UCLA History: Vermont Graduation
Photo shows a UCLA graduation ceremony in 1927 at the former Vermont Avenue campus.
UCLA
On the Japanese Garden: Let’s Hear It from the Top
OK. It appears – after the embarrassing LA Timesarticle yesterday on the Japanese Garden proposed sale by UCLA – that the ship has run aground.* We have angry heirs of a donor, a major Regent of his time. We may discourage future donors because of this episode. We have a statement that it was not the intent to destroy the garden, but – in contrast to that statement – the removal of objects from it in an amateur way. And it is unclear that folks at the Fowler Museum want those objects. There are angry neighborhood groups and concerned preservation…
LA Times Picks Up Japanese Garden Story: Not the Best PR for UCLA
Excerpts from the LA Times article below and link to the full article: For nearly half a century, the UCLA Hannah Carter Japanese Garden in Bel-Air has served as a serene stopover for visitors from locations as varied as Newhall, Nashville and the Netherlands. But the decision by UCLA to sell the steep hillside property and an adjoining house to raise money for endowments and professorships has the garden world in an un-Zen-like uproar. The Garden Conservancy, an organization based in New York and San Francisco, has lambasted the university’s transfer to the Fowler Museum of a five-tiered stone pagoda…
Eye Witness Report Concerning Removals of Objects from the Japanese Garden
In a previous blog entry, we published photos by astronomer R. Michael Rich showing the removal of art objects from the UCLA Japanese garden which is proposed for sale. I invited Dr. Rich to write up his version of what occurred when he visited the Garden area where the removals are taking place. It might be noted that the UCLA Faculty Association has taken no position on this action by UCLA. But blog readers will have an interest in recent events. Below is Dr. Rich’s report: ================= R. Michael Rich I am writing concerning my encounter with Brad Erickson and reporters…
Hotel Rumors
Rumors are floating around about a change in the possible bond funding arrangements for the proposed campus hotel/conference center. Possibly, alternative bonds – presumably not tax-favored muni bonds – would be used, thus allowing commercial use of the hotel. That step would put the hotel in direct competition with Westside commercial hotels, of course, raising the level of opposition from them. Since the hotel would still be subsidized – free land, no property tax, donor gift – such competition would be controversial. Would local hotel taxes be paid? Parking for a full service operation? Traffic flowing into campus for a…
Removals of Objects from Japanese Garden Began Today
UCLA Research Astronomer R. Michael Rich took these two photos of an object being removed from the Japanese Garden today. He reports that non-expert personnel are involved in the removals. He identifies the object as follows: Japanese Square Stone Water Basin, a Buddhist carving dating from the 15th or 16th Century, Object #19 in the catalog you can find an earlier post on the Garden issue. See the catalog at http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/01/info-on-plans-for-japanese-garden.html UPDATE: The Daily Bruin picked up the story http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/article/2012/01/ucla_moving_toward_sale_of_hannah_carter_japanese_garden_in_bel_air
UCLA History: Home Economics
Home economics course at UCLA’s Vermont Avenue campus in 1923.
UCLA History: Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King, Jr. on campus with UCLA Chancellor Murphy, April 27, 1965
A Different Meaning of Occupy at UCLA-Santa Monica Hospital
An earlier blog posting noted that the construction fencing had come down around the UCLA Santa Monica hospital’s new wing. According to the Santa Monica Mirror, there was an actual move-in of patients a week ago – the wing was officially occupied: There was a hive of activity at the new UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica on Sunday as it officially opened its doors. As part of the opening, about 125 adult and pediatric patients were carefully transported into new hospital buildings on the Santa Monica campus, as well as the existing Merle Norman Pavilion… Full article at http://www.smmirror.com/#mode=single&view=33878 The…
Info on Plans for Japanese Garden Objects
UCLA provided a listing with pictures of various objects – with valuations – located at the Japanese Garden to the California Garden & Landscape History Society. The first page of the listing is shown above. Apparently, the original plan was to remove and perhaps sell all the objects. Now it appears that three objects will be removed and put in the Fowler Museum collection on campus. Numbers 11, 21, and 22 on the listing (see link below) are definitely to go to Fowler. Numbers 2 and 19 will, for the moment, remain in the garden and might later be removed…