Document Archives Record
Metadata
Collection |
MS 76 |
Title |
Richard Amero Collection |
Object type |
Documents |
Catalog Number |
MS 76 |
Creator |
Amero, Richard |
Year Range from |
1800 |
Year Range to |
2004 |
Scope & Content |
Abstract: This collection contains nearly 300 binders of copied notes, reports, correspondence, articles, and other research material compiled by Richard Amero on many San Diego historical subjects, with an emphasis on the history of Balboa Park. Biography/History: Richard Amero was born July 16, 1924. He spent his childhood in Gloucester, Massachusetts, where his father was a carpenter. Eager for him to break with the traditional family trade, his father kept Richard away from the carpenter tools. After being released from the army, Amero decided to enroll in Black Mountain College in 1946, where his main focus was literature. After a year at Black Mountain, he enrolled at Bard College. After graduating from Bard, Amero moved to San Diego where he worked for a year at Convair in the defense industry and then in material management for forty years with the San Diego Gas and Electric Company. Though not a professional historian, Amero became enamored with the history of San Diego, particularly Balboa Park, and spent over 40 years compiling research material from numerous archives around the country and writing articles based on his research. Amero was a member of the National Association for Olmsted Parks, the Trust for Public Lands, the San Diego Natural History Museum, the San Diego Historical Society, the San Diego Zoological Society, Friends of Central Park and other organizations. He wrote for newspapers and for the National Recreation Association, and contributed to several books on the history of Balboa Park. He collected information and wrote extensively until his death on December 22, 2012. Scope and Content: This collection contains nearly 300 binders of copied notes, reports, correspondence, articles, and other research material compiled by Richard Amero on many San Diego historical subjects, with an emphasis on the history of Balboa Park. The copied research material was taken from archival collections in the Library of Congress, the Bancroft Library at the University of California in Berkeley, the Avery Fisher Library at Columbia University, libraries at Harvard and Cornell Universities, and the Olmsted Historical Site in Brookline, Massachusetts, among others. Richard Amero's own articles and other local articles and theses are also included. The collection also contains copies of letters written by architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, landscape architects John Nolen and the brothers Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. and John Charles Olmsted. There are reports from the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the Indians of San Diego County, and articles and miscellaneous material on San Diego County Indians. Other subjects include Mission San Diego de Alcala, Old Town, El Pueblo de Los Angeles State Historic Park, the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848, Horton Plaza Park, Balboa Park (including histories of the expositions and of individual museums) the United States Naval Hospital in Balboa Park, Mission Bay, International Workers of the World, San Diego public transportation and water procurement problems, San Diego Gas & Electric Company, and San Diego High School. There is also biographical information on well-known individuals, including singers Schumann-Heink and Galli-Curci, landscape architect Samuel Parsons, architect Frank P. Allen, Jr., San Diego pioneer Daniel Cleveland, aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss, and San Diego entrepreneur "Charlie" Collier. Supplementary to this collection, Richard Amero wrote additional articles on the history of Balboa Park and compiled a digital timeline of Balboa Park history from pre-1900 to 1999, which are available on the San Diego History Center website. For Container List, see Finding Aid. |
Quantity |
70 linear feet (298 volumes) |
Language |
English |
Notes |
Processed by Laura McMahon in January 2008. |
Finding Aid |
http://www.sandiegohistory.org/archives/archivalcollections/ms76/ |
Names |
Allen, Frank P. Amero, Richard, 1924-2012 California Pacific International Exposition (1935-1936: San Diego, Calif.) Cleveland, Daniel Collier, David C. Galli-Curci, Amelita, 1882-1963 Gill, Irving, 1870-1936 Goodhue, Bertram Grosvenor, 1869-1924 Mission San Diego de Alcala Morley, John Nolen, John, 1869-1937 Olmstead, John Charles, 1852-1920 Panama-California Exposition (1915-1916: San Diego, Calif.) Parsons, Samuel, 1844-1923 Perry, Allen W. San Diego High School Schumann-Heink, Ernestine, 1861-1936 Scripps, Ellen Browning, 1836-1932 Scripps, E. W. (Edwin Willis), 1854-1926 Sessions, Kate Olivia, 1857-1940 Wangenheim, Julius |