Title
Request Authorization for Phoenix Public Library to Accept Historic Vintage Postcard Collection
Description
Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to accept a donation of the Susan Arreola Postcard Collection, valued at $20,197 from Susan Arreola, to be housed within the Arizona Room at Burton Barr Central Library.
Report
Summary
Susan Arreola worked for a decade as an urban planner for the City of Phoenix and was an avid collector of Phoenix historic postcards. The images on the postcards depict early Phoenix life from the years surrounding Arizona statehood into the 1960s. They include: commercial and residential buildings; schools, hospitals, and churches; airport; downtown streets; canals and water features; parks and natural landmarks; farming, agriculture, and stockyards; as well as promotional images and greetings. Portions of the collection were used in several planning documents and publications, including Midcentury Marvels: Commercial Architecture of Phoenix, 1945-1975 (City of Phoenix: Historic Preservation Office, 2010). The collection, one of the largest collections of Phoenix in existence, is valued at $20,197 and consists of approximately 2,500 historic vintage postcards.
The historic vintage postcard collection will be incorporated into the Arizona Room, a special research collection at Burton Barr Central Library. The Arizona Room showcases the history and culture of greater Phoenix, Arizona, and the Southwest. These postcards will be invaluable for researchers, historians, architects, preservationists, the general public and access to the collection will be restricted to use within the Arizona Room.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
This item was recommended for approval at the Parks, Arts, Libraries and Education Subcommittee on Jan. 23, 2019, by a vote of 3-0.
Location
Burton Barr Central Library, 1221 N. Central Ave.
Council District: 7
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Deanna Jonovich and the Library Department.