Blog post by Susan D. Anderson, Curator, Collecting Los Angeles

Researchers seeking insight into a range of urban policy issues including mass transportation, land use, housing, policing, workforce development, environmental protection, cultural diversity and much more will find a rich source in the Mayor Tom Bradley Administration Papers.

Tom Bradley (1917 – 1998) was the path-breaking mayor of Los Angeles from 1973 to 1993, an unprecedented time in office that has not been duplicated since the establishment of term limits in 1990. Bradley was the city’s first African American mayor; in his second successful campaign, voters rejected what a biographical press released called “overworked racial propaganda” and elected Bradley over incumbent Sam Yorty.  As stated in the 2002 Cultural Affairs Department publication, Mayors of Los Angeles, Bradley’s “staff and appointees represented the rich cultural fabric of Los Angeles.” The records are comprised of 4503 boxes from the various departments in the mayor’s office. The material provides an extraordinary view of Los Angeles during a time when the city experienced its most profound civic transformations. During Bradley’s administration power shifted, federal funds were accessed, environmental planning was undertaken, neighborhood redevelopment expanded, and the Metrorail system was conceived. Also during these years, LA experienced the highs of the 1984 Olympics and the Olympic Arts Festival and the lows of the Rodney King riots in 1992. These events and more are reflected within the Bradley collection.

It’s exciting to go through the collection and see the mayor and his staff grappling with an issue as it evolves. Take homelessness. By 1983, under President Ronald Reagan, the federal government had cut funding of the agency responsible for constructing and maintaining affordable housing; the HUD budget declined from $83 billion to $18 billion.  The U.S. faced a new crisis. Suddenly thousands of people were living on the street.  The Bradley collection contains an agenda for the mayor’s first meeting on May 17, 1983, regarding the homeless. After the Mayor’s opening remarks, a United Way researcher reports that “there are no City-owned facilities which have met the necessary health and safety requirements” to offer even temporary shelter. And the need can’t be met by existing agencies. Hopefully, the meeting notes state, “this is a temporary situation.” The folders contain federal directives on working with the Salvation Army and Department of Defense to open public emergency shelters. A handwritten note by Deputy Mayor Grace Montanez Davis reads, “I’m still staying on top of this…working to identify vacant buildings.” The collection contains records in a variety of formats, including correspondence, photographs, reports, publications, architectural drawings, audio cassette recordings, videotapes, and memorabilia. In addition to the Bradley Administration Papers, researchers may also consult the Center for Oral History’s interviews with Tom Bradley conducted in 1984 and 1996.