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please attend...
important announcement...
Our FOLLOW-UP Meeting
(to the City/Autry's "Community Input" presentation held on September 19 at Franklin High School):
7pm Tuesday
October 3, 2006
at Ramona Hall in Sycamore Park
4580 North Figueroa, Highland Park
Our feature...
text and notes (in PDF format) for:
"Charles Lummis and the Raiders of the Southwest Museum"—
a fictional film story that unravels each week explaining
the plight/saga of the fate of the Southwest Museum.
by Daniel Wright...
see the slideshow from the funeral/event for the Southwest Museum held on Saturday, July 15, 2006...
> an editorial from Eastern Group Publications August 3, 2006...
> Letter to the Mayor from Archeologist Mari A. Pritchard Parker (July 18, 2006)...
> Letter to Mr. de le Rosa from the Arroyo Seco Foundation (July 14, 2006)...
> Letter to the Mayor from the Anahuak Youth Sports Association (July 14, 2006)...
> Letter to the Mayor from Friends of the Mother Road, Inc. (July 13, 2006)...
> Letter to the Mayor from Jim Lummis (July 11, 2006)...
> Letter to the Mayor from Suzanne Lummis (July 10, 2006)...
> Letter to the Mayor from the Highland Park Heritage Trust (July 7, 2006)...
> Letter to the Mayor from theArroyo Seco Neighborhood Council (July 7, 2006)...
> Letter to the Councilman from 66 Productions (July 7, 2006)...
> Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council letter to Mayor (June 28, 2006)...
> Treasure of the Arroyo Seco:
The Southwest Museum
(LA Times February 2, 2003)...
Current News
AP Breaking News
Story search on Google News shows story ran in the following papers: San
Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, Los Angeles Daily News, Pasadena
Star News, Riverside Press Enterprise
Indian museum closes amid controversy,
artifacts to be transferred to Autry
By PETER PRENGAMAN, Associated Press Writer
Thursday, June 29, 2006
(06-29) 17:20 PDT Los Angeles (AP) --
The Southwest Museum of the American Indian, housing one of the country's
premier collections of American Indian artifacts, will close Sunday amid
accusations from community groups that the shuttering is a veiled power
play by the Autry National Center.
Over the next three years, the 240,000 objects in the collection will
be cleaned and catalogued in preparation to move to a new building next
to Autry's Museum of the American West. The new structure is pending city
approval.
Community groups argue the collection should stay in its current landmark
white adobe building in downtown. "This is a breach of the promises
that Autry made to this community," said Nicole Possert, co-chairwoman
of the Friends of the Southwest Museum coalition. "The historic structure
was built to be a museum."
Autry officials counter that keeping the collection where it's housed
isn't economically viable. They also argue the viewing will be enhanced
in a much larger building capable of showcasing many artifacts currently
in storage.
"It's one of the most extraordinary collections and it's been hidden
away," said John Gray, the president and chief executive of the Autry
National Center. "There isn't space, and there has never been public
support to have a good exhibition program."
The roots of the dispute go back to 2003, when the Southwest museum merged
with Autry, a move billed as a way to enhance both museums, but also to
keep the struggling Southwest museum from closing.
Despite an extensive collection of Indian artifacts, including 13,500
Indian baskets as well as thousands of pre-Hispanic and Mexican objects,
the museum has suffered from a small endowment and declining membership
and visitors.
By contrast, the Autry museum, opened in 1988 by the family of the late
Gene Autry, was backed by a large fortune but had a collection made up
of movie memorabilia and Western paintings.
City officials tried to give the Southwest museum a boost a few years
ago, building a light-rail stop at the museum to alleviate parking difficulties.
Still, all parties agree that the status quo can't be the museum's future.
Insect infestations have threatened some artifacts, heavy rains last year
caused water to pour into some of the museum's cramped storage space,
damaging some displays.
Southwest's tower was severely damaged from the 1994 Northridge earthquake
and has never been repaired.
Gray estimated such renovations would cost $35 million to $40 million,
which wouldn't include a marketing program to get more people to visit.
He said there is no money or political will to make that happen.
Instead, the Autry plans to spend $6 million to $10 million to renovate
parts of the building. Meanwhile, its gift shop and a lobby display about
the project will be open on weekends and tours of the conservation work
will be available to museum members.
Those plans haven't eased worries about the building's future. "I
don't want us to lose a cultural landmark that has had a tremendous impact
on our community in terms of education and culture," said Ed Reyes,
a Los Angeles city councilman whose district contains part of the Southwest
Museum's grounds. "I was always under the impression that they were
not going to close it down."
The city has organized a series of public hearings on the museum's future.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said during his election campaign last year
that he wanted the Southwest to stay put, but more recently he hasn't
taken a position.
Recent News
New York Times: June 28, 2006
Gene Autry's Legacy
and
an Indian Museum Merge (and Collide)
By EDWARD WYATT
LOS ANGELES, June
22 — When one of the country's premier collections of American Indian
artifacts joined forces three years ago with the collectibles of the Singing
Cowboy, Gene Autry, the move was officially billed as a merger of equals.
This being Hollywood, however, the storyline was reduced to something
simpler: the cowboys were once again battling the Indians.
Guess which side won.
Instead of celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding next year,
the Southwest Museum of the American Indian will lock its doors here on
June 30. Over the next three years, the 240,000 objects in its collection,
many of which have not been out of storage for decades, will be cleaned,
cataloged and prepared for a move to a proposed new building next to Autry's
Museum of the American West, in Griffith Park.
That is where the Autry National Center, as the merged museum complexes
are now known, will celebrate another 100th anniversary next year: the
Gene Autry Centennial, a birthday exhibition that, according to the museum,
will explore "the Singing Cowboy's influence on myth and history
in the American West."
For many residents of the neighborhoods surrounding the Southwest Museum,
the museum's plans to move its collection smack of a bait-and-switch.
From the time the merger was first discussed in 2001, both sides stressed
that the Southwest Museum — whose identity is embedded in the landmark
white adobe building that towers over the Arroyo Seco northeast of downtown
— would remain separate and apart from the Autry. "I grew up
visiting the museum," said Ed P. Reyes, a Los Angeles city councilman
whose district contains part of the Southwest Museum's grounds. "I
don't want us to lose a cultural landmark that has had a tremendous impact
on our community in terms of education and culture. I was always under
the impression that they were not going to close it down."
Autry officials say there is no alternative. "We looked for a way
to resurrect this campus as a museum," John L. Gray, the president
and chief executive of the Autry National Center, said of the Southwest's
location. "We couldn't figure out a way to make it work."
The dispute illustrates a continuing issue in the museum world. When cash-poor
but collection-rich institutions are forced into partnerships with their
opposites, often no one is left happy.
The Autry museum, opened in 1988 by the Autry family, was backed by a
large fortune but had a collection that tended toward movie memorabilia
and less distinguished Western paintings.
The Southwest, by contrast, suffered from a small endowment and declines
in membership and visitors. But since its founding by Charles Lummis,
an explorer and collector, it had built an extensive collection of Indian
artifacts, including 13,500 Indian baskets, perhaps the largest such holding
in existence, as well as thousands of objects, ranging from the sacred
— including human remains — to the mundane.
Most of that collection is now being put into storage as the Southwest
strives to deal with long-festering problems. Severe damage from the 1994
Northridge earthquake, which caused the partial separation of the Southwest's
tower from the main building, has never been repaired. Heavy rains last
year resulted in extensive leaks, with water pouring into some of the
museum's cramped storage spaces and damaging some displays. Insect infestations
have threatened some artifacts, Southwest curators say.
To remedy the problems, all of the building's exhibition space must be
given over to storage and restoration work, Autry officials say. They
expect the work to take three years.
Mr. Gray stressed that the historic Southwest site, built by Mr. Lummis
in 1914, was not being abandoned. A small, rotating exhibition featuring
artifacts from the museum's collection is likely to be put in place once
the conservation work is finished. But he said that the location must
add other uses, both educational and commercial, to remain viable.
During the restoration, the building's gift shop and a lobby display about
the project will be open on weekends. No artifacts from the collection
will be on display, although tours of the conservation work will be available
to museum members, and the museum's scholarly library will remain open
by appointment.Some neighborhood leaders say that plans to transfer the
collection are unacceptable. "It needs some work, but everything
is in place for the museum to be successful where it is," said Nicole
Possert, co-chairwoman of the Friends of the Southwest Museum coalition,
which characterizes itself as an IMBY group — one that wants new
development "in my back yard."
"Look at the Disney Concert Hall," Ms. Possert said. "It
changed how people viewed downtown and the communities near it. We're
open to expansion of the Southwest Museum, as long as it is creatively
done and looks good. We would trade that off in return for being able
to have a real destination here."
Not everyone is opposed to the Autry's plans to move. Kathleen Whitaker,
a former chief curator at the Southwest Museum who is now director of
the Indian Arts Research Center at the School of American Research in
Santa Fe, N.M., applauds the Autry's efforts.
"For those of us who grew up in Los Angeles, it's very disappointing
that this very historic institution has suffered so much," Dr. Whitaker
said. "But the Autry has in essence rescued a collection of national
importance. The people in the neighborhood and the city of Los Angeles
haven't offered any real viable support for keeping the museum open."
To build the new museum that it hopes will house the Southwest collection,
the Autry National Center must get city approval to expand.
Councilman José Huizar, whose district includes the Southwest's
main building, noted that the city had made accommodations to serve the
Southwest Museum at its current site. For example, the city built a stop
on the Gold Line light-rail service at the museum, partly because the
hilltop site lacks enough parking. "You don't abandon a site like
this just because of parking issues," Mr. Huizar said.
The city has organized a series of public hearings on the museum's future.
While Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa said during his election campaign
last year that he wanted the Southwest to stay where it is, more recently
he has not sided either way. The mayor's press office did not return four
phone calls seeking comment on the issue.
Mr. Gray, a former banker who, with his cropped hair, rimless glasses
and white shirt, could have played an Old West banker in one of Autry's
cowboy films, admits that while he is a museum executive, he is not a
curator or an expert on American Indian cultures. "I'm a total dilettante,"
he said. "But when we came in, the museum didn't have enough money
to pay its bills. It didn't have security guards. It didn't have conservators.
It never had the public support that the collection warranted."
Recent News
Southwest faces major
repair job
If the site at Mount Washington
clears funding/permit hurdles,
it will reopen in 2010.
By Christopher
Reynolds
Times Staff Writer
March 21, 2006
Operators of the
Southwest Museum say they will close its collections exhibition areas
beginning June 30 to make way for at least 3 1/2 years of major repairs
to the historic but bedraggled Mount Washington landmark, a move that
has alarmed some long-time volunteers and neighbors who fear a permanent
closure could follow.
But officials at the Autry National Center, which operates the Southwest,
say the real message in the move is just the opposite. Not only will they
keep the Southwest's library and gift shop open, they say, they're aiming
to reopen the rehabilitated Southwest building with exhibition space in
2010, so long as they can raise enough donor money and get city approvals
needed to expand their Griffith Park site.
Until then, "the collection has got to be moved out, because it's
imperiled where it is," said John Gray, the Autry's chief executive.
Gray declined to speak in depth, citing a mediation agreement with neighborhood
groups and the mayor's office aimed at avoiding negotiations via the media.
But he did say Autry's ambition is to get City Council approval and break
ground on a 100,000-square-foot expansion in Griffith Park in 2007, to
complete that project by 2009, move most of the Southwest Museum's collections
to the Autry's Griffith Park complex, then complete renovation and reopen
the Southwest with exhibition areas the following year.
On Friday night, leaders of the museum, the neighborhood coalition and
a mayor's representative will meet at City Hall. Then, "we'll be
learning things. The devil's in the details," said Nicole Possert,
co-chair of the Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition and a board
member of the Highland Park Heritage Trust.
Possert acknowledged that the Southwest building's troubles are "a
short-term issue — renovation work that we all knew needed to happen….
The Autry National Center is being a steward for the building, doing this
work, and they deserve significant credit…. But we'd be uncomfortable
if that work were used as a pretense."
The big question, she said, is whether the Autry will make Griffith Park
additions at the expense of the Mount Washington site. The issue, Possert
said, is "IMBY. We want the [museum] to be in our backyard."
The Southwest, which was the first museum in Los Angeles, has stood at
its bluff-top site since 1914, its 225,000 Native American and other artifacts
ranked among the most valuable public collections in North America.
But the museum struggled with tight money and deteriorating facilities
for years. In the year ended May 31, 2003, tax filings show, the museum
raised less than half the money needed to cover its $1.4 million in costs.
The threat of closure led the Autry organization to step up with a merger
plan that year. Since then, the merger has been a delicate effort, uniting
an old, impoverished institution focused on Native American culture and
a new, wealthy institution founded in 1988 by a singing screen cowboy,
Gene Autry.
Autry officials say they've already spent more than $5 million shoring
up the Southwest. Expenses ahead could reach $15 million, including replacing
the roof and seismic work to reattach the Southwest's signature tower
— which holds most of its artifacts — to the rest of the building.
Only a month ago, Gray said, rain penetrated building walls and stained
a 105-year-old Osage shield of painted rawhide with eagle claws and feathers.
The Autry aims to raise that Southwest upgrade money, along with costs
of adding to its Griffith Park campus, through a $150-million capital
campaign now in its early "silent stage."
http://www.calendarlive.com/galleriesandmuseums/cl-et-southwest21mar21,0,2552871.story?coll=cl-art
Summer 2005...
A crowd of over 100 neigbors and concerned citizens gathered
on the evening of July 28, 2005 at Ramona Hall in Sycamore Park
(Highland Park) to be educated regarding the Autry Center's plans
for the future of the Southwest Museum and explore options for
opposing Autry's long list of broken promises since acquiring
the Museum's assets two years ago.It was announced that petition signatures have exceeded 1,000.
sign the petition...
June 20, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Eliot Sekuler 818-535-9178GROUP SEEKS TO BLOCK AUTRY’S
GRIFFITH PARK EXPANSIONFriends 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 OperationsLos 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.
DRAFT Position
March 30, 2005
Again, our position is...We demand that the Board of Autry National Center make a firm and legally-binding commitment to take responsibility for the continued maintenance and operation of the Southwest Museum’s Mt. Washington facilities, in perpetuity, as a condition of being allowed to develop new facilities on lands owned by the City of Los Angeles in Griffith Park virtually free of charge and in recognition of the enormous investment of public funds expended to construct the Gold Line’s Southwest Museum station.
Further, the Autry National Center must commit to a thorough programmatic study to determine how the Casa de Adobe and Southwest Museum may continue to be operated in a manner consistent with its founders’ vision, as a reflection of the cultural, historical and artistic heritage of the Southwest, of California and of the City of Los Angeles.
Having assumed possession of the Southwest Museum’s assets and priceless collection, the Autry National Center must officially recognize its moral responsibility to maintain and revitalize the Museum’s original Mt. Washington home so that it will play as integral a role in the future cultural and economic development of Los Angeles’ Northeast community as it has in its past.
important links:
> download the complete Rehabilitation Study
regarding the Southwest Museum...> read the Friends' commissioned ConsultEcon, Inc.
economic feasibility study...> Treasure of the Arroyo Seco: The Southwest Museum (LA Times February 2, 2003)...
