Hollywood Park Records LSC.2254
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http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8th8scm No online items Hollywood Park records LSC.2254 Elizabeth (Elsie) Doolan, under the supervision of Julie Graham; with edits by Megan Fraser 2015; initial EAD encoding by Julie Graham; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé. UCLA Library Special Collections Online finding aid last updated 2019 July 8. Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library Box 951575 Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575 [email protected] URL: https://www.library.ucla.edu/special-collections Hollywood Park records LSC.2254 LSC.2254 1 Language of Material: English Contributing Institution: UCLA Library Special Collections Title: Hollywood Park records Creator: Hollywood Park Operating Company Identifier/Call Number: LSC.2254 Physical Description: 364 Linear Feet(5 boxes, 104 shoe boxes, 189 cartons, 86 flat boxes, 117 oversize flat boxes) Date (inclusive): 1928-2009 Abstract: The Hollywood Turf Club, later renamed Hollywood Park, opened in 1938. Known as the Track of the Lakes and Flowers, it served as home for a number of talented jockeys, trainers, and prominent thoroughbreds. The collection consists of minute books and ledgers; stock certificate books; scrapbooks; negatives; press clippings; and chart books. Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information. Conditions on Access COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information. Box 312 is restricted and may be unavailable for use. Inquiries regarding these materials should be directed to UCLA Library Special Collections. Many scrapbooks are in fragile condition due to clippings and/or photographs falling off pages. Conditions on Use and Reproduction Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright. UCLA Catalog Record ID UCLA Catalog Record ID: 7857452 Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Hollywood Park Records (Collection 2254). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles. Provenance/Source of Acquisition Gift of Hollywood Park Racing Association, 2014. Biography/History The Hollywood Turf Club (later renamed Hollywood Park), opened on June 10, 1938. Constructed on close to 315 acres, it was built to accommodate 30,000 people and 1,250 horses. The race track itself was an oval one mile distance and 90 feet wide. A year earlier, in 1937, the Los Angeles Times reported that there were two applications for a Los Angeles horse racing track: one submitted by the Golden State Jockey Club, the other from the Hollywood Racing Association. Ultimately the Golden State group was awarded a provisional permit to build. Golden State changed its name to the Hollywood Turf Club and selected a West Los Angeles location near the intersection of Sawtelle and National to build the track. Although granted a provisional permit from the California Horse Racing Board and approval from the Los Angeles Planning Commission to begin building in September 1936, there were "floods of protest" from the West Los Angeles community that led the Hollywood Turf Club to withdraw its application for zoning in West Los Angeles and select the Inglewood location that would be the home of Hollywood Park. In January 1938, Hollywood Turf Club officers and directors included Hollywood industry figures and Los Angeles businessmen such as Walter McCarty (Beverly Wilshire Hotel), Jack Warner (Warner Bros), Earl Gilmore (Gilmore Oil Company), J. I. Schnitzer (Western Costume Company), Raoul Walsh (motion picture director), Roy Wilcox, Al Jolson (radio artist), C. M. Rood (oil operator), James Duffy (Santa Fe railroad), Thomas Simmons (oil operator), and Alfred Green (motion picture director). According to Jack Warner, the Hollywood Turf Club was to provide another outstanding attraction for visitors and tourists to Southern California. The infield of the track was beautifully landscaped with lush gardens and small lakes. The Hollywood Park Goose Girl tradition began during the park's first season in 1938. Each year a Goose Girl was chosen and in addition to posing for photographs and making publicity appearances, she would walk among the geese (and other birds) that populated the infield or coast along on the lake in the small boat, the Miz Clementine, feeding the birds. The tradition was discontinued in Hollywood Park records LSC.2254 LSC.2254 2 the 1970s and brought back for a very brief time in the 1990s. In May 1949, less than two weeks before the opening of the track's spring racing season, a fire severely damaged the original grand stand and Club House. The track reopened a little more than a year later in June 1950. Known as the Track of the Lakes and Flowers, Hollywood Park served as home for a number of talented horsemen and eminent thoroughbreds. Among the horses were Seabiscuit, winner of the inaugural Hollywood Gold Cup in 1938, three-time Gold Cup champions Native Diver and Lava Man, Triple Crown winners Citation, Seattle Slew and Affirmed, Great Communicator, Landaluce, and Zenyatta. Jockeys Eddie Arcaro, Jerry Bailey, Jerry Lambert, Donny Longden, Laffit Pincay, Jr., Bill Shoemaker, Mike Smith, Gary Stevens, and George Woolf; and trainers Charlie Whittingham, Barrera Lax, Bob Baffert, and Doug O'Neill also worked at the park. Three legendary horses, Landaluce, Native Diver, and Great Communicator were interned at the race park. Hollywood Park closed December 22, 2013, ending 75 years of continuous racing in the Southern California region. It was demolished to make way for a residential development. Scope and Content The collection consists of material related to Hollywood Park and the California racing community. Included are minute books and ledgers; stock certificate books; scrapbooks; negatives; press clippings; and chart books. The minute books and ledgers represent annual and special meetings of the Hollywood Turf Club and Hollywood Park. The stock certificate books comprise stock certificate sales for the first decade of the track's operation. The scrapbooks and press clippings document media coverage of Hollywood Park, as well as other racetracks such as Santa Anita, Los Alamitos, and the California horse racing culture. The negatives represent Hollywood Park racing seasons and track events. The chart books provide racing statistics regarding horses, jockeys, and odds mostly for the other regional race tracks, with only one chart book representing Hollywood Park. Organization and Arrangement The collection is arranged in the following series: Series 1: Minute Books and Ledgers Series 2: Stock Certificate Books Series 3: Scrapbooks Series 4: Negatives Series 5. Press Clippings Series 6. Chart Books Subjects and Indexing Terms Horse racing. Hollywood Park Operating Company -- Archives Minute Books and Ledgers (1938-1989) Restrictions on Access Box 312 is restricted and may be unavailable for use. Inquiries regarding these materials should be directed to UCLA Library Special Collections. Organization and Arrangement There is no specific arrangement to the series. Scope and Content The Minute Books and Ledgers consist of meeting minutes documenting annual and special meetings of the Hollywood Turf Club and Hollywood Park. The bulk of the material represents Executive Committees and Board of Directors' meetings. Additionally represented are a small number of items related to Turf Oil Company, California Turf Foundation Inc., and Prairie Wood Association Inc. In addition to meeting minutes there are a small number of documents related to ownership and incorporation. One California Turf Foundation ledger appears to be mostly doctor, hospital, and medical related entries. box 325 California Turf Foundation Inc. Ledger 1942-1946, 1955 Scope and Content Appears to be records of stocks and bonds. Hollywood Park records LSC.2254 LSC.2254 3 Minute Books and Ledgers (1938-1989) box 312 The California Turf Foundation, Inc. - ledger 1948-1954 Scope and Content Portions of the contents of this scrapbook are restricted and may be unavailable for use. Inquiries regarding these materials should be directed in writing to the UCLA Library Special Collections. box 311 The California Turf Foundation, Inc. - ledger 1948-1955 Scope and Content Appears to be mostly physician, hospital, and medical related entries. box 315 Hollywood Turf Club Executive Committee Minutes (Volume I) 1938 Jan-1940 Sept, 1946 Nov-1948 July, 1951 Jan-1964 Sept box 314 Hollywood Turf Club Minutes of Annual Meetings of Shareholders (Volume I) 1938-1970 box 316 Hollywood Turf Club Minutes of Meetings of the Board of Directors (Volume II) 1941 Aug 5 - 1945 May 25 box 319 Hollywood Turf Club Minutes of the Meetings of the Board of Directors (Volume III) 1945 June 4 -1948 Aug 9 box 320 Hollywood Turf Club Minutes of Meetings of the Board of Directors (Volume III) 1948 Aug 30 - 1951 July [6] box 318 Hollywood Turf Club Minutes of Meetings of the Board of Directors (Volume V) 1951 Jan 9 -1956 Nov 7 box 317 Hollywood Turf Club Minutes of Meetings of the Board of Directors (Volume IV) 1951 Sept 12 -1956 Nov 29 box 321 Hollywood Turf Club Minutes of Meetings of the Board of Directors (Volume IV) 1963 Jan 9 - 1966 Dec 12 box 327 Hollywood Turf Club Minutes of Meetings of the Board of Directors 1967 Jan - 1968 Dec box 327 Hollywood Turf Club Minutes of Meetings of the Board of Directors 1969 Jan 14 - 1970 Nov 4 box 328 Hollywood Turf Club Minutes of Meetings of the Board of Directors 1971 Jan 5 - 1973 Dec 10 box 329 Hollywood Park Inc. Minutes of Meetings of the Board of Directors 1974 Aug - 1977 Dec box 322 Hollywood Park Inc.