The collection consists of materials such as correspondence, reports, memos, and pamphlets related to the growth and development of the city and county of San Diego. The collection contains materials created and published by the San Diego Chamber of Commerce, including information about regional demographics (1980-91), labor, population, housing, building, and economic research and development. The administrative files of the ERB reflect the day-to-day operations and growth over the past fifty years.

In 1870 a small group of men led by Alonzo E. Horton (1813-1909) met and formed a group that would eventually become the San Diego Chamber of Commerce. When the group originated, its primary focus was the development of San Diego with particular emphasis on the arrival of railroads to the vicinity. In the following years the Chamber also focused its attention on gaining access to drinking water and encouraging the development of military bases. By 1909 the Chamber had helped to create Balboa Park and was the driving force behind the Panama California Exposition held in 1915-16. Over the years the Chamber of Commerce has become more active in the development of San Diego.

10.00 linear ft

The copyright interests in these materials have not been transferred to San Diego State University. Copyright resides with the creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. The nature of historical archival and manuscript collections is such that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine.  Requests for permission to publish must be submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. When granted, permission is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish. Materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.

This collection is open for research.