66 Productions

PO Box 60463

Pasadena, CA 91116-6463

Phone: (818) 207-0358

www.66productions.com rt66prods@yahoo.com

July 7, 2006

Councilmember Jose Huizar

200 N. Spring Street

Room 425

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Dear Councilmember Huizar

I am writing to you today at a potential watermark period in Los Angeles’ history. It is a time when the past and the present have come together to shape our city’s future. It is a time in which our present decisions will shape the instructions of future generations of Angeleno’s children’s. It is a time in which our present decisions will shape the way that we are remembered in the future. And it is a time in which we can eiterh preserve a piece of heritage remembering all of the Southwest, or we can allow “cultural piracy” to rip apart an important piece of American history.

As you know, the Autry National Center merged with the Southwest Museum several years ago. As you undoubtedly know, the future of the Southwest Museum is currently in doubt. As a member of the Los Angeles City Council, and as the representative of a portion of the affected properties, it is your sworn duty to protect your constituency, and do what is right for the City of Los Angeles. But this decision goes much further beyond Los Angeles, its history, and its future.

Over the past several years, the Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition has actively worked in the community and with the Autry National Center to attempt to preserve the Southwest Museum of the American Indian as a functioning museum. It has actively sought out ways to work with the Autry to find viable solutions to the problems that do exist at the Southwest Museum’s Mount Washington campus.

As a member of the Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition, I provided a letter of supporting explaining the connection between the Casa de Adobe and Route 66, to aid the Autry in acquiring funds from the National Park Service’s Route 66 Corridor Management Program. The NPS did provide grant funding to the Autry to help perform a much-needed historic structures report on the Casa.

The importance of the Southwest Museum to Los Angeles is undeniable. It is the oldest museum in LA, at nearly 100 years old. It contains the largest selection of Native American artifacts outside of the Smithsonian. It is also a source of education about local history and the history of the Southwest for school kids from throughout the area.

But its importance outside of Los Angeles is what you may not be aware of. As I mentioned earlier, I was involved in connecting the Casa de Adobe to Route 66. Located on Figueroa Street – a former pathway for 66 – the Casa ties directly into the fabled highway’s character. As seen on its hillside home, the Southwest Museum is a part of the cultural corridor of 66 as well. These structures are important enough that I wrote an article about them for the National Historic Route 66 Federation several years ago.

That is not all, though. Sitting atop its Mount Washington campus, the Southwest Museum of the American Indian is a part of the viewshed that is formed by the Historic Arroyo Seco Parkway. The Parkway – known to many as the Pasadena Freeway – is a National Scenic Byway, and was also a portion of Route 66. Due to its proximity to the Parkway, and its visibility from the Parkway, the Southwest Museum is a part of the corridor that makes up the Parkway.

How do these things make the Southwest Museum important beyond the confines of Los Angeles? The phrase “heritage tourism” has become increasingly popular lately. More and more people from around the world are becoming interested in traveling to actually see something of historical significance. They are interested in getting off of the superslabs and seeing a portion of the world that does not contain McDonald’s, Motel 6, and Chevron. That is bringing them to historic roads such as Route 66, and National Scenic Byways such as the Arroyo Seco Parkway.

And the people that are traveling these roads – especially Route 66 – come from not just across the United States, but from around the world. These people – the “66’ers” that live in Pasadena, Victorville, St. Louis, Chicago, Florida, New York, Belgium, Japan, Norway, and Canada – are coming to 66, and are traveling the length of it, looking for locations such as the Southwest Museum. And they ARE aware of the Southwest Museum. That is why the Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition includes as members such organizations as the California Historic Route 66 Association, the Friends of the Mother Road, the National Historic Route 66 Federation, and the Route 66 Preservation Foundation.

Please, honorable Councilmember, do the right thing, do what you know needs to be done, and support your community. Ask that the Autry National Center fulfill its promise of fair, open, and honest discussions. Demand that the Autry National Center maintain the Southwest Museum in its current Mount Washington location, in the current structure, as a museum first and foremost. Do not allow the “cultural piracy” that would steal artifacts from the Southwest Museum and place them in Griffith Park. Anything less than this will be damaging to our past, and our future, and will put a stain on the present for all of our future generations to see.

Sincerely

Scott R. Piotrowski, Director

66 Productions