CITIZEl\

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S COMMITTEE TO SAVE ELYSIAN PARK
1672 Morton Avenue, L.A. 26 MA 5-8427
PARK FIGHT AT CRITICAL STAGE
NE1'fS LETTER No, 5
January, 1966
The fight to save Elysian Park is now at a critical stage.
The park faces three assaults simultaneously. 'lfe have obtained
a.temporary restraining order on the oil lease (77 acres). The
C2ty Council is set to consider an abominable lease on 63 acres
for a trad.e show and convention center. Another bite of 15 acres
is planned for Stadium 'lfay. Together, these account for 155 acres,
more than a quarter of the park
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s 575 acres. 'lie may have to take
all three issues to the courts. This will reouire an estimated
l:$3,000 over the next few months. '
CONVENTION HEARING
The City Council, on Thursday, Jan. 13, at 10 a.m., will
hold a public hearing in the Council Chamber on Mr. Neil Petree's
blank-check lease of the recreational area of the park. In trans-
mitting the lease, the council's Finance Committee also recom-
mended "inviting proposals for the construction of a municipal
auditorium center in Elysian Park or ELSn:'JHERE."
This is a crucial meetino:. All org:anizations that oppose
the park
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s destruction should send a speaker. All persons Who
want to make individ.ual protests should also be present. (Phone
the City Clerk, MAdison 4-5211, Extension 1705, to place your
name on the speakers' list.)
The lease would give the promoters FULL POSSESSION of 63
irreplaceable acres from Which the public would be
barred. It contains no specifications as to size, location, de-
sign or costs --which could exceed ')50,000,000. All costs would
be borne by the taxpayers.
If you do not plan to speak, be there anyway. Your pre-
sence will help convince the councilmen of the fast developing
opposition to the perk. If you can't be there, write your
councilman.
Stadium \lay -- Construction of an extension of Stadium 'flay
through the bill sheltering the Recreation Lod9:e, scheduled to
start 1, is temporarily delayed, pending a 'decision on the
convention center, Our Committee is proposing an alternate route.
H'lPFcESSIVZ NEI SUPPORT
Organizations expressing opposition to the misuse of Elysian
Park for a trade show and. convention center, since our last report,
include: The lOth District PTA, L.A. County Federation of Co-
ordinating Councils, Association for Childhood Education, Califor-
nia Garden Clubs, lnc,, Southern California, and the Beverlywood
Democratic Club.
ROMANCE IN THE PARK
A romance that started at the first Citizens Committee
rally last and blossomed through their mutual interest and
activity in helping save Park culminated in the marriage
Dec, 27 of Sara Leiber and Carlton McKinney, both invaluable mem-
bers of our Steering Corinnittee. Immediately after the ceremony
they went to the park for their wedding picture,
GOVSRI\T OR
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S C ONF.SRSNCE
1/le will have a booth at the Governor
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s Conference on Beauty
at the Ambassaoor Hotel, Jan, 11-12, displaying pictures of :8lysi
Park by Julius Shulman, Greenery will be provided by the UCLA
Botanical Gardens. Joe Stermer, Ken Barr and Don Figge in charge,
THAT
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11AS THE PARK THAT IAS -- The 1966 version of this delightful
satire is tentatively scheduled for the third weekend in February,
THE BALANCE SHEET -- Since its organizetion last February, the
Citizens Committee to Save Elysian Park has received, as of Dec. ".
()4, 577.92 and bas disbursed
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J3 ,852.37, leaving a bank balancr
of Details will be contained in next month s News Lette.
SEE YOU AT THE CITY COUNCIL HEARING JANUARY 13!