Proposal for Autry Museum Meets 2nd Setback

A proposal by the wife of former singing cowboy Gene Autry to build a museum for Western memorabilia across from Griffith Park failed Friday to win the approval of a city commission. It was the second setback in six weeks for the proposed museum.

Members of the Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Commission expressed enthusiasm for the $2-million project but declined to give it even tentative approval. Commissioner Mary D. Nichol said the panel was powerless to act until the city attorney determined whether she had a conflict of interest because her husband works for a law firm hired for the proposed museum.

Jackie Autry, wife of the 77-year-old former actor who owns the California Angels baseball team, said after the meeting that she remained hopeful of winning approval for the museum.

May Go Elsewhere

But she said she will take her proposal elsewhere if the commission delays much longer. The citizen-run commission was also unable to agree on the proposal at a meeting in early February.

“I would like to have my husband see this during his lifetime,” she said. “If you are talking about delays and delays, he could conceivably be 80 before this is done.”

Autry said she will wait 45 days for the commission to approve the museum before she approaches other cities and organizations that have expressed an interest in the museum. The commission meets again on March 29. Autry said she has offers from as far away as Oklahoma City.

“It would be a shame and a loss to Southern California if we have to take the artifacts out of the state,” she said. “But these delays are costly. We lose $5,000 or $6,000 each month we delay.”

L.A. Land Leased to Burbank

The Autry Foundation, a charitable trust created by Gene Autry’s first wife, who died in 1980, proposes to build the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum on land owned by the City of Los Angeles on the south side of the Ventura Freeway by the Buena Vista Street exit. The land, part of Burbank’s Buena Vista Park, is leased to the city of Burbank.

The museum would house Western paintings, sculpture, photographs and objects collected by Gene Autry and other stars and heroes of the western era. Jackie Autry said the foundation was committed to spending $5 million to acquire museum items.

Representatives from the foundation and officials of Burbank, who tentatively agreed upon the site last fall, asked the commission to approve the museum, at least conceptually, so that Autry could hire an architect and plan for the site. Since the 6.5-acre parcel of land is legally part of Griffith Park, the commission must approve any improvements that are made.

Plea for Approval

“The City of Burbank is devoid of any kind of cultural center,” Burbank City Councilman Larry Stamper told the panel. “Share with us in this partnership. Give us the opportunity to bring this cultural museum to our cities.”

Stamper, who was Burbank’s mayor when Gene Autry first considered building a museum in the city, performed the Autrys’ marriage ceremony in 1981.

“I suggested Burbank to him,” Stamper continued. “Gene Autry made many of his movies within one mile of the location of this museum.”

Commission members said they wanted to make sure the proposed $4.95 admission price is comparable to that at similar attractions. They also wanted to make sure groups of schoolchildren would be admitted free. Nichol also suggested that the City of Burbank and the Autry Foundation find another piece of land adjacent to Griffith Park that could be “swapped” for the Buena Vista site.

Interest Emphasized

“I am worried about the park and the loss of parkland for the citizens of Los Angeles,” she said.

Commission members assured Jackie Autry, nonetheless, that they were interested in the project and asked her to pursue the proposal.

“We really want to do it but we can’t go as far as to make a commitment at this time,” said Commissioner William R. Robertson. “I hope you have enough faith in how we feel about it.”

Autry told the commission that she understood its caution but emphasized her desire to move quickly.

“My husband has always wanted three things in life,” she said. “He has wanted a World Series ring; he has wanted an Academy Award, and he has wanted a museum. I know I can’t get him the first two, but I think I can get him a museum.”