Southwest Museum 'Friends' Weigh Options in Autry Fight

Dan Wright, of the Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition, stood before a pair of easels inside the on Wednesday evening.

Written on one was a list of "non-legal" options the coalition could take in their ongoing effort to force the Autry National Center to reopen the as a fully functioning museum. On the other easel, a list of litigation options the coalition believed it could potentially pursue.

The Friends met on Wednesday evening in an effort to regroup after being dealt a at the hands of the Los Angeles City Council in their most recent effort to halt the Autry's planned renovation of its Griffith Park campus through the use of $6.6 million in California Proposition 84 funds.

The Autry National Center merged with the Southwest Museum in 2002, taking control of its historic collection and Mount Washington campus.

Coalition members have argued that the Autry has violated the terms of the merger by marginalizing the Southwest Museum and focusing its efforts on improving its Griffith Park campus.

Autry officials, though, have stated that they are currently in the process of restoring the Southwest Museum's collection and are seeking partners to ensure a "mixed use" future for the historic campus.

Whether or not the coalition was interested in working with the Autry to determine the terms of that "mixed use" future, and what they would do if they chose not to cooperate, was the primary topic of discussion on Wednesday night. 

Coalition steering committee member Nicole Possert said that, , cooperation did not seem likely.

Last week, the Autry submitted a letter to the arts, parks, health and aging committee in which it laid out conditions for a partnership through which the Southwest Museum could be reopened.

As of now, Possert said, those stipulations are at direct odds with the coalition's, as the Autry would not be willing to give a community partner access to the Southwest Museum's full collection for programming, nor allow them to retain the historic names of the Southwest Museum and the Casa de Adobe.

"As far as I'm concerned, this is the Autry's new level of commitment, which is even lower than what has been offered in the past," Possert said. "This letter cost me 2 cents to print out, and it's not even worth that."

With that in mind, the coalition discussed several options, short of filing lawsuits, that members hoped would get the media's attention, such as shining spotlights on the Southwest Museum at night or launching a YouTube campaign to tell the story of The Autry and the Southwest museum in a humorous way.

The coalition also discussed working to build relationships with members of the city council beyond those who represent Northeast Los Angeles. Members Eric Garcetti, Dennis Zine, Bill Rosendahl and Paul Koretz, all of whom spoke positively about Southwest Museum at last week's city council meeting, were pegged as potentially allies.

The group also discussed potential legal actions, including filing another California Environmental Quality Act lawsuit, on the grounds that the city improperly issued a notice of exemption for the Griffith Park renovation project; or a Brown Act lawsuit, on the grounds that the May 20 Recreation and Parks Commission meeting--during which the Autry expansion was initially approved--did not adequately detail the items to be discussed during the meeting.

For Mount Washington resident Bob Brady, the days of the coalition "nipping at the heels" of the Autry needed to end. The "Friends" needed to take a new approach.

"At what point do rational people who are trying to nibble at the heels of the Autry realize that that they are wearing steel boots and all they want to do is kick you with them?" he said. "It's time to take a different tack."