Davis: Transformation

By John Lofland

Davis has undergone a major transformation from the mid-20th century to today, growing from a small college town of about 3,000 residents and 1,500 students to a world-class university city of 80,000 area residents and 35,000 students. Major features of this revolution include the creation of a vibrant downtown, environmentally sensitive politics, diverse and innovative neighborhoods, and a citywide system of bike lanes. A thriving University of California at Davis campus was the economic dynamo that attracted talented students and faculty. Their environmentalist values spurred innovations in solar energy, waste recycling, bicycle infrastructure, subsidized public transit, energy-saving construction, and farm-to-fork localization of food supplies, among other new civic directions that remain an essential part of the city's culture today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: May 9, 2016
• ISBN: 9781439656068

John Lofland

Since retiring as a UC Davis professor emeritus in 1994, John Lofland has researched the city's past. His publications on the topic include two books with Arcadia, Davis: 1910s-1940s and Davis: Radical Changes, Deep Constants. Photographs are drawn from many institutional archives and diverse personal collections, including the author's extensive holdings.

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93)

IMAGES

of Modern America

DAVIS

TRANSFORMATION

John Lofland

Copyright © 2016 by John Lofland

ISBN 978-1-4671-1578-0

Ebook ISBN 9781439656068

Published by Arcadia Publishing

Charleston, South Carolina

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015948907

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DAVIS HIGH, LOOKING NORTHEAST, 1968. This new high school campus on Fourteenth Street opened in 1960 and is still raw in 1968. The also newly built Hunt’s canning plant is at center in the distance. As is evident, such familiar subdivisions as Covell Park and La Buena Vida would be developed in the (near) future. (Courtesy of Linda York, Davis High School Library.)

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In studying Davis history, my largest debt is to Phyllis Haig, founder and director of the Hattie Weber Museum of Davis. She enthusiastically tutored me for many years, and I could not have made my way without her help. This book is dedicated to her and all the royalties accrue to her museum.

Hattie Weber Museum of Davis director Dennis Dingemans and I started this book together, but other obligations made it necessary for him to withdraw. Even so, his work abides, and with his permission and without specific credit, I have retained sections of text he drafted for a fair number of captions. He also reviewed the book in draft form and made many helpful suggestions I have been happy to adopt. City of Davis public relations manager Bob Bowen shared his office’s photograph collection, and I am enormously thankful for his support, especially including a detailed critique of the draft text that spotted many errors and ambiguities. Assisted by Tom Crisp, Yolo County archivist Meredith Sarmento expertly identified and scanned images in that archive. Sara Gunasekara, Jenny Hodge, and Liz Phillips of UC Davis Special Collections were wonderfully energetic and effective in responding to my requests for materials.

I could not have assembled this book or much of anything else without the companionship and loving criticism of my spouse, Lyn H. Lofland.

Unless otherwise noted, images come from my personal collection. When an acronym appears in parentheses at the end of an image’s caption, it identifies that image as having come from the corresponding source as listed below. I am very indebted to the following people and organizations for their help in acquiring images, for permission to use one or more images, and for their moral support: Neal Benezra, Robert Arneson, Des Moines Art Center, 1986 (NB); Blue and White, Davis High School yearbook (BW); Bob Bowen (BB); Stephen Bristow, City of Davis (SBCOD); Mark Bullard (MB); Robert N. Campbell photographs, UC Davis Special Collections (RCSC); Clare Childers photographs, Yolo County Archives (CCYCA); City of Davis (COD); Manny Crisostomo (MC); Davis Enterprise (DE); Davis American Youth Soccer Organization, Region 218 (DAYSO); Debbie Davis (DeD); Dennis Dingemans (DD); El Macero County Club (EMCC); El Rodeo, UC Davis yearbook (ER); David Greenwald, the Davis Vanguard (DGDV); Jon Hammond; Miriam Hummel Estate and Elizabeth Sherwin (MH); Ken Kemmerling (KK); Jeffrey Leacox (JL); Robert Liebman, Orpheus Books (RL); Bill Martin, Martin Energetics (BM); Maureen Poole and Penny Pyle, Davis Joint Unified School District (DJUSD); Dave Rosenberg (DR); Mel Russell photographs, Yolo County Archives (MRYCA); Paul K. Stumpf slide show, UC Davis Special Collections (PSSC); UC Davis Special Collections (SC); Wayne Tilcock (WT); Richard Walters photographs, Yolo County Archives (RWYCA); Shipley Walters photographs, Yolo County Archives (SWYCA); Yolo County Archives (YCA); and Linda York, Davis High School Library (LYDHS).

INTRODUCTION

If I were required to use only one word to describe Davis between about 1960 and today, that word would be transformation.

Between the middle of the last century and now, Davis has evolved from a small college town of some 3,000 residents and 1,500 students to a world-class university city of some 80,00 area residents and 35,00 students.

Major features of this revolution included creation of a vibrant downtown, a fresh style of environmentally sensitive politics, diverse neighborhoods, and a first-in-history citywide system of bike lanes, among other innovative changes.

Communities vary in the severity of the economic and social difficulties versus the opportunities presented to them. Over the decades after World War II, Davis was unusual in having many more opportunities than difficulties.

A thriving University of California at Davis campus was the economic dynamo that attracted talented students and faculty. Their environmentalist values spurred innovations