Foundation History        by Ray Grant
     The following is a summary of some of the efforts of the A. L. Flagg Foundation to have an Earth Science Museum in Phoenix. This information is from the Foundation minutes from 1963 to 1983 which are kept in the Foundation Gallery.
     The Foundation was started to obtain the Woolery collection and keep it in Arizona, but the members then decided to establish a mineral museum and earth science center in Phoenix to display the collection.
     In May 1963 the Foundation requested land for a museum in Papago Park from the Phoenix Parks Department. The Parks Department passed a motion to support a location in Papago Park if the Foundation showed "financial responsibility".  In November of 1963 the Foundation met with the Board of the Pioneer Arizona Foundation about an earth science museum at Pioneer Arizona. The minutes from 1964 say no decision has been made about where to put the museum.
     By 1965 there were some rough plans made and it was determined a building of 60,000 square feet and about one and a quarter million dollars to pay for it were needed. In December of 1965, the International Restaurant building in Carefree was available and there was consideration of purchasing it for a museum. The minutes state that it was 12 miles from Phoenix and maybe too far away. By January 1966 it was decided that the restaurant would not work.

Foundation members enjoy catering to the public at the sale tables.  We really had a great show this year, maybe the best ever!

      In June 1966 an unspecified building on East Indian School Road was available, but this also was determined as unsuitable.
     Very little is indicated as happening from 1966 to 1969.  In 1969 a joint committee with the Arizona Mining Association began to meet about a merger of the Foundation and the Mineral Museum at the Fairgrounds. The Mining Association sponsored the Museum before it became part of the Arizona Department of Mines and Mineral Resources and was operated by the State.
     In 1972, the Parks Department was still considering a site in Papago Park. In 1973, Legend City asked if there was interest in joining an entertainment complex at Legend City. 1975 saw a proposal for a museum on the campus of Grand Canyon College. None of these worked out.
     The Parks Department offered a place for a museum at the Max Delta mine site in South Mountain Park in 1977. A.L. Flagg had a claim there and had operated the mine for gold before it became a park. There was a dialog with A.S.U. about a museum on campus in 1979. Two available unspecified buildings were reported available at the 1982 annual meeting, but no details are given.
     That is the end of that set of minutes and we know that a Museum was never built and our collections are now housed in the Gallery at the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum. More history in future newsletters as I can unearth it.

The current Foundation members attend to business before the Flagg Show this year.
Photo by Bill Yedowitz.

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