Business Polish May Take Shine to City’s ‘Jewels’ : Olympic Plan Revived to Aid Tarnished Treasures

Even if you can’t buy the Brooklyn Bridge, you may be able to adopt the Griffith Observatory.

In an effort to seek private support, the City of Los Angeles kicked off a program Wednesday aimed at raising $25 million to $50 million to spruce up, expand and update seven of the city’s largest, most used and now deteriorating attractions.

The city’s Department of Recreation and Parks is seeking corporate sponsors for the Point Fermin Lighthouse, the Los Angeles Maritime Museum, the Cabrillo Marine Museum, the Banning Residence and Museum, Travel Town and the Los Angeles Zoo, besides the observatory.

A Lure to Corporations

“These are our crown jewels,” said David Peterson, grants administrator for the parks department. “Some of them are a bit tarnished now and need some polishing. And that requires money.”

So, the city is hoping to lure corporate sponsors in much the same way as the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee did for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games.

“The linking of municipal and corporate resources has produced some wonderful results in the past,” said Mayor Tom Bradley in announcing the three-year program. It will be called LAndmarks ’90.

“The department has always raised money from private sources,” said James Hadaway, general manager of the parks department. But in the past, he said, “people gave for philanthropic reasons. This is a different approach; there will be something in it for the companies.”

Although the city’s marketing consultant firm, MetroCom, says the commercial tie-ins will be done with “taste and elegance,” the benefits to sponsors could range from plaques on the various facilities to their using the names or likenesses of the attractions in corporate marketing campaigns.

The seven facilities combined attract more than 4 million visitors a year. The observatory and zoo host more than 1.6 million visitors each and rank in eighth and ninth positions respectively among Southland tourist attractions.

Among the projects the city wants to tackle are a complete restoration of the Fermin Lighthouse so that the 113-year-old structure can be opened as a museum; renovation of the Banning Residence and the addition of several new structures including a carriage house; expansion of the Maritime Museum’s research library and construction of new dock space for visiting ships, and new exhibit space and creation of a mobile museum for the Cabrillo Marine Museum.

At the Griffith Observatory, officials are planning a multimillion-dollar redesign to create a state-of-the-art facility. Travel Town, also in Griffith Park, wants to restore its Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe motorcar so that it can become an amusement ride. The attraction also plans to build an exhibit hall for its $6-million train collection.

Needs at the Zoo

The zoo, already supported by the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn., needs a redesigned animal hospital, including an operating room for larger animals. It also plans to enlarge its gorilla exhibit.

So far, no corporate sponsors have been lined up, but talks are underway with several banks, aerospace firms, insurance companies and a trucking firm.

Earlier this year, New York city began a similar “adopt-a-monument” program, in which private sponsors were sought to take over renovation and care of 20 deteriorated city statues. Thus far, 13 statues have been adopted. But New York’s program is on a much smaller scale than Los Angeles’: The first 13 projects to be funded only required a combined total of $605,750, said Paul Gunther, director of development for the Municipal Art Society, a century old cultural and civic organization that spearheaded the effort.

In Los Angeles, Bradley already sees possibilities for growth in the new program. “If it works out, maybe we’ll sell off the council chamber to raise a little money,” he joked.