MS 215 Miss Billy Riley Papers
Table of Contents
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.
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.
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.
Arrangement
Collection materials are arranged by subject.
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.
Related Materials
Separated Materials
Original photographs separated to Photograph Collection.
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
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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