New Exhibit Chronicles Development of Irvine

Daniel Aldrich, III and Larry Agran to speak at opening night event on May 11

The Libraries' spring exhibit, Irvine: the Vision, the Plan, the Promise, chronicles the origins and development of three community pillars: the City of Irvine, Irvine Company and the University of California Irvine; and how each played a key role in the evolution of Irvine into a nationally recognized model planned community.

In the early 1960s, noted architect William L. Pereira joined with Raymond L. Watson, a visionary chief planner for the Irvine Company, to craft the master plan that led to a new community on Irvine Ranch property. Materials in the Libraries' new exhibit provide context for how the plans and promises for a new city became a reality. Artifacts and planning documents from the UC Irvine Libraries' Orange County collection, and papers from the Raymond L. Watson Archive housed in the Libraries' Special Collections, will be on display, as well as original brochures and advertisements marketing the new city, and images of the undeveloped site for UC Irvine.

Artifacts and planning documents from the UC Irvine Libraries' Orange County collection, and papers from the Raymond L. Watson archive housed in the Libraries' Special Collections, will be on display

The exhibit begins with the 1959 William L. Pereira and Associates report, which was presented to the UC Regents and Irvine Company, and made way for the establishment of UC Irvine. It concludes with the incorporation of Irvine in 1971. Yvonne Wilson, UCI Research Librarian for California and Orange County Government Information, is the curator.

The opening night event will be held on May 11 at 5:30 p.m. in Langson Library and will feature a talk titled, "Reflections on Irvine at 40" by UCI's Interim Vice Chancellor for University Advancement, Daniel G. Aldrich, III, and City of Irvine Councilmember Larry Agran. A special tribute to Ray Watson will be made during the program.

Daniel Aldrich, the son and namesake of UC Irvine's founding Chancellor, has over 30 years of service to the University of California. Before coming to UCI he served in a variety of capacities, including nearly 20 years as chief development officer at UC Santa Cruz, and as UC-wide consultant in the UC Office of the President.

Councilmember Agran, a graduate of UC Berkeley as well as Harvard Law School, has nearly 25 years of service in Irvine, including 10 years as Mayor and multiple terms on the City Council. During that time, Irvine has received national recognition for its pioneering programs in child care, affordable housing, recycling and open space preservation. He was especially active in working to promote creation of the Orange County Great Park.

A reception and exhibit viewing will follow the presentation. The event is free and open to the public. Space is limited; reservations are first come, first served. Please go to https://partners.lib.uci.edu/irvineexhibit to make an online reservation. For further information please call 949.824.4651 or email partners@uci.edu.

The exhibit will be on display through October 2011 in the Langson Library Reynolds Gallery during regular library hours.