History
The history of C3 is the story of a handful of citizen activists who banded together to make a difference. Originally, their goals were to be, "a Voice for Beauty" and a "Link to a Handsome Community", but soon they found themselves battling 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 C3 speaks of architects, artists, scientists, horticulturists, and concerned citizens who cared about preserving San Diego's very special environment, and discovered the only way to do so was through concerted citizen action. It is the story of the development of a group who have been called "the aesthetic conscience of the community".
C3 grew out of a comment made by architect Lloyd Ruocco in a speech at a luncheon meeting of the League of Women Voters. In his speech he spoke of San Diego’s natural beauties while expressing concern for San Diego’s “lack of coordinated planning to protect its environment and beautify its urban center”, as evidenced by the location of the luncheon itself in a Mission Valley, already beginning to show the results of careless, piecemeal development. Then he asked:
"But where are the people organized to demand and welcome this new urbanity?...who will be there with a constant demand for beauty, with instant aggressiveness against ugliness?...We need...a quick, dynamic form of organization so that those most against ugliness are all brought into contact for optimistic action."
["Notes from a talk by Lloyd Ruocco, Jan.17, 1961", CC Office Archives]
Two women in the audience, Esther Scott and Dorothea Edmiston, took up Lloyd Ruocco’s challenge and made the first steps towards bringing together the people who became the core of the organization. Most of those early members of CC, as it was called before incorporation in 1970 as “Citizens Coordinate for Century 3”, became lifelong active supporters of C3. As we move toward C3’s 50th Anniversary in 2011, we can look back on a long and successful history.
*Excerpts taken from from "C-3: the First Ten Years" by Dr. Clare Crane
