TITLE
Recommendation to receive and file a presentation from the Historical Society of Long Beach on the archive of the Long Beach City Manager files from 1922 through 1953.
DISCUSSION
The Historical Society of Long Beach received the archive of the City Manager files from the City of Long Beach in 1998. These files demonstrate the day to day activities and important city activities from 1922 through 1953. Until now, only a small fraction of them have been available to the public. Thanks to a generous grant from the Long Beach Navy Memorial Heritage Association, the HSLB has been able to properly preserve and catalog these files in their entirety for current and future generations of researchers.
This unique collection of over 5,000 files and over 100,000 pages affords researchers of local history and beyond a rare glimpse into the inner workings of city government for over three tumultuous decades of Long Beach, Southern California, and United States history. The files in this acquisition document the oil-boom years of the 1920s, the dark days of the Great Depression through the 1940s, when Long Beach became a major epicenter of national defense, from aircraft manufacturing to a bustling Navy Base.
The types of sources found in the collection include official city correspondence, handwritten letters, departmental reports, legal documents, city resolutions, state and federal legislation, maps, blueprints, photographs, postcards and much more. There are also copies of long-defunct local newspapers, such as The Long Beach Chronicle, The Long Beach Reporter and East Long Beach Star-Progress, The Spokesmen, The Bel-Na-Mos, Long Beach Sun among others. Many of these items can’t be found in any other collection.
Given the significance of this archive in documenting the City’s history, it is appropriate for the City Council to receive a brief presentation from the Historical Society on this matter.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully S...
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