The Museum SFV Speaker Series Shel Weisbach, Historian
Valley Buildings (& more) That Make Us Smile Wonder and Appreciate
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm $10/pp RSVP in advance at EVENTBRITE
Or okay to walk-in - please call us at 818-347-9665 to let us know you are attending.
Hold on as we take a rollercoaster journey to imaginative and harshly real SFV sites that lead to emotion-and-thought-provoking reactions with emphasis on roadside diners and vendors, public art and architecture, cultural and political correctness, humanity and poverty, coincidences, inconvenient spellings, the space age sci-fi, rails and sails.
Event at The Museum SFV 18860 Nordhoff St. #204 Northridge, CA 91324
Free parking Elevator access
Saturday, June 23, 2019
The Museum SFV Historic Walking Tour - Van Nuys Bill Carpenter, Docent
2:00 pm - 3:30 pm $10/pp RSVP in advance at EVENTBRITE
Or okay to walk-up - please call us at 818-347-9665 to let us know you are attending.
The development entity known as The Syndicate began the process in 1910, but William Paul Whitsett saw it through to the end. Originally a barley field, Van Nuys became a prosperous center of City Government, agriculture and industry.
Come explore what remains to be appreciated: original 1911 buildings hidden beneath modern facades, first churches, a civic center with many special revelations, one of the main hubs of social and official activity, the Women's Club building, Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monuments #201, #202, and #911, and National Register of Historic Places Monument #2509.
Meet a little before 2:00 pm
6262 Van Nuys Blvd. Van Nuys, CA 91401 Marvin Braude Constituency Center - Under Arch
Saturday, June 29, 2019
LA-96C Nike Missile Control Site Tour and Presentation Franky Ortega, History Teacher
10:00 pm - 11:30 pm $10/pp RSVP in advance at EVENTBRITE
Or okay to walk-up - please call us at 818-347-9665 to let us know you are attending.
Meet a little before 10:00 am at: San Vicente Mountain Park 17500 Mulholland Dr Los Angeles, CA 90049
Map and Directions
San Fernando Valley: Ventura Fwy (101) to Balboa Blvd exit. South (right) on Balboa Blvd. for 0.75 mile. East (left) onVentura Blvd for 0.5 mile and turn south (right) on Hayvenhurst Ave. for 1.5 miles then west (right) on Encino Hills Dr. Veer left on Mulholland Dr. Park is at the end of the road.
(With the park, it is in Brentwood - from the valley, folks call it in Encino - FYI) Meet at 9:50 Presentation at 10:00 am plus Q&A - The presentation will last one hour to 90 minutes with discussion and Q&A.
Please join us, bring a friend and enjoy The Museum SFV programming on behalf of Museum members, valley residents and visitors.
The Museum SFV is pleased to add this tour and presentation for Museum members and guests.
Franky Ortega, teacher, specialist on valley history related to the military and a The Museum SFV board member, will lead an interesting discussion at the location.
We are only going to provide a bit of history here so you will enjoy hearing the rest in person.
LA-96C was one of 16 Nike Missile Control Sites operated by the Army from the 1950s to the 1970s. These batteries circled the Los Angeles basin in what was called a “Ring of Supersonic Steel." The headquarters for the program was located in San Pedro’s Fort MacArthur. Few Angelenos were aware that many, many of nuclear missiles at military bases near their homes, their schools, and their parks, ready to be fired.
What's with the name Nike? Well, the Army named their first anti-aircraft surface to air missile program after the Greek goddess of Victory, Nike.
Location: San Vicente Mountain Park 17500 Mulholland Dr Los Angeles, CA 90049
Map and Directions
San Fernando Valley: Ventura Fwy (101) to Balboa Blvd exit. South (right) on Balboa Blvd. for 0.75 mile. East (left) onVentura Blvd for 0.5 mile and turn south (right) on Hayvenhurst Ave. for 1.5 miles then west (right) on Encino Hills Dr. Veer left on Mulholland Dr. Park is at the end of the road. (With the park, it is in Brentwood - from the valley, folks call it in Encino - FYI) Meet at 9:50 am Presentation at 10:00 am plus Q&A -
The presentation will last one hour to 90 minutes with discussion and Q&A.
Please wear proper shoes, a hat and bring some water. The Museum will have some beverages/water available at the top. (With the park, it is in Brentwood - from the valley, folks call it in Encino - FYI On the other side, you will walk up fire road from Mandeville Canyon). Cost: $10/pp; PLEASE RSVP and pay in advance via EventBrite.
Walk-up attendees are welcome. Canines are free to listen in too...
We would appreciate advance notice for this special event by calling 818-347-9665 or info@TheMuseumSFV.org and let us you will be attending.
Please bring a friend or two to this interesting place and bit of Cold War history in the valley and southern CA.
Monday, June 10, 2019
In 1969, a three-day festival that drew almost 200,000 fans of rock, folk and blues music descended upon Northridge when California State University, Northridge (CSUN) was the San Fernando Valley State College.
Concert performers included Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, Jethro Tull, Ike & Tina Turner, Three Dog Night and many others. This significant San Fernando Valley event, the precursor to Woodstock, was unfortunately overshadowed by other artistic, political and social events of that historical summer. This event was the Newport ’69 Pop Festival at Devonshire Downs.
In remembrance of this festival and in honor of its 50th anniversary, The Museum of the San Fernando Valley, the San Fernando Valley Arts & Cultural Center and CSUN are hosting a project which will include an exhibition of photos, artifacts and oral histories of the time and event, as well as a possible concert and pre-concert events.
To that end, The Museum is asking its patrons for photographs, videos, and/or artifacts of or from the Newport ’69 Pop Festival at Devonshire Downs or stories of individuals who attended the event to help us develop a comprehensive exhibit as a remembrance for the public. This will include identifying individuals who wish to participate in The Museum’s oral history program by documenting their story on video.
If you have any such photos, artifacts or contacts to help us develop this extraordinary exhibit, please contact The Museum’s Vice President, Jackie Langa, and send her an email at Jackie.Langa@TheMuseumSFV.org or call her at The Museum (818) 347-9665 and leave a message and she will return your call as soon as possible.
We appreciate your continued patronage of The Museum and hope we can serve your needs to celebrate San Fernando Valley history, arts and culture in an educational and enjoyable form.
Thank you.
Jackie Langa Vice President The Museum of the San Fernando Valley
The Museum SFV 18860 Nordhoff St. #204 Northridge, CA 91324-3885
During World War II (1939-1945), the Battle of Normandy, which lasted from June 1944 to August 1944, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control.
Codenamed Operation Overlord, the battle began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. Prior to D-Day, the Allies conducted a large-scale deception campaign designed to mislead the Germans about the intended invasion target. By late August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated, and by the following spring the Allies had defeated the Germans. The Normandy landings have been called the beginning of the end of war in Europe.
Preparing for D-Day
After World War II began, Germany invaded and occupied northwestern France beginning in May 1940. The Americans entered the war in December 1941, and by 1942 they and the British (who had been evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk in May 1940 after being cut off by the Germans in the Battle of France) were considering the possibility of a major Allied invasion across the English Channel. The following year, Allied plans for a cross-Channel invasion began to ramp up. In November 1943, Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), who was aware of the threat of an invasion along France’s northern coast, put Erwin Rommel (1891-1944) in charge of spearheading defense operations in the region, even though the Germans did not know exactly where the Allies would strike. Hitler charged Rommel with finishing the Atlantic Wall, a 2,400-mile fortification of bunkers, landmines and beach and water obstacles.
In January 1944, General Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969) was appointed commander of Operation Overlord. In the months and weeks before D-Day, the Allies carried out a massive deception operation intended to make the Germans think the main invasion target was Pas-de-Calais (the narrowest point between Britain and France) rather than Normandy. In addition, they led the Germans to believe that Norway and other locations were also potential invasion targets. Many tactics were used to carry out the deception, including fake equipment; a phantom army commanded by George Patton and supposedly based in England, across from Pas-de-Calais; double agents; and fraudulent radio transmissions.
A Weather Delay: June 5, 1944 Eisenhower selected June 5, 1944, as the date for the invasion; however, bad weather on the days leading up to the operation caused it to be delayed for 24 hours. On the morning of June 5, after his meteorologist predicted improved conditions for the following day, Eisenhower gave the go-ahead for Operation Overlord. He told the troops: “You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you.”
Later that day, more than 5,000 ships and landing craft carrying troops and supplies left England for the trip across the Channel to France, while more than 11,000 aircraft were mobilized to provide air cover and support for the invasion.
D-Day Landings: June 6, 1944
By dawn on June 6, thousands of paratroopers and glider troops were already on the ground behind enemy lines, securing bridges and exit roads. The amphibious invasions began at 6:30 a.m. The British and Canadians overcame light opposition to capture beaches codenamed Gold, Juno and Sword, as did the Americans at Utah Beach. U.S. forces faced heavy resistance at Omaha Beach, where there were over 2,000 American casualties. However, by day’s end, approximately 156,000 Allied troops had successfully stormed Normandy’s beaches. According to some estimates, more than 4,000 Allied troops lost their lives in the D-Day invasion, with thousands more wounded or missing.
Less than a week later, on June 11, the beaches were fully secured and over 326,000 troops, more than 50,000 vehicles and some 100,000 tons of equipment had landed at Normandy.
For their part, the Germans suffered from confusion in the ranks and the absence of celebrated commander Rommel, who was away on leave. At first, Hitler, believing the invasion was a feint designed to distract the Germans from a coming attack north of the Seine River, refused to release nearby divisions to join the counterattack. Reinforcements had to be called from further afield, causing delays. He also hesitated in calling for armored divisions to help in the defense. Moreover, the Germans were hampered by effective Allied air support, which took out many key bridges and forced the Germans to take long detours, as well as efficient Allied naval support, which helped protect advancing Allied troops.
In the ensuing weeks, the Allies fought their way across the Normandy countryside in the face of determined German resistance, as well as a dense landscape of marshes and hedgerows. By the end of June, the Allies had seized the vital port of Cherbourg, landed approximately 850,000 men and 150,000 vehicles in Normandy, and were poised to continue their march across France. Victory in Normandy
By the end of August 1944, the Allies had reached the Seine River, Paris was liberated and the Germans had been removed from northwestern France, effectively concluding the Battle of Normandy. The Allied forces then prepared to enter Germany, where they would meet up with Soviet troops moving in from the east.
The Normandy invasion began to turn the tide against the Nazis. A significant psychological blow, it also prevented Hitler from sending troops from France to build up his Eastern Front against the advancing Soviets. The following spring, on May 8, 1945, the Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. Hitler had committed suicide a week earlier, on April 30.
