Del Amo Foundation Collection
Scope and Content
The Del Amo Foundation Collection, Los Angeles, California, reflect the operations of the Foundation over its fifty years of management and distribution of the Del Amo Foundation Educational Trust over the years 1929 through 1980. The collection was donated by the Foundation to the California State University, Dominguez Hills, in 1979. The collection arrived in 1979 and 1980 in four filing cabinets, its contents arranged alphabetically except for a number of loose items including theses, reports, books, periodicals, and ephemera. A few theses and reports have been added to the collection since 1980. Approximately 20 percent of this collection is written or published in the Spanish language.
During the 1987 organization and processing of the Administrative Files, folders were separated according to types of subject matter, including administrative files, board member files, grantee files, theses and reports, institutional grants files, and miscellaneous files. Some books and periodicals were absorbed into the Cain Educational Resource Center's general and special collections. A complete list of de-accessioned material is listed below.
At the time of this typing, only the administrative files (Series 1) have been processed. Original folder titles have been preserved wherever possible and arranged in roughly the same order used in the original Foundation files. Folders titled "Del Amo ...," which contains the core of information of the Foundation's operations, have been placed in box 1.
The Foundation Collection consist mainly of correspondence of board members, grantees, and institutions; board agendas and minutes; Foundation tax records; and theses and reports of grantees and institutions. Items of special interest in Series 1 include the Declaration of Trusts (box 1, folder 1); a brochure for the Fundación del Amo (box 1, folder 17); Dominguez Air Meet Anniversary memorabilia (box 3, folder 11); and a copy of the magazine Highway Patrolman for December, 1977, containing an article on Dr. Gregorio del Amo (box 6, folder 10). Also of interest are folders on the Fundación del Amo building (box 5, folder 8) and on the restoration of the Dominguez Homestead (box 3, folders 9 and 10).
Dates
- 1927-1984
Creator
- Del Amo Foundation (Organization)
Language of Materials
Collection material is in English and Spanish.
Access
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
History
The Del Amo Foundation was established on May 14, 1929, in Los Angeles, California, to oversee the distribution of the Del Amo Foundation Educational Grant. The Foundation was founded by Dr. Gregorio del Amo (husband of Maria Susan Delfina Dominguez of the Rancho San Pedro) as part of his interest in supporting the exchange of information between Spain and Southern California. Earlier, in 1926, Dr. del Amo authorized sufficient funds for the construction of an international residence hall at the University of Madrid in Spain. The Del Amo Foundation was established separately, though in conjunction with the completion of the residence hall, the Fundación del Amo.
The Educational Trust was used in the form of grants and fellowships to graduate students, researchers, and institutions. Trust accounts for the Trust were deposited in the Union Bank and Trust Company (trust number 657) and Title Insurance and Trust Company (trust number 8443).
The Foundation's offices were located in the Union Bank Building at 324 West Eighth Street in Los Angeles during the years 1929 to 1972. When the building was sold in 1972, the Foundation moved a block west to the Garfield Building at 403 West Eighth Street where the offices were located until 1979.
The Foundation's operations were directed by the Board of Advisors and the Board of Trustees. The Board of Advisors consisted of a minimum of five men who selected grantees, the amounts of their awards, and appointed replacements for vacancies on both boards. Original members consisted of Dr. Gregorio del Amo, Stuart O'Melveny, John O'Melveny, Francisco G. de la Riva (Marques de Villa-Alcázar), Eugenio Cabrero, Alejandro Arizcun y Moreno, and Reverend Juan Martinez de Salinas.
The Board of Trustees consisted of five members responsible for the overseeing of the Foundation's finances and trust properties, as well as the distribution of grant moneys. The Trustees were authorized to dissolve the Board of Advisors in the event that the Advisors did not satisfactorily perform their duties, although this function was never used. The original members of the Board of Trustees consisted of Francisco G. de la Riva, Eugenio Cabrero, Reverend Juan Martinez de Salinas, John O'Melveny, Stuart O'Melveny, and Alejandro Arizcun y Moreno.
The Del Amo Foundation Educational Trust was distributed to over 40 institutions and 500 fellows representing many fields. These fields included science, medicine, agriculture, mathematics, history, literature and language, art and music, and journalism.
The Foundation was officially dissolved on May 14, 1979, fifty years after its creation in accordance with the terms of the Declaration of Trust. The assets were liquidated and divided among the University of Madrid (50 percent), the University of Southern California (25 percent), and the University of California, Los Angeles (25 percent). Other smaller amounts were granted to a number of other campuses for the establishment of grants under the Foundation's name.
Extent
105 boxes (plus two unprocessed boxes)
32 Linear Feet
Abstract
This collection includes ledgers, correspondence, tax documents, newspapers, scrapbooks, photographs, theses and reports from members of the Board of Trustees, grantees, and staff of the Del Amo Foundation. Subjects include the Spanish Civil War and research and graduate study in Spain and the United States.
Arrangement
Arranged in nine series:
- Series I. Administrative Files, 1928-1984
- Series II. Board Member Files, 1928-1979
- Series III. Grantee Files, Theses and Reports, 1927-1979
- Series IV. Institutional Grant Files, 1927-1979
- Series V. Miscellaneous Correspondence Files, 1928-1979
- Series VI. Financial Documents, 1928-1980
- Series VII. Newspapers and Publications, 1946, 1955, 1965, 1972, 1975
- Series VIII. Albums and Scrapbooks, 1929-1978
- Series IX. Photographs and Objects, 1927, circa 1958, circa 1968, 1976-1979
Acquisition Information
This collection was donated to the CSU Dominguez Hills in 1979 by Secretary Eugenio Cabrero.
Separated Materials
Oversized materials from this collection are located in Map Case 2, Drawer 5.
Processing Information
The initial steps in processing this collection were taken by Susan Hikida in 1987, as part of her Masters thesis. She fully processing the Administrative Papers series and organized the rest of the collection into the current series. She also wrote a preliminary finding aid, from which much of the History and Scope and Content sections were taken.
Project Information
This finding aid was created as part of Early Los Angeles/Rancho San Pedro Manuscript Cataloging Project, a CSU Dominguez Hills Library project funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The project started in 2005. Project Director was Greg Williams. Project Archivists were Thomas Philo and Jennifer Allan Goldman.
- American students -- Spain
- Amo, Gregorio del, 1858-1941
- Cabrero, Eugenio
- California State University, Dominguez Hills
- Del Amo Foundation
- Del Amo, Jaime
- Foreign study
- Madrid (Spain)
- Spanish students
- Suances (Spain)
- Universidad Complutense de Madrid
- University of California, Los Angeles
- University of Southern California
Creator
- Del Amo Foundation (Organization)
- Title
- Inventory of the Del Amo Foundation Collection
- Status
- Partial
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Jennifer Allan Goldman
- Date
- ©2006
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- March 22, 2006: Some processing of the administrative papers occurred in 1987 as part of Susan Hikida's Master Thesis. She also created a finding aid, which can be found in the library's circulating stacks. Her detailed "History" and "Scope and Content" notes have been modified only slightly for this current finding aid.
Repository Details
Part of the California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections Repository
University Library South -5039 (Fifth Floor)
1000 E. Victoria St.
Carson CA 90747
310-243-3895
archives@csudh.edu