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Created
in 1961 from a vision articulated by architect Lloyd Ruocco, made
real by “founding mothers” Esther Scott and Dorothea Edmiston,
C-3 has provided a conduit and a framework for citizen education
and participation in community and regional planning, growth and
growth management, historical and environmental preservation, parks
and open space, and many other still familiar issues during an amazing
45 years.
C-3's
Beginnings
excerpts
from
C-3 - The First Ten Years
by Clare Crane
The
history of Citizens Coordinate is the story of a handful of citizen
activists who banded together and made a difference. They started
out in 1961 to be a “voice for Beauty” and a “Link
to a Handsome Community.” But they soon found themselves doing
battle with the outdoor advertising industry, the California Division
of Highways, the City Council, the Christian Anti-Communist Crusade,
Mission Valley developers, and proponents of high-rise construction
in La Jolla.
The story of Citizens Coordinate is about a group of architects,
artists, scientists, horticulturists and concerned citizens who
cared about preserving San Diego's very special environment, and
discovered that the only way to do so was through concerted citizen
action, community planning, land use and zoning ordinances, and
purchase of open space. It is the story of the development of a
group that Harold Keen called “the aesthetic conscience of
the community” (San Diego Magazine Sept 1966). In 1969, Citizens
Coordinate became “Citizens Coordinate for Century Three,”
or C-3, in recognition of the City of San Diego's entry into its
third century.
The founders of Citizens Coordinate in 1961 were Lloyd Ruocco, arguably
the most influential architect in San Diego in the 1950s and 60s,
and Esther Scott, a Smith College graduate and horticulturist who
provided the organizational skills to bring Ruocco's vision of a
coalition of concerned citizens into being.
Ruocco kept 'open house' at his office after work, welcoming a free-wheeling
discussion group composed of artists, architects, and critics. In
a 1975 interview with architecture critic Kay Kaiser, Ruocco recalled
these conversations as a prelude to Citizens Coordinate: “Everybody
came at whatever time they could and there were no rules or order...[people
would] start to go-have their coats on-and then come back and talk
some more...There was new energy for everybody. We didn't get into
anything precise until halfway down the first year. We realized
we had to have some kind of standard. My idea was 'How could you
make cities that were fit to life in?' That was a subject without
limits.“
Ruocco continued to raise the most piercing question of all: “How
can you make cities that are fit to live in? ” For that, he
knew he needed help. In January 1961, Ruocco gave a rousing speech
at a luncheon meeting of the League of Women Voters…[lauding]
San Diego's unique geographic situation and natural beauty, but
[attacking] its lack of coordinated planning to protect the environment
and beautify its urban center. “We resemble just a good construction
camp, “ he said, “enough preparation to do a big job,
enough careless mess to incite us to action.“ Ruocco proposed
formation of a group made up of representatives of organizations
like the American Institute of Architects, American Society of Landscape
Architects, San Diego Art Guild, other arts and crafts groups, and
civic-minded groups like the League of Women Voters.
Citizens Coordinate held its first meeting in the House of Hospitality
in Balboa Park, and subsequent board meetings took place in Ruocco's
office. |
Issues
Timeline
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Breakfast Dialogues
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