- unitid
-
{"value"=>"186332", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"Sc MG 1010", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b23435946", "type"=>"local_b"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1974-2022", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1974/2022"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Gordon Davis papers"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"4 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"1.67 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"Gordon Davis is an American lawyer who served as the New York City Commissioner of Parks and Recreation from 1978 to 1983 and as president of Lincoln Center in 2001. The Gordon Davis papers (1974-2022) contain his professional and personal files and includes calendars, press files, and promotional materials. There is also significant content related to Davis' father, the anthropologist, Dr. W. Allison Davis."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Davis, Gordon", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Gordon Davis (born August 7, 1941) is an American lawyer who served as the New York City Commissioner of Parks and Recreation under Mayor Edward Koch from 1978 to 1983. Prior to this, he served in the administration of Mayor John Lindsay beginning in 1967, including a role as commissioner of the New York City Planning Commission.</p> <p>Davis was born in Chicago, Illinois to Dr. William Allison Davis and Elizabeth Stubbs Davis, both of whom were among the first Black anthropologists in the United States. His parents were the authors of <span class=\"title\">Deep South: A Social Anthropological Study of Caste and Class</span>, a study of everyday racism in the American South.</p> <p>Davis received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Williams College in 1963, and his Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School in 1967, after which he moved to New York City and became involved in city planning. As Parks Commissioner, Davis is credited with the revival of Bryant Park, the founding of the Central Park Conservancy, the creation of urban park rangers, and the establishment of the Prospect Park Alliance. At the end of the Koch administration, Davis served as a member of Mayor David Dinkins' transition committee. After this he went into private practice and servered as counsel for the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.</p> <p>In addition to these city administrative roles, Davis is the founding chairman of Jazz at Lincoln Center, and for several months in 2001 he was president of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. He is also a member of the Performing Arts Hall of Fame at Lincoln Center, a life trustee of the New York Public Library, and an appointee of President Barack Obama to the board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.</p> <p>Since 2012, Davis has been a partner in the New York office of the law firm Venable LLP.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Gordon Davis papers (1974-2022) contain a selection of material from Davis' career and personal life. The largest portion of the collection is dedicated to Davis' father, Dr. W. Allison Davis, especially the commemoration of him with a United States postage stamp in 1994. Relating to the work of Gordon Davis, of particular note are materials from the 2005 staging of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's installation piece <span class=\"title\">The Gates</span> in Central Park, a project that was first proposed in 1979, when Davis was Parks Commissioner. This includes correspondence, promotional materials, an inscribed copy of Burt Chernow's book on Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and press. Also present are correspondence, press, and promotional items relating to the Lincoln Center renovation project in the early 2000s. Beyond this, there is a small amount of invitations and non-classified legal documents. Also present is an assortment of clippings, correspondence, and a combination pride/anti-George W. Bush flag that were originally displayed on Davis' office walls.</p>"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p>Alphabetically by material type or subject.</p>"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Donated by <span class=\"name\">Gordon Davis</span>, <span class=\"date\">2023</span>.</p>"}
- separatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>Photographs transferred to Photographs and Prints Division, Schomburg Center.</p> <p>Audio and moving image materials transferred to the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division, Schomburg Center.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by <span class=\"name\">Stacey Ference</span>, <span class=\"date\">2024</span>.</p>"}
- date_start
-
1974
- keydate
-
1974
- date_end
-
2022
- date_inclusive_start
-
1974
- date_inclusive_end
-
2022
- extent_statement
-
1.67 linear feet (4 boxes)
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"[Item], Gordon Davis papers, Sc MG 1010, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library"}