry’s artifact conservation efforts and fundraising activities for the rehabilitation of the Southwest Museum and Casa de Adobe. Each time, Autry rejected the Coalition’s attempts at support and solutions.

Councilmember Jose Huizar’s office has been working with City staff to review funding options to keep the Southwest Museum open and requested a meeting with Autry to discuss any financing options. The Coalition strongly urges the Autry to meet with Councilmember Huizar and actively secure a solution to re-open the Southwest Museum as a museum to the public, as promised.

There is a trigger option, soon expiring on the Southwest Museum, allowing the Autry board to begin selling off parts or all of the priceless Collection, including the two historic museums – the Casa de Adobe and the Southwest Museum.

Autry Actions Counter to the 2003 Merger Agreement

The stated intent at the time of the merger was to create two fully independently operated museums – the Southwest Museum and the Autry Museum of the West. Synergy and management efficiencies would occur by combining under one new corporate umbrella, called Autry National Center. This was a paper merger -- no sale price was paid by Autry – to assume the Southwest Museum building and 12 acres of land, the Casa de Adobe museum and the massive and priceless Southwest Museum Collection. Autry took on the fiduciary responsibilities of the both assets and liabilities of the Southwest Museum to protect the interlinked institution.

Merger Agreement highlights include:
• Collection had a 10 year period in which it could not be sold, thereafter Autry could begin de-accession (sell); that clock started in March 2003
• Buildings and land could be sold at any time by a super-majority vote of the Board
• Southwest Museum identity would remain independent
• The historic Southwest Museum (Mt. Washington) would be the primary location for all aspects of the Southwest Museum including exhibits, programming, etc. unless a Master Plan proved otherwise

Since executing the Merger Agreement, Autry has not followed the intent and legal parameters of the merger. They never had the intention of staying; all they wanted was the priceless Collection. Here are just a few examples of their deception actions that run counter to their promises given to secure the Southwest Museum:

• In 2003, John Gray attended a Museum Association conference in which he admitted that it was just a financial transaction and the community didn’t matter.

• In 2004, Autry funded a $100,000 study to assess whether or not the Southwest Museum could be rehabilitated and brought up to museum standards. The professional team, led by Brenda Levin, concluded a continued museum operation was feasible, both physically and economically. Autry rejected their own consultants study.

• In 2005, Autry announced the relocation of the Southwest Museum to their Griffith Park facility through a major expansion project. This project would completely replace the independently operated Southwest Museum and its independent identity would cease to exist. The first Museum in Los Angeles would be erased from the history books.

• In 2006, Autry announced it would convert the Southwest Museum into an education and cultural center and reduce the exhibition space down to merely a gallery, not a full museum. This proposal also would formally change its name and identity. These plans were rejected by the community in light of the evidence provided by Autry’s Levin study that a full-museum use was feasible. This re-use concept gained initial support from a few community members, calling themselves the Southwest Society.

• In 2007, Autry attempted to implement a plan that would give away most of the Southwest Museum space to the LA Community College District for a satellite college campus. Although the capital bond for funding was approved by voters (Measure J), the LACCD looked to Autry to raise the operating funds for their college needs.

• In 2008, Autry continued to pursue expansion plans to relocate the Southwest Museum and make it a wing of the new Autry National Center compound in Griffith Park and subsuming its independence and identity. They entirely withdrew this proposed project when the City of Los Angeles merely asked them to codify the earlier promises made.

READ John Gray's August 11, 2009 Letter to the Board of Referred Powers

READ John Gray's 2007 Commitment Memo to José Huizar

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