MS 171 Helen Bloomenshine Balboa Park Protective Association Collection

Summary Information

Repository
San Diego History Center Document Collection
Creator
Bloomenshine, Helen
Title
Helen Bloomenshine Balboa Park Protective Association Collection
ID
MS 171
Date [inclusive]
1896-1983
Extent
1.5 Linear feet (3 boxes)
Language
English
Abstract
This collection contains items relating to the Balboa Park Protective Association that document their efforts for the preservation of San Diego’s Balboa Park.

Preferred Citation

Helen Bloomenshine Balboa Park Protective Association Collection, MS 171, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.

Return to Table of Contents »


Biographical / Historical Notes

The Balboa Park Protective Association was formed in 1947, and sought to preserve the prevailing architecture in Balboa Park while preventing further incursion of peripheral roads, encroachment by other buildings and organizations, and the increased sprawl of parking lots. The Association worked to subvert various plans and projects that called for further development of the park and its grounds. Helen Bloomenshine was a co-founder of the Balboa Park Protective Association (along with Eleanor Edmiston). She and her associates lobbied politicians, organized concerned citizens and placed petitions on the ballot in an effort to enact the desired preservation, but the Association “achieved only slight success,” as Bloomenshine stated. They succeeded in preventing the incursion of roads called for in the controversial Bartholomew Plan, but failed in thwarting further development of the park, such as the construction of the Timken Museum building and the relocation of the U.S. Naval Hospital onto Park grounds. After the Association was ended in 1967, its work and efforts were continued by the Committee of 100.

Return to Table of Contents »


Scope and Content

The collection consists of documents related to a variety of projects against which Balboa Park Protective Association rallied. These items include correspondence, newsletters, mailings, court documents, and speeches. There is also information about club membership, brief reports about the various projects, and local election information and bond propositions. Scrapbooks include correspondence with city officials, newspaper clippings, and ephemera. Projects mentioned in the collection include: Maple Canyon Road; Naval Hospital Expansion; Fine Arts Gallery; Timken Museum; Florida Canyon; and Bartholomew Plan.

Return to Table of Contents »


Arrangement

Items in the collection are arranged by subject. Scrapbooks retain their original order.

Return to Table of Contents »


Administrative Information

Publication Information

San Diego History Center Document Collection October 20, 2011

1649 El Prado, Suite 3
San Diego, CA, 92101
619-232-6203

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research. Care must be taken when handling scrapbooks to maintain original order.

Conditions Governing Use

The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.

Immediate Source of Acquistion

Accession number 830624A.

Processing Information

Collection processed by Jennifer Ho on October 20, 2011.

Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.

Return to Table of Contents »


Related Materials

Separated Materials

Original photographs of Eleanor Edmiston and Harry Haelsig, and Point Loma Junior-Senior High School Student Body (1941) now in SDHC Photographic Department, OP12590 and OP12591, respectively.

Return to Table of Contents »


Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

  • Balboa Park Protective Association.
  • Citizens Coordinate for Century 3.
  • Citizens Coordinate.
  • Committee of 100 (San Diego, Calif.).
  • Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego.
  • Fine Arts Society of San Diego (Calif.).
  • Harland Bartholomew & Associates.
  • Putnam Foundation.
  • San Diego Museum of Art.
  • San Diego Museum of Man.
  • Timken Museum of Art.

Geographic Name(s)

  • Balboa Park (San Diego, Calif.)
  • Maple Canyon
  • San Diego (Calif.)

Personal Name(s)

  • Bloomenshine, Helen
  • Edmiston, Eleanor
  • Hatch, Ruby
  • Jacot, Henri
  • Marston, Hamilton
  • Martin, Philip P.
  • Sessions, Kate Olivia, 1857-1940
  • Tharp, Ross

Subject(s)

  • Architecture — Conservation and restoration
  • Architecture — Societies, etc.
  • History — Societies, etc.
  • Public architecture
  • Ron Pekarek plan
  • Urban parks

Return to Table of Contents »


Collection Inventory

Box-folder
History and administration, 1960–1983 May 15

Includes:

Aims and Objectives document, 1960

“How It All Began” by Eleanor Edmiston, 1983

1:1
Membership, 1961–1982 May 15 and undated

Includes:

BPPA membership cards

Membership listings, undated

1:2
Member index cards (Set 1, A-W), 1961-1964 1:3
Member index cards (Set 2, A-K), 1961 1:4
Member index cards (Set 2, L-Y), 1961 1:5
Member index cards (Set 3, A-H), 1961 1:6
Member index cards (Set 3, I-W), 1961 1:7
Member index cards (Set 4, miscellaneaous information), undated 2:1
Finances, 1961 February 11–November 1

Includes:

BPPA Financial Report, August 12, 1961

2:2
Reports, 1963–1974 September

Includes:

“Temporary Paradise?: A look at the special landscape of the San Diego Region”, September 1974 (in Oversize Collections D6)

Report from James Abbey regarding the legal status of Balboa Park, February 22, 1963

2:3
Maps, undated

Includes:

“Balboa Park Activity Center” map with guide, undated (in Oversize Collections D6)

2:4
Correspondence, 1961 May 2–1983 May 18 and undated

Includes:

Correspondence with various city and county officials

2:5
Outreach and meetings, 1961–1983 March 7 and undated

Includes:

Form letter (with meeting announcement) to be sent to City Wide Committee, regarding sewage treatment plant in Pt. Loma, 1961

Meeting announcement from Citizens Coordinate, undated

Letter to members from Committee of 100 President, May 15, 1982

Summary of City Council meeting, March 7, 1983

2:6
Elections, 1961–1964 March 21 and undated

Includes:

Petition for ballot amendment, election date April 18, 1961

Letter to BPPA members regarding BPPA President’s candidacy for Assembly, March 21, 1964

2:7
Articles, press releases, letters to the Editor, 1960–1981 June 21 and undated 2:8
Scrapbook 1, 1955 August 30-1975 and undated

Includes:

Document by Helen Bloomenshine regarding founding and success of BPPA and compilation of scrapbooks, 1983

Will of Amy Putnam, August 30, 1951

Maps of Balboa Park and surrounding area, undated (in Oversize Collections D6)

2:9
Scrapbook 1, 1960 December 21–1961 February 16 and undated

Includes:

City Council meeting minutes, November 20, 1958

2:10
Scrapbook 1, 1961 February 10–April 12 and undated

Includes:

Club and meeting information from Citizens Coordinate, March 9, 1961

2:11
Scrapbook 1, 1961 April 13–1962 and undated

Includes:

Petition for ballot amendment, signatures dated February 24-28, 1961

Amendment to City Charter, election date April 18, 1961

2:12
Scrapbook 2, 1961 May 6–September 16 and undated

Includes:

Maps of Balboa Park and surrounding area, undated (in Oversize Collections D6)

Fundraising flyer for Fine Arts Gallery (now San Diego Museum of Art), undated (in Oversize Collections D6)

2:13
Scrapbook 2, 1961 September 14–1962 April 27 and undated

Includes:

Statement of BPPA at public hearing, September 14, 1961

San Diego History Notes by Helen Bloomenshine, undated

2:14
Scrapbook 2, 1962 March 19–1964 February 11 and undated

Includes:

Bond issue brochures and questionnaire

Court documents, BPPA vs. City of San Diego, February 11, 1964

3:1
Scrapbook 3, 1964 January 9–1965 March 9 and undated

Includes:

Election brochure for BPPA member Florence Abbey, March 1964

Invitation to BPPA annual dinner, January 8, 1964

3:2
Scrapbook 3, 1964 November–1966 May and undated

Includes:

“Recommended Priority of Balboa Park Projects for Bond Issue,” August 30, 1965

Special Report from Citizens Coordinate, May 1966

3:3
Scrapbook 3, 1966 May 16–1970 June 21 and undated

Includes:

Announcement and registration form for Balboa Park Arcade Competition, 1966

3:4
Scrapbook 4, 1965 March 11–1972 July 3 and undated

Includes:

Interim Report to Balboa Park Sub-Committee Park and Recreation Commission, undated

Fundraising flyer for Fine Arts Gallery (now San Diego Museum of Art), undated (in Oversize Collections D6)

3:5
Scrapbook 4, 1896 May 26–1978 and undated

Includes:

Copy of document regarding agreement between City of San Diego Board of Trustees to designate specific lots for a park, undated

3:6
Scrapbook 4, 1980 January 28–1983 March and undated

Includes:

Balboa Park Defense Fund outreach materials

Court document, Committee for Charter Protection for Parks vs. City of San Diego, February 17, 1982

3:7
Miscellanea, 1961-1981 and undated

Includes:

City Manager’s Quarterly Report, May 1961

Obituaries for BPPA member Ruby Hatch, April 4, 1983

3:8

Return to Table of Contents »


Return to Archival Collections.