by Julie Lugo Cerra , Vice President, Museum/ARC and City Historian
THE ARC/MUSEUM COMMITTEE BEGINS ITS WORK
First, let me thank all of the folks who have expressed interest in the Museum Committee. We had our first meeting in January with Bill Barnett, Louise Coffey-Webb, Sharon Shore, Michelle Bernardin, Carol Schwab, Steve Rose and David Warshaw joining in a discussion of our goals and available help – and we are open to all suggestions.
Also, we are exploring some added display methods, and have invited bids from those who can help us enhance our display space. If you are interested in volunteering in the ARC on our open days – the first and third Saturday of each month (see Calendar) – or for our work “parties,” please let me know.
THE MANN THEATRE DEMOLITION OFFERS WONDERFUL FILM PHOTOS TO SOCIETY
Stu Freeman, with some contact assistance from Kevin Lachoff, rescued the large movie photos displayed in the former Mann Theatre, which is being demolished! Some are eight feet tall and up to five parts! Now, where are we going to put them…..stay tuned!
THE CCHS SALUTES WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH & MRS. HARRY CULVER
March is Women’s History Month, so some special pieces will remain on view for everyone to enjoy through April. There is a lovely portrait of Mrs. Harry Culver and her daughter, Patricia. In addition, a book written by Harry Culver’s great grandson, Robert Battle, is on loan for this exhibit, opened to pages on Mrs. Culver.
We will also be showing off some of Harry Culver’s 1929 scrapbook that depicts the Culver family’s travels across the country. Harry Culver was head of the National Real Estate Association and his family joined him on his cross-country trip.
A VARIETY OF VISITORS COME TO THE ARC FOR FUN & RESEARCH
Visitors to the ARC have been numerous and with varied interests. We enjoyed hosting Erin Stennis from the office of our 2nd District County Supervisor, Mark Ridley-Thomas, and had a group of Early Settler descendant genealogists from the Santa Monica area.
Sister City visitors are always a pleasure and we were able to furnish downtown tours in March for the US/Mexico Sister Cities Conference attendees. We have also spent time with the runners from Kaizuka, Japan, here to run in the L.A. Marathon on March 18th, who were visiting last month.
Coming up, CCHS President Louise Coffey-Webb, Jeanne Conklin and I will host a group of Brandeis ladies in early May. They are coming in from “the Valley” to visit the ARC, and afterwards they will stay in town to enjoy lunch in one of our wonderful restaurants.
Some items from our collection were shown off at the recent Rotary Club fundraiser in March. Their theme was “The Yellow Brick Road.” Thanks, Linda and Joel Forman for your help!
MTA/EXPO
Kim Upton from the MTA asked for help on basic history of the city, with an emphasis on “The Heart of Screenland.” Kim took time to visit the ARC twice, first for background information and second with a film crew. We will be featured in their upcoming cable TV piece for the arrival of the EXPO in Culver City, “the Heart of Screenland.” They also visited and taped at Sony Pictures and around town.
And speaking of taking to the road, as City Historian, I visited the Mar Vista Gardens Continuation High School. Many of their students have a fondness for Culver City, its history and strange boundaries. Vitaly, the teacher, arranged for Sue McCabe and I to drop by with a power point presentation and field questions. It was great fun!
We will also participate in El Marino’s tour days in the spring, and La Ballona has also expressed interest in our historic help!
KNX RADIO SPOTLIGHTS CULVER CITY
It was nice to get a call from Chris Sedens at KNX Radio, who was interested in Culver City’s history. He did some taping at the ARC, and around town before the March 9th broadcast of their “KNX On Your Corner” program.
They broadcasted live from Culver City at our historic Culver Hotel. Many of our members were taped in advance – others live that day, including Mayor O’Leary and councilmember Jeff Cooper, former mayor and CCHS president Steve Rose, and Dannie Cavanaugh, as well as Kevin Lachoff, Goran Eriksson, John Byers and yours truly.
We have also been working to help a woman in search of her biological father who was stationed at “Fort Roach” during WWII. He was apparently in the First Motion Picture Unit (FMPU) during WWII, and his “barracks” were in the Pacific Military Academy. There is a display of items from the collection of former FMPU combat photographer, Robert Elliott, in the Archives which help to bring back a few memories!
In the meantime, we are very much a part of the Veterans Memorial complex so we stay in touch with PCRS Director Dan Hernandez. The building should be re-opened by the time this arrives!