MS 215 Miss Billy Riley Papers

Summary Information

Repository
San Diego History Center Document Collection
Creator
Riley, Billy, Miss
Title
Miss Billy Riley Papers
ID
MS 215
Date [inclusive]
1965-2000
Extent
0.25 Linear feet (1 box)
Language
English
Abstract
The collection contains materials related to the tourism promotion activities of civic leader Miss Billy Riley.

Preferred Citation

Miss Billy Riley Papers, MS 215, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.

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Biographical / Historical Notes

Born in Erick, Oklahoma, Miss Billy Riley, as she prefers to be known, moved to San Diego in 1944. She became a civic leader in San Diego after becoming the first woman manager of a major hotel, the Half Moon Inn on Shelter Island, in the 1960s. She would later become part owner. In 1967 she was the first female president of the San Diego Hotel-Motel Association. She was also the first woman director of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce in 1968. Her civic contributions to San Diego ranged from fighting litter to forging a better relationship with Mexico to co-chairing the 1968 World Surfing Olympics. Miss Billy Riley moved back to Oklahoma in 1979 before returning to San Diego. In 1981, she then joined the restoration and renovation efforts at the Horton Grand Hotel. In 1985, she was the first woman to serve on the Board of Directors of the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau. She also served on the Gaslamp Quarter Council and Old Town Chamber of Commerce. In the early 1990s she moved to Dallas, Texas where she remarried and lived for a few years before again returning to San Diego. Miss Billy Riley has six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

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Scope and Content

The collection contains materials related to Miss Billy Riley’s contribution to promoting tourism in Downtown San Diego and the Gaslamp Quarter. The collection includes correspondence regarding local hotel/motel tax propositions in the 1960s and 1980s. Awards and articles highlight Riley’s civic involvement in promoting and expanding tourism in San Diego, especially Downtown.

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Arrangement

Collection materials are arranged by subject.

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

San Diego History Center Document Collection May 17, 2012

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

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

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

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Accession number 2001.042.

Processing Information

Collection processed by Alison Hennessey on May 17, 2012.

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.

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Related Materials

Separated Materials

Original photographs separated to Photograph Collection.

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Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

  • Center City Association (San Diego, Calif.).
  • Half Moon Inn (San Diego, Calif.).
  • Horton Grand Hotel.
  • San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau.
  • San Diego Convention Center.
  • Soroptimist International Association.

Geographic Name(s)

  • Gaslamp Quarter (San Diego, Calif.)
  • San Diego (Calif.)
  • Tijuana (Baja California, Mexico)

Personal Name(s)

  • Reagan, Ronald
  • Riley, Billy, Miss

Subject(s)

  • Awards
  • Hotels — California
  • Tourism

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Collection Inventory

Box-folder
Propositions C and A correspondence, 1965 March 5–1983 November 8 and undated

Includes:

Correspondence regarding Proposition C, circa 1965, and Proposition A, circa 1983

1:1
Awards and invitations, 1983 May 9–1999 October 14 and undated

Includes:

“26th Annual Downtown Improvement Awards” (poster blueprint) 1989 (in Oversize Collections D4)

“Alonzo Award, Billy Riley” (blueprint) undated (in Oversize Collections D4)

1:2
Articles related to and written by Miss Billy Riley, 1965 June 20–2000 March 20 and undated

Includes:

Letter to the Editor by Miss Billy Riley

1:3
Photographs (copies), undated

Includes:

Ronald Reagan

Tijuana, Mexico

Renovation and restoration of Horton Grand Hotel

1:4
Miscellanea, 1999 September 4 and undated

Includes:

Facsimile transmittal sheet from Pattie Roscoe to Terry Cahill regarding the death of Walter Palmer

Pamphlet on the First San Diego Courthouse in Old Town

1:5
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