Huizar’s ‘Surprise’ Southwest Museum Proposal Draws Praise
Board votes to tie Autry expansion project to a 2007 agreement on the Southwest Museum. Four weeks given to negotiate a legal deal.
By Paul Aranda Jr., EGP Staff Writer
For many residents of Northeast Los Angeles, Tuesday’s meeting at City Hall was more than simply a vote on an Environmental Impact Review for a construction project in Griffith Park. After nearly six years, a coalition of community members finally received some good news in their efforts to preserve the Southwest Museum in Mt. Washington.
Their effort lived for at least another four weeks after members of the Board of Referred Powers, voted unanimously to call on the Autry National Center to negotiate with Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar (CD-14) to produce a binding document stating the Autry’s commitments regarding the Mt. Washington museum.
Supporters of both the Autry Museum and the Southwest Museum preservation coalition flood City Hall on June 30. Unlike other city hall meetings, the crowd refrained from rowdy behavior as representatives from both sides plead their case before the Board of Referred Powers. (EGP Photo by Paul Aranda)
After the meeting, originally scheduled for 3p.m. was delayed nearly 40 minutes as officials attempted to accommodate the large crowds of supporters for both sides, the Autry and the Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition, they eventually moved the meeting to the much larger City Council Chambers where one councilman delivered a surprising proposal.
Speaking before an overflow crowd gathered, Councilman Jose Huizar (CD-14) praised the Autry for its commitment to the restoration of the Southwest Museum, including more than $7.5 million in building renovations and upgrades since purchasing it in 2003. However, he said it was time for the Autry to reaffirm its commitment by agreeing to attach a legally binding document to a lease agreement the Autry is seeking in order to expand its Griffith Park Autry Museum.
The meeting before the board was the first time the Southwest Museum issue had been addressed in City Hall. In 2007, local elected officials led by Huizar formed the Southwest Society in collaboration with the Autry National Center and other leaders in the local arts and cultural community. The newly formed partnership was based on an agreement by the Autry to preserve the Southwest Museum and Casa de Adobe. However, for members of the Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition, the Southwest Society has been nearly nonexistent.
Heinrich Keifer is the president of Kiwanis Club of Greater Highland Park and a supporter of the Southwest Museum coalition. He said he had little faith in the Southwest Society before the meeting.
“[Huizar] caught me by surprise,” Keifer said. “The Southwest Society hadn’t really done anything.”
“I’m happy yes, it’s an open door.”
Keifer said the time has come for the Autry to follow through on its promise to the community to maintain the Mt. Washington site as a museum with a viable amount of exhibit space. He said as of now there is no airtight agreement.
The lack of such an agreement, which the Autry contends has nothing to do with the Griffith Park expansion, has led many in the coalition to suspect that little would be done to preserve the museum if the expansion is approved. Nicole Possert, president of Friends of the Southwest Coalition, told EGP before the meeting that the two sites are inseparable. The coalitions’ primary concern has been that the Autry would invest all its resources in its Griffith Park expansion and reduce the Mt. Washington campus to a community center.
Last year, the coalition was alarmed when the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) included the Mt. Washington site as a potential satellite campus on its proposed projects list as part of its Measure J initiative. The district stated that there was never a deal with the Autry to turn the site into a satellite campus. Instead, the project was included so funds from the measure could be utilized to provide infrastructure improvements for research and classroom use.
The mistrust between the coalition and the Autry has led to a heated battle over the real intentions regarding the Southwest Museum. Before Tuesday’s meeting, the Southwest Society was not held in high regard by coalition members because of its ties to the Autry. However, at least for the moment, the coalition may have found that it has support in City Hall after all.
“We were surprised by it,” Possert said of Huizar’s proposal.
“There was movement and a door was opened.”
Possert said that the coalition’s focus is to ensure that there is a legal binding document to ensure that the Autry preserves the Mt. Washington site with enough exhibit space to operate as a museum.
She said she is “cautiously optimistic that an olive branch has been offered” but is determined to have a seat at the negotiation table. She said a request was sent to Huizar’s office yesterday to be included in the formation of any such agreement.
As for what prompted Huizar’s proposal, Possert remained “cautiously optimistic.”
“Politics is an interesting game,” she said.
“I do believe that he listened to the sentiment coming in from his constituents.”
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July 2, 2009 Copyright © 2009 Eastern Group Publications, Inc.
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