June 20, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Eliot Sekuler 818-535-9178

GROUP SEEKS TO BLOCK AUTRY’S
GRIFFITH PARK EXPANSION

Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition Enlists Villaraigosa’s Support
In Preventing Development on City Land, Obtaining Autry’s Commitment
To Southwest Museum’s Mount Washington Operations
Los Angeles CA, June 20, 2005—
The Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition, an umbrella group representing over 75 organizations, will seek to block the Autry National Center’s plans for expansion in Griffith Park and has sought the assistance of Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa in preventing the Autry from further development on the city-owned property.
In a letter delivered to the Autry’s board, the Coalition re-stated demands for legally binding commitments to the continuing permanent operations of Mount Washington’s Southwest Museum of the American Indian, Los Angeles’ oldest museum, as well as two related institutions, the Braun Library and the Casa De Adobe, all acquired by the Autry in a 2003 merger that allowed the Autry to assume control of the Southwest Museum’s collection of over 250,000 rare artifacts, artworks and objects of archaeological interest.
The Coalition has demanded that any further Griffith Park development be tied to the Autry’s obligatory assumption of responsibility to maintaining and operating the Mount Washington facilities and asks that the Autry seek alternatives to the construction of its proposed new 100,000 sq. ft. building.
In re-stating their demands, The Coalition members cited research conducted by three outside consultants, two commissioned by the Autry and one by the Coalition. The findings of the three studies indicate that the restoration, maintenance and continuing operation of the historic facilities can be accomplished on a sound economic basis.
The Southwest Museum is located within the boundaries of Villaraigosa’s Council District 14 and the Mayor-elect has continually affirmed support for the Coalition’s objectives of retaining the Southwest Museum as a key cultural anchor for the City in Northeast Los Angeles. Addressing a public meeting held during his recent election campaign, Villaraigosa backed the Coalition’s goals and vowed he would hold the Autry to commitments made by the Griffith Park museum to the Mount Washington facilities at the time of the 2003 merger.
The Coalition’s demands were detailed in a position paper delivered to the Autry board. Text of that paper follows:
Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition
Position Statement
The Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition (hereafter “the Coalition”), which represents 75 organizations with membership totaling in excess of 100,000 persons, takes the following positions regarding the future of the historic Southwest Museum, the Braun Library and the Casa de Adobe (collectively hereafter referred to as “the Mt. Washington Campus”).
• In recognition of the enormous investment of public funds to construct the Gold Line’s Southwest Museum station and because the Autry National Center (hereafter “ANC”) pays only $1 per month rent for city-owned land at the Griffith Park site, the ANC Board must make a legally-binding commitment to take responsibility for the Mt. Washington Campus, in perpetuity, as a condition of developing any new facilities at the Griffith Park site.
• The Coalition’s strongly held position is that the Mt. Washington Campus must remain as a museum and an on-going public destination. We recognize that other revenue enhancements that encourage incremental public use may need to be added to the museum component, such as a restaurant, amphitheatre, expanded retail, additional parking and site rental for non-museum related events. Under no circumstances are these other uses to be done as a replacement for the museums at the Mt. Washington Campus.
• The ANC must officially recognize its post-merger legal and moral obligations to maintain and revitalize both the Collection and the Mt. Washington Campus, which play an integral role in the cultural and economic future of Los Angeles. Any fundraising by ANC must include sustainable and equitable funding for the Mt. Washington Campus and the Collection.
• The Coalition rejects ANC’s interpretation of the Brenda Levin Study. The Study actually supports the view that the Mt. Washington Campus is economically feasible (also corroborated by a peer-to-peer review commissioned by the Coalition). The Coalition asks ANC to accept the Levin study as a basis for a real Master Plan.
• The Coalition must take part in any decision-making process for future uses of the Mt. Washington Campus. We insist that a comprehensive ANC Master Plan be developed which includes the Mt. Washington Campus. ANC must adhere to its past agreements to hold a public process as part of the Master Plan.
• As part of the Master Plan process, ANC shall conduct a programmatic study that details what ANC needs to fulfill its vision for the Mt. Washington Campus and the Griffith Park site. This should include viable attendance goals for both locations.
• The Mt. Washington Campus and its priceless art and artifacts (hereafter “the Collection”) are vital resources to the City of Los Angeles. The Collection is an inherent part of the Mt. Washington Campus and it shall remain culturally identified to it. ANC cannot divest of the Mt. Washington Campus without the complete Collection being a part of any such divestiture.
• The Southwest Museum in Mt. Washington must be ANC’s primary location for the exhibition, for education and activities related to the Collection.
• ANC must engage in consumer research, consistent with institutional standards and foster the development of programs to enhance the continued public appeal at the Mt. Washington Campus.
• Innovative museum activities that present the Museum in a new dynamic way are welcomed as long as they remain connected to -- or based upon – the Collection. Successful, signature events on the Mt. Washington Campus must continue to be presented. These include (but are not limited to) the Intertribal Marketplace, Las Posadas, the annual rug sale and the Museums of the Arroyo Day.
• Should there be an extension of the Southwest Museum in Griffith Park, the Mt. Washington Campus shall be marketed as a distinct entity from the Griffith Park site. The identity, content and programming of the Mt. Washington Campus must remain consistent with the original vision of its founder, Charles Lummis.
• ANC and the City of Los Angeles must perform due diligence in seeking other options/sites for the proposed 100,000 sq. ft. facility at Griffith Park. Options explored might include building on the Mt. Washington Campus as well as other cost-effective alternatives including sites in the Northeast business corridors of Cypress Park, Eagle Rock, Glassell Park and Highland Park.

 

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