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Urban Archives Center
Descriptive Finding Guide for

THE ASSOCIATED CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
OF THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY

1955 – 1978

5.5 linear feet

1 oversize box

Prepared by

Robert Freeman, Archivist, October 1981

Revised by Robert G. Marshall, September 1987

Revised by Autumn Hayner, J. Paul Getty Trust, Student Assistant; Cathy Kay, J. Paul Getty Trust, Graduate Student Assistant, September 2004; February 2006

© 2004 Oviatt Library, California State University, Northridge. All rights reserved. For additional information, please contact Urban Archives Center .

CATALOGING INFORMATION

PROVENANCE

The papers of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley [ACCSFV] were donated to the Urban Archives Center in 1981 by Albert Zoraster. Processing of this collection and preparation of this descriptive finding guide were made possible in part through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The finding guide was revised in April 1987 for the purpose of database cataloging on the OCLC system. The collection was re-processed in September 2004, in part under a generous gift form the J. Paul Getty Trust to update collection finding guides. The collection is open for use without restrictions.

HISTORY

The West Valley Associated Chambers of Commerce was organized in December 1927 by four West San Fernando Valley chambers of commerce -- Canoga Park [formerly Owensmouth], Chatsworth, Northridge [formerly Zelzah and North Los Angeles] and Reseda [formerly Marion]. The chambers joined together to promote a spirit of cooperation among the West Valley's business, residential and civic interests; and to advance the civic, commercial and industrial welfare of the region through legislative action.

In 1928, Granada Hills became the fifth community chamber to join the Associated Chambers.It was followed by Tarzana in 1930, Encino in 1931, West Van Nuys in 1956, Sepulveda in 1960, Sherman Oaks in 1972, Greater Las Virgines in 1974 and North Hollywood in 1975. In 1966, the Associated Chambers changed their name to the present Associated Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley to remove the impression that the members were exclusively from the West Valley.

The collection of the Associated Chambers documents the expansion of business, industry and suburban consumer culture in the San Fernando Valley during its post-war period of rapid growth from the 1950’s through the 1970’s.

Image from Souvenir Program for the San Fernando Valley's "La Fiesta de Los Angeles," on the 184th birthday celebration of the founding of Los Angeles, 1965.

Image from Souvenir Program for the San Fernando Valley's "La Fiesta de Los Angeles," on the 184th birthday celebration of the founding of Los Angeles, 1965. (View Digital Collections record)

SCOPE & CONTENT NOTES

The records of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley and its predecessor organization, the West Valley Associated Chambers of Commerce, reveal the rapid growth of the organization during the past three decades and the corresponding growth of the San Fernando Valley business community. The collections consists of correspondence, minutes and agendas, by-laws, articles of incorporation, city planning reports, resolutions, rosters of Chamber delegates and officers, printed brochures and literature, newspaper clippings, newsletters and press releases.

The materials help to explain the history of commerce and community development in the San Fernando Valley since 1955. Gaps exist in virtually every series of the collection. Missing from the papers is documentation of the Chamber's first twenty-five years [1927-1954] as an organized body.

RELATED UAC COLLECTIONS

Related research collections on the development of the San Fernando Valley located in the Urban Archives Center include [Note: See separate finding guides for these collections]:

RELATED DIGITAL COLLECTIONS & PROJECTS

RELATED RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS

Related research holdings on the history of the San Fernando Valley can be found at the following institutions:

SECONDARY SOURCES

Located in the reference section of the Special Collections are three publications that relate to the history of the San Fernando Valley:

Located in the main library collection of the Oviatt Library are a number of publications that relate to the history of the San Fernando Valley including:

IMPORTANT SUBJECTS & PERSONALITIES

Important personalities and subjects found in the collection include:

CONTENTS & SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

5.5 linear feet

1 oversize Box

SERIES I: CORRESPONDENCE FILES, 1958-1976, Boxes ACCFSV 1-2

The correspondence of the Associated Chambers consists of letters and Memoranda exchanged between officers of the organization and officers of the various member Chambers. The series also contains correspondence relative to the Associated Chambers' advocacy of community development in the San Fernando Valley through legislation. Included are letters from various local, state and federal government representatives and officials such as United States Senators Thomas Kuchel and George Murphy, United States Congressmen Alphonzo Bell and James Corman, California Governors Edmund Brown and Ronald Reagan, State Senators Tom Carrell and Thomas Rees, Assemblymen Lou Cusanovich and Charles Conrad, Los Angeles County Supervisors Warren Dorn and Kenneth Hahn, Los Angeles Mayors Tom Bradley and Sam Yorty, and Los Angeles City Councilmen Ernani Bernardi and John Ferraro. All correspondence in the series is arranged chronologically.

SERIES II: MINUTES & AGENDAS, 1955-1978, Boxes ACCSFV 3-4

This series documents the contributions of the various member Chambers of the San Fernando Valley regarding the formulation of administrative policy. Included are the minutes and agendas of the Associated Chambers' Board of Directors and Executive Committee. The series is arranged in chronological order.

SERIES III: ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS, 1956-1976, Boxes ACCSFV 5-6

The organizational records of the ACCSFV comprise the third series. Included are attendance records, articles of incorporation, ballot propositions, by-laws and amendments, financial records, reports, resolutions, senate and assembly bills, and rosters of Chamber delegate committee members and officers. The administrative records are incomplete with gaps in all subject areas. Also included in this series is a history of the ACCSFV, which depicts the early phase of the organization (1927-1954). The files are arranged alphabetically according to subject heading and chronologically there-under.

SERIES IV: ISSUES & TOPICS, 1958-1976, Boxes ACCSFV 7-9

This series is composed of printed information published by various outside organizations. The material deals with issues and topics which were of interest to the ACCSFV, as well as items which the Chamber kept on hand for their own reference. Included are press releases, reports and subject files. The series provides information on a variety of topics from city planning to California business trends to rapid transit. The series is arranged alphabetically by subject. Again, there are gaps in this series of the collection.

SERIES V: PUBLICITY FILES, 1955-1976, Boxes ACCSFV 10

The bulk of the publicity series consists of newspaper clippings. Newspaper clipped articles, most of which were taken from issues of San Fernando Valley newspapers like the Valley News [now Daily News] and the San Fernando Valley Times, document the civic and organizational activities of the ACCSFV during the past three decades. The articles provide a reliable source of information on the recent history of the Association and the issues and events with which it was concerned.

NON-MANUSCRIPT MATERIAL

Oversize Street Map Collection by the Bureau of Engineering, Box (OV) ACCSFV 11

DISPOSED RECORDS

Duplicate items have been removed from the collection and either returned to the organization or destroyed at their request.

BOX LISTING

SERIES I: CORRESPONDENCE FILES, 1958-1976 , Boxes ACCFSV 1-2

Box ACCFSV 1 [AS/RS 3 0700 10425 5939]

Box ACCFSV 2 [AS/RS 3 0700 10425 5947]

SERIES II: MINUTES & AGENDAS, 1955-1976, Boxes ACCSFV 3-4

Box ACCFSV 3 [AS/RS 3 0700 10425 5954]

Box ACCFSV 4 [AS/RS 3 0700 10425 5962]

SERIES III: ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS, 1955-1976, Boxes ACCSFV 5-6

Box ACCFSV 5 [AS/RS 3 0700 10425 5970]

Box ACCFSV 6 [AS/RS 3 0700 10425 5988]

SERIES IV: ISSUES & TOPICS, 1958-1976, Boxes ACCSFV 7-9

Box ACCSFV 7 [AS/RS 3 0700 10425 5996]

Box ACCSFV 8 [AS/RS 3 0700 10425 6002]

Box ACCSFV 9 [AS/RS 3 0700 10425 6010]

SERIES V: PUBLICITY, 1955-1976, Box ACCSFV 10

Box ACCSFV 10 [AS/RS 3 0700 10425 6028]

OVERSIZED STREET MAP COLLECTION, Box ACCSFV11

Box (OV) ACCSFV 11 [AS/RS 3 0700 10425 6036]

[End Box Listing]

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