Raymond L. Watson papers, 1954-2010

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Summary

Abstract:
This collection comprises the extant files of Raymond L. Watson (1926-2012), former President and CEO of the Irvine Company. Beginning in 1960, Watson served the company as Architect Planner, Vice President of Planning, Senior Vice President of the Land Development Division, Executive Vice President, and Vice Chairman, as well as in other positions until his retirement in 2003. Included in the collection are Watson's speeches, correspondence, and writings; Irvine Company records, publications, and reports; subject files relating to the Irvine Company, the Irvine Ranch, the City of Irvine, the University of California, Irvine, and Orange County, California (including Upper Newport Bay); and professional files on topics such as city planning, housing, and new towns. Of particular interest are Watson's own writings on community development and the City of Irvine.
Extent:
15.8 Linear Feet (32 boxes and one oversize folder)
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

Raymond L. Watson Papers. MS-R120. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.

For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection comprises the extant files of Raymond L. Watson (1926-2012), former president and CEO of the Irvine Company. Included in the collection are Watson's speeches, correspondence, and writings; Irvine Company records, publications, and reports; subject files relating to the Irvine Company, the Irvine Ranch, the City of Irvine, the University of California, Irvine, and Orange County, California; and professional files on topics such as city planning, housing, and new towns. Of particular interest are Watson's own writings on planning, community development, and the City of Irvine.

The materials in this collection were personally collected by Watson over the years. They represent his very selective record of topics of particular interest, rather than a complete record of his professional work and activities. The official records of his various positions with the Irvine Company remain with the Company.

Biographical / historical:
Chronology
Date Event
1926
Raymond L. Watson born in Seattle, WA
1951
Receives B.A. in Architecture from UC Berkeley
1953
Receives M.A. in Architecture from UC Berkeley
1960
Joins The Irvine Company as chief planner
1964
Named Vice President, Planning for The Irvine Company
1966
Named Vice President, Land Development Division of The Irvine Company
1968
Named Senior Vice President, Land Development Division of The Irvine Company
1970
Named Executive Vice President of The Irvine Company
1973
Named Acting CEO upon death of William R. Mason
1973
Appointed President and CEO by The Irvine Company board
1977
Resigns from The Irvine Company
1977
Co-founds Newport Development Company, serves as president and partner
1983
Named Vice Chairman of the Board, The Walt Disney Company
1983
Named Chairman of the Board, The Walt Disney Company
1983
Rejoins Board of The Irvine Company
1984
Resigns as Chairman of The Walt Disney Company
1986
Named Vice Chairman of The Irvine Company
2003
Retires from The Irvine Company, remains a board member
2004
Donates his papers to UCI Libraries
2005
Pedestrian bridge at UCI named Raymond L. Watson Bridge
2011
Donates an additional portion of his papers to UCI Libraries
2012
Watson passes away on October 20, 2012 in Newport Beach, California at the age of 86.

Raymond L. Watson, former president of The Irvine Company, began his career with The Irvine Company in September 1960. With the exception of the years 1977 to 1983, was continuously involved with the company in various capacities.

With landholdings encompassing over 90,000 acres, The Irvine Company's origins date to 1864, when James Irvine I established the Irvine Ranch upon acquiring 185 square miles of Mexican and Spanish land grants. His son, James Irvine II, incorporated the holdings in 1894, founding The Irvine Company.

Born in Seattle, Washington, on October 4, 1926, Watson was raised in Oakland, California and attended UC Berkeley, where he received a B.A. in Architecture in 1951 and an M.A. in Architecture in 1953. Stan Ott, planning director of the City of Stockton, California, gave Watson his first job planning a civic center for the City. In 1960, Ott, who then worked at The Irvine Company, hired Watson to be the first manager of planning. In that role, Watson was instrumental in the early years of development of the Irvine Ranch and the City of Irvine.

Under his guidance, the City of Irvine became a model planned community, with award-winning housing developments such as Woodbridge and Westpark, complemented by the City's many parks, trails, open spaces, and commercial developments.

Watson moved up the ranks through various vice president positions, and in 1973 was named president and CEO, positions he held until his resignation in 1977. From 1983 to 2004, Watson was a member of the board at Walt Disney Company, serving as its chairman from 1983 to 1984. In September 1986, he rejoined The Irvine Company as vice chairman until his retirement in 2003. As a tribute to Watson's many years of service to the City of Irvine, the bridge connecting the University of California, Irvine campus to the University Center across Campus Drive was named the "Raymond L. Watson Bridge" in October 2005. Watson died on October 20, 2012.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Raymond L. Watson, 2004 and 2011.
Processing information:

A portion of this collection was processed, described, and digitized with support from the Raymond L. Watson Library Fund.

This collection was donated in two separate accessions, in 2004 and 2011. The first accession comprised 10 linear feet and was arranged and described by Rachel Sandoval and Anne Mar, 2006. In 2011, a second accession, measuring 5.8 linear feet, arrived and was arranged and described by Patricia Glowinski, 2012. The additional material was incorporated into the arrangement scheme of the initial collection and descriptive information was added to the original finding aid to reflect this. It should be noted that the arrangement of the collection was imposed by the archivists during processing to facilitate access, and does not necessarily represent the way the papers were created, organized, and used over time by Raymond Watson.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged in 5 series.

  • Series 1. Writings and professional files, 1961-2008. 2.2 linear feet
  • Series 2. The Irvine Company files, 1954-2008. 7.3 linear feet
  • Series 3. City of Irvine files, 1970-2005. 2 linear feet
  • Series 4. Subject files on city planning and planned communities, 1963-2006. 2.5 linear feet
  • Series 5. Other subject files, 1954-2009. 1.8 linear feet

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of the Special Collections and Archives.

Preferred citation:

Raymond L. Watson Papers. MS-R120. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.

For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

Location of this collection:
P.O. Box 19557
Irvine, CA , US
Contact:
(949) 824-3947
spcoll@uci.libanswers.com
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