From State Exposition Building to Science Center: Changing Ideals of Progress in Los Angeles, 1873-1992 by Catherine M. Vale
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From State Exposition Building to Science Center: Changing Ideals of Progress in Los Angeles, 1873-1992 by Catherine M. Vale A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Approved November 2018 by the Graduate Supervisory Committee: Gayle Gullett, Co-Chair Beverly Brandt, Co-Chair Richard Toon David Dean ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY December 2018 ABSTRACT Los Angeles long served as a center of technological and scientific innovation and production, from nineteenth-century agriculture to twentieth-century aerospace. City boosters used spectacle-filled promotional strategies to build and maintain technological supremacy through industry. Evaluating the city’s premier industry-focused science museum, the California Science Center, is therefore a must. The California Science Center is one of the most-visited museums in the United States and is in the historic Exposition Park. Yet, no thorough analysis has been done on its influential history. This dissertation is an interdisciplinary study of the California Science Center, from its 1870s beginnings as an agricultural fairground, to the construction of the world’s fair-inspired State Exposition Building in the 1910s, to its post-World War II redesign as the California Museum of Science and Industry. It uses regional history, design history, and museum studies to evaluate the people behind the museum’s construction and development, how they shaped exhibits, and the ideologies of progress they presented to the public. This dissertation builds on established historical components in Los Angeles’ image-making, primarily boosterism, spectacular display, and racism. The museum operated as part of the booster apparatus. Influential residents constructed Exposition Park and served on the museum board. In its earliest days, exhibits presented Anglo Los Angeles as a civilizing force through scientific farming. During the Cold War, boosters shifted to promote Los Angeles as a mecca of modern living, and the museum presented technology as safe and necessary to democracy. Local industries and designers featured centrally in this narrative. Boosters also used spectacle to ensure impact. Dioramas, i Hollywood special effects, and simulated interactive experiences enticed visitors to return again and again. Meanwhile, non-white residents either became romanticized, as in the case of the Mexican Californios, or ignored, as seen in the museum’s surrounding neighborhood, primarily-African American, South Central. Anglo elites removed non- whites from the city’s narrative of progress. Ultimately, this dissertation shows that the museum communicated city leaders’ ideologies of progress and dictated exhibit narratives. This study adds nuance to image-making in Los Angeles, as well as furthering regional analysis of science museums in the United States. ii To my parents, Joel and Cathy, who instilled in me the value of education and hard work; and to Ashley, who supported me from beginning to end. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am indebted to so many amazing people and institutions in the completion of this dissertation. Firstly, my dissertation committee provided vital support and feedback through years of research and writing. Dr. Gayle Gullett taught me how to be a strong history scholar and played a key role in my professional evolution from an undergraduate honors student to a doctoral candidate. Dr. Beverly Brandt was a constant presence in planning and executing this interdisciplinary project. Dr. Richard Toon added further interdisciplinary support and commentary. Dr. David Dean provided teaching and academic mentorship in my chosen field, public history. Lastly, my first advisor, the late Dr. Jannelle Warren-Findley, first believed in me as a graduate student and helped me formulate the initial plans for this project. I am also grateful to other faculty members and graduate students who provided feedback and guidance through this process. Dr. Katherine Osburn, my teaching mentor, first introduced me to scholarship on the West and in taking a regional approach. Dr. Mark Tebeau guided the development of my committee at its earliest stages. Dr. Andrea Field, Dr. Kathryn Sweet, and Tiffany Christensen helped push me forward each day when they discussed graduate student life and work with me. Finally, family and friends supported me in countless ways. I would not have been able to make it through this process without them. The Max Millett Family Travel Grant for History Graduate Students financially supported much of the research for this dissertation. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1 What Did Progress Look Like? .................................................................13 How Did Elites Shape the Museum? ........................................................16 How Did the Museum Present Progress? ..................................................18 Chapter 1: Agricultural to Exposition Park (1871-1912) .........................21 Chapter 2: The State Exposition Building (1913-1949) ...........................22 Chapter 3: The California Museum of Science and Industry (1949-1967) ................................................................................23 Chapter 4: Museum Expansions (1968-1988) ..........................................24 2 AGRICULTURAL PARK, 1871-1912: WILLIAM MILLER BOWEN’S EXPOSITION PARK DREAM .............................................................................27 1840s-1850s: The Mexican-American War and the Rise of Anglo Los Angeles ......................................................................................................31 1860s-1870s: The Southern Pacific Railroad and the Southern District Agricultural Society ...................................................................................38 1880s: The Sixth District Agricultural Association ...................................46 1890s: The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce ......................................56 1890s-1900s: William Miller Bowen and the Fight for Agricultural Park ............................................................................................................64 v CHAPTER Page 1910s: Exposition Park ..............................................................................84 3 THE STATE EXPOSITION BUILDING, 1913-1949: REFLECTING THE GROWING PAINS OF A NEWLY MODERN METROPOLIS ..........................97 1910s: The State Exposition Building and the California Liberty Fair .....99 1920s: Making Modern Los Angeles .......................................................119 1930s: The 1932 Olympics ......................................................................140 1940s: World War II and a New Direction for the State Exposition Building....................................................................................................155 4 THE CALIFORNIA MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY, 1949-1967: EARLY COLD WAR LOS ANGELES ..............................................................165 1949-1955: J. Howard Edgerton and the California Museum of Science and Industry .............................................................................................168 1956-1962: The Don Muchmore Era, Sputnik I, and Mathematica .........193 1962-1967: The William Fitzgerald Era and The Turning Wheel ...........231 5 THE CALIFORNIA MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY, 1968-1988: THE RETURN OF MUCHMORE AND THE 1984 OLYMPICS .....................247 1967-1970: The William McCann Era and the Hall of Health ................250 1970s: Expanding Service and Sponsorship ............................................263 1980-1984: Cold War Revival, the 1984 Olympics, and the Return of Don Muchmore ................................................................................................277 1985-1988: The Fall of Don Muchmore ..................................................307 6 EPILOGUE: THE CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER .....................................318 vi CHAPTER Page BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................323 APPENDIX A FIGURES .............................................................................................................344 vii INTRODUCTION On October 12, 2012, the Space Shuttle Endeavour began a twelve-mile ride across the streets of Los Angeles from the Los Angeles International Airport to the California Science Center. The space shuttle was nearing the end of a long trip from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, across the cities of the Sun Belt. The shuttle had made stops in Houston and Edwards Air Force Base in Kern County, California, both iconic hubs for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). For the shuttle to make it to the California Science Center, crews worked for hours removing miles of trees, power lines, and street lights. Behind them, the Endeavour lumbered along at two miles an hour. It made stops at Los Angeles landmarks along the way: Randy’s Donuts, where shop owners installed a miniature Endeavour in the hole of their iconic oversized donut sign; The Forum, where the Los Angeles Lakers had won six championships guided by all-time greats like Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; and Exposition Park, host of two Olympics Games, home of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and the California Science Center itself. As the shuttle made its way through