Regional Oral History Office University of California the Bancroft Library Berkeley, California
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Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Walter Simon Newman: An Oral History Interviews conducted by Martin Meeker and Julie Stein in 2010 Copyright © 2010 by The Regents of the University of California Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral History is a method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is bound with photographs and illustrative materials and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ********************************* All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Walter Simon Newman, dated June 9, 2010. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Excerpts up to 1000 words from this interview may be quoted for publication without seeking permission as long as the use is non-commercial and properly cited. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to The Bancroft Library, Head of Public Services, Mail Code 6000, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000, and should follow instructions available online at http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ROHO/collections/cite.html It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Walter Simon Newman, “Walter Simon Newman: An Oral History” conducted by Martin Meeker and Julie Stein in 2010, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2010. Table of Contents—Walter Simon Newman Interview 1: June 9, 2010 Tape 1 1 Family background and history of town of Newman, CA – History of Simon Newman Company – Upbringing in San Francisco – Social circle of prominent San Francisco Jewish families, Concordia Argonaut Club – Education at San Francisco public schools –Largely shielded from the Great Depression – Spending summers working in Newman – Dating in high school. Tape 2 18 Experience studying Animal Husbandry at UC Davis – Memories of Pearl Harbor – Joining army after college – Military training - Becoming commander of Company C – Participation in Normandy Invasion in June 1944 –Shot through the lung and gravely wounded in Saint Lo – Evacuation and convalescing in military hospitals. Interview 2: June 18, 2010 Tape 3 38 Volunteer work on behalf of veterans, Veterans Research Institute, Troops to College – Attending reunion of 35th Infantry Division – Receiving French Legion of Honor Medal in 2009 in France, traveling to Omaha Beach for ceremony – Going into business managing a women’s millinery company with a close friend for a year – Moving to Newman, CA to take over the Newman Company. Tape 4 51 Challenges of returning to “normalcy” after the war – Meeting his wife, Ellen Magnin – Ellen took over as head merchant of Joseph Magnin when her mother died – Wedding at the Fairmont Hotel - Joining Joseph Magnin company – Developing store credit card business – Managing Stonestown store – Joseph Magnin’s reputation and embrace of youth in 1950s – Innovative advertising – Story of the founding of I. Magnin – Cyril Magnin revamped Joseph Magnin to focus on youth in 1950s and 1960s – Popular holiday gift boxes – Making real estate deals for new store locations. Interview 3: June 24, 2010 Tape 5 66 West Coast expansion plans for Joseph Magnin stores – Range of stores – Markdown strategy – Relationships with local vendors as well as New York buying office – Lake Tahoe store – Lavish opening store in Las Vegas in the Desert Inn owned by Jewish mobster, Moe Dalitz – friendship with Moe Dalitz – Stores in Southern California, Hawaii- Joseph Magnin Board of Directors – Deciding not to expand into Pacific Northwest Tape 6 82 Variations in store architecture and interior design – discusses competition from other stores – Joseph Magnin dressed Lynda Johnson for her wedding – Role in labor negotiations, reluctantly turning Joseph into a union shop in 1960s – Hiring of women, racial minorities – Decision to go public in 1960- Sale of Joseph Magnin to Amfac in 1968 –Walking out on 5-year contract after a year because of disagreements with new management. Interview 4: July 9, 2010 Tape 7 103 Poor management at Amfac – New CEO Bob Barry replaced Cyril Magnin – conflict between Ellen Magnin Newman and Joseph Magnin’s board after the sale – Imagines Joseph Magnin’s future if they had not sold to Amfac – Joseph Magnin’s legacy in retail - Working as vice president I. Magnin after walking out of Joseph Magnin – changes to San Francisco’s retail landscape, disappearance of family-owned stores – Cyril Magnin’s involvement in politics – Supporting Joe Alioto’s mayoral campaign – Appointed as president of the San Francisco Planning Commission – Relationship between commissioners and elected officials – Developing a comprehensive plan for San Francisco’s future growth with Allan Jacobs. Tape 8 117 Controversy surrounding the building of the Transamerica Pyramid – Allan Jacobs opposed the building, Mayor Alioto strongly supported it – defeat of US Steel Tower proposal – Increasing strength of neighborhood groups and anti- growth groups in 1970s – Changes to San Francisco under Mayor Moscone – Appointed to Redevelopment Commission in 1981 – Redevelopment projects in the Fillmore and Yerba Buena. Interview 5: June 9, 2010 Tape 9 138 Tenure as president of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco – Merging the de Young Museum and the Legion of Honor in 1972 – Experimenting with opening a third museum in downtown San Francisco, Fine Arts Museum Downtown – Establishing relationships with the Metropolitan Museum –Treasures of the Vatican exhibit and convincing Chevron to sponsor the show – Emergence of blockbuster exhibitions and subsequent changes to museums, opening museums at night, increasing importance of museum shops - Rebuilding of de Young Museum by Dede Wilsey in 2005 – Relationship of Fine Arts Museums to Asian Art Museum and MOMA. Tape 10 155 Bringing the King Tut exhibition to the de Young Museum in 1979 –de Young purchased a stolen piece of Egyptian art from the British Museum - Returning the piece to Egypt – Traveling to Egypt to try to get the King Tut exhibit sent to the de Young – Negotiating with Egyptian authorities, importance of returning stolen piece of art - King Tut exhibit had 1.2 million visitors in six weeks – Preparing the museum for the blockbuster show – Innovation to handle the crowds, including advance ticket sales – Legacy of King Tut exhibit – Discusses personal art collection – Traveling the world with Ellen after Joseph Magnin sale and starting to collect art – Convincing John Rockefeller III to donate his collection to the city of San Francisco. Interview 6: July 30, 2010 Tape 11 171 Approach to raising his three boys – Sons’ education and career choices - All three sons went to boarding school. Middle son, Bob, was diagnosed with a brain tumor while in business school – Moving family to Boston to be with Bob - Transferring Bob to UCSF – Bob’s death in 1981 – Founding of National Brain Tumor Foundation – Merging with the Boston-based Brain Tumor Society to become to National Brain Tumor Society – Raising money for brain tumor research Tape 12 185 Changes in treating brain tumors in the past thirty years – Role as president and director of Temple Emanu-El from 1980 to 1986 – Efforts to revitalize the temple and appeal to young Jewish community – Appointing Bob Kirschner as the head rabbi – Finding Cantor Roslyn Barak to replace Cantor Portnoy – Negotiating with city manager of Colma to allow a road to be built on temple property, property profitably rezoned as commercial –Thoughts on Rabbi Kirchner leaving the temple amid personal scandal. Interview 7: September 1, 2010 Tape 13 199 Support of the Troops to College program, working with City College of San Francisco— Reflections on the experiences of veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—Support of University High School in San Francisco and thoughts on educational opportunities in San Francisco—As a benefactor for UCSF—Securing the land for UCSF campus in Mission Bay—Negotiating the land deal for the Gap headquarters building in San Francisco—Redevelopment politics Tape 14 213 Presidio Heights Association of Neighbors—WSN Enterprises—More on the Gap headquarters property and building—Reflections on changes in the built environment of San Francisco—The attempt to build an art museum in the Presidio—Reflections in retirement and a career in public service—Changes in the culture of San Francisco 1 Interview #1: June 09, 2010 Begin Audio File 1 06-09-2010.mp3 01-00:00:00 Meeker: Okay. 01-00:00:03 Stein: What is the date today? It’s the 9th. It’s right there. 01-00:00:06 Meeker: All right. This is Martin Meeker interviewing Walter Newman for the Regional Oral History Office and today is the 9th of June 2010 and this is tape one. So the way that we always start these projects, of course, is to ask you to state your name, year and place of birth, and then I ask people to tell a little bit about the circumstances into which you were born. But it sounds like you and your family have done a little bit of maybe genealogical work and your family background is quite interesting as far as the establishment of the Town of Newman and so forth.