Southwest Museum Head Quits : Merger Talks With Other Museum Told

The director of the Southwest Museum has resigned amid negotiations to merge the 80-year-old institution specializing in Native American artifacts with the County Museum of Natural History.

The resignation of Patrick Houlihan and the existence of merger talks were confirmed Wednesday by Houlihan and other sources both on the Southwest Museum’s board of directors and at the natural history museum.

The merger, should it occur, would represent one of the most significant museum takeovers in Southern California and end the independence of the Southwest Museum, which houses one of the most famous collections of its type in the world.

Houlihan confirmed that he opposed the takeover. “I’m not in favor of a merger,” he said. “That’s safe to say.”

Both disclosure of Houlihan’s departure, which is effective at the end of the month, and the possibility of a merger--which could take effect within six months--were unexpected since the Southwest Museum celebrated its 80th anniversary last month at a gala attended by dozens of prominent persons and politicians and had appeared to have largely overcome financial troubles that led to some cutbacks and layoffs in March.

James Gilson, an attorney representing the natural history museum’s foundation, confirmed that “there have been discussions” about a merger. However, Gilson emphasized that “they’re preliminary. They have not focused on a particular way to have the two institutions affiliate. The question is now how could it work and, indeed, if it should work.”

While merger discussions have been predicated on the assumption the Southwest Museum collection would remain intact and housed in its current facilities in the Mt. Washington district of Los Angeles, sources involved in the negotiations said the Museum of Natural History, which is in Exposition Park, is considering the eventual relocation of some Southwest Museum artifacts to a proposed new facility in the Sepulveda Basin of the San Fernando Valley. The natural history museum’s Valley facility is still in the preliminary planning stages.

While members of the Southwest Museum board agreed the merger talks are nowhere near complete, the issue has caused a split among its members.

One wing, led by board Chairman Dr. Norman Sprague, who helped initiate the merger talks, favors the takeover and apparently controls enough votes at the moment to effect it. A second group of board members, led by Unocal Corp. Chairman Fred Hartley, favors a public and private fund-raising campaign to increase the museum’s endowment by between $10 million and $15 million and continue to operate the facility independently.

Both Sprague and Hartley were said to be out of town and unavailable to discuss the situation.

However, Robert McCarthy, a museum board member and merger opponent, was highly critical of the circumstances that led to Houlihan’s resignation, which reportedly was formally submitted early last month. While the resignation is effective Nov. 30, Houlihan said he had agreed to stay on for a transition period while the museum attempts to find a replacement.

McCarthy said the merger talks were initiated by the County Museum of Natural History Foundation, a private philanthropic group that raises funds for the museum, and the executive committee of the Southwest Museum’s board. But he said the full board was not informed of the negotiations until a few days before the early October celebration of the Southwest Museum’s 80th anniversary. Both museums have reportedly turned over some aspects of the merger negotiations to their respective attorneys.

“We have some serious (operating financial) problems at the institution,” McCarthy said. “But what we need to do is get it in shape, not do open heart surgery. It can be made healthy again without a major operation.”

The museum has been housed in its present facility since 1913. It is one the few major museums in the country specializing in Native American art, artifacts and anthropology. When Houlihan arrived in 1981, he began a modernization program that has led to major renovations and enhanced the museum’s prestige.

McCarthy said, however, that ongoing problems in raising operating funds had put the museum in a difficult position. In cutbacks last March, Houlihan even had to limit access by outside scholars to the museum’s library facilities. The library was reopened after the museum received a grant from television preacher Gene Scott.

Houlihan said the museum expects a $200,000 deficit this year on a budget of about $900,000.

“Houlihan has been a breath of fresh air,” McCarthy said. “They (the board faction that has endorsed the county museum takeover so far) have chewed him up. Houlihan brought credibility to an institution that was the warehouse on the hill. He took something in a dismal condition and brought it back to the level of excellence that is enjoys now.”

If the Southwest Museum does merge with the Museum of Natural History, Houlihan said, there would almost certainly be layoffs among the 38 full-time and part-time employees. Houlihan said he assumed that any takeover of the museum would also involve the nearby Casa de Adobe.