BTTF Series #7: San Fernando Valley Council Headquarters for Boy Scouts of America 14955 Saticoy St Van Nuys CA 91407
Welcome aboard the Delorean! Marty McFly here to take you on a journey to the always trustworthy Boy Scouts of America (BSA). The Delorean has the required plutonium plus some random garbage in the Mr. Fusion reactor ready for this trip. The time circuits are set to 1950's - 60's (actual date unknown) and the flux capciator is.........fluxxing. The engine is running (not stalled this time) so we need to hurry. Hang on, as the ride can be a little bumpy as we travel back in time to 14955 Saticoy Street Van Nuys CA 91407. This address was the location for the San Fernando Valley Council Headquarters for Boy Scouts of America.
Unfortunately much to Marty McFly's regret, he struggled on finding any details for this location. We are still recovering from the last trip to the original ILM studio in Van Nuys aka Star Wars Special Effects House (travelin' thru time aint easy). What we did find is that a fellow by the name of W.P. Whitsett (you may recognize his name from Whitsett avenue like all the other great original Valley founders whose names are marked throughout the Valley) was known as the "father of Van Nuys" and was a major land developer and water official (sort of like in the movie Chinatown with Jack Nicholson). Whitsett was a strong believer in the BSA and donated what he could to them including buildings, land, and summer camps. So while searching the CSUN Digital Library, we came across a photo of a groundbreaking ceremony featuring Whitsett from the 1940's. We are not sure if thPublish Postis site was the groundbreaking for the building above or another BSA site in Van Nuys. If anyone has any info or tips regarding this site, please share with Marty Mcfly. You can learn more about W.P. Whitsett here.
So we hop back in the Delorean to visit September 1976 to review an original Boys' Life Magazine. On page 44, there are several mentions of the BSA headquarters at the Saticoy address which confirms its existence in 1976. (For O.J. Simpons fans, you can view an ad declaring "Juicemobiles are for young Superstars" on page 14). According to Whitsett.org:
San Fernando Valley Council and Crescent Bay Council of the BSA merged on July 1, 1972 bringing together more than 30,000 Boy Scouts into the Great Western Council, BSA. The new council added a small central dining option to the camp. The camp grew as new program and more skilled staff were added during the ensuing years, bring camp to its present great program. In 1985, the GWC became the Western Los Angeles County Council in order to give the council a "geographic" presence, to let contributors know where the council was located.
According to Zillow property records, the site was torn down and a 42 Bed/42 Bath apartment building complex was built in 1986 "in the name of progress".
So its time to get back in the Delorean and go Back To The Future to check out the BSA site in its present form:
Today, the original BSA site is home to the Saticoy Gardens. As you can obviously tell, it has been drastically changed to make way for the apartment complex. I am not sure if the BSA building was the size of the current apartment complex or they purchased neighboring lands to make for a bigger complex. If you are considering renting, you can check out pics and prices here. From what we learned today, it appears that the BSA site was originally built anywhere from the 1940's to the 1960's and later torn down in 1985 in order to build an apartment complex in 1986.
For any of your Boy Scout needs, the council relocated to 16525 Sherman Way Van Nuys CA 91406 near the Van Nuys airport which is called the Balboa Oaks District under the Western Los Angeles County Council.
Hope you enjoyed it!
Here is a sampling of San Fernando Valley Boy Scout Patches.
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Check out the other Back To The Future Series by clicking on the Back To The Future Series tab above or links provided below:
Check out the other Back To The Future Series by clicking on the Back To The Future Series tab above or links provided below:
5. BTTF Series #5: The Promenade Mall at Woodland Hills
6. BTTF Series #6: BTTF Series #6: Industrial Light & Magic (ILM aka Star Wars Special Effects Studio) 6842 Valjean Ave Van Nuys CA 91406
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Marty Mcfly
Anything and everything about the San Fernando Valley. This blog will take you back in time when the valley was covered with dirt and orange groves to a leader in the space race to its current status as America's suburb. Come along and join me on this adventure, I guarantee you have been influenced/impacted by the San Fernando Valley in one form or another even if you have never visited or heard of the SFV.
Thanks McFly, I have about 10 of the Blue/Brown/White with the mission SFVC circular patches. Troop 266 from North Hollywood CA was part of the SFVC and a lot of positive BSA Activity was accomplished via that Council. The Tay Haus Chapter of the OA was attached to this Council, and the Dance Team was extremly active in promoting Scouting throughout Southern California. My participation was from 1962 through 1969. I hope Camp Whitset is still in tact and being used for scouting.
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