7-11 Olympic Badge - Collection of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley - gift of James L. Fecht
Modern cities and nations vie to host the Olympic Games for much the same reasons that the ancient Greeks participated in them. Although the ancient Olympiads were held at the single truce-site of Olympia, participation and winning in the spectacle's events gave important bragging rites and status to nations and states. The modern Olympic Games have done much to replace impressive cathedrals and city halls as symbols of power and influence.
The hosting the 1984 Olympic Games announced to the whole world that Los Angeles and its San Fernando Valley had arrived as a world-leading metropolis. It was no coincidence that Los Angeles became America's second most populous city and the port of Los Angeles - Long Beach became American's dominant shipping port that same year - 1984.
The Museum of the San Fernando Valley collects and archives Olympic memorabilia not just for the sake of displaying a lot of pretty buttons and souvenirs but for the purpose of understanding who we are, were and where we are going in the future. Just as children's games are children's work, so also sports and events like the Olympic Games are the work of a city.
If you can help your Museum to build its archive of materials related to the 1932 and 1984 Los Angeles based Olympic Games, please give us a call at Anchor Education Foundation. 818-347-9665
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