Melting resources: A historical analysis of the 1932 Olympic Winter and Summer Games (New York, California).

The current editions of the Olympic Games have been criticized as being too grandiose and expensive to stage. While the IOC\u27s Programme Commission attempts to address these concerns, one need only look to the 1932 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York, and Summer Games in Los Angeles, California, to find possible solutions for the efficient delivery of the Games. The 1932 Olympic Games were unique because they occurred in the same country, used the same currency, in the same year, and occurred during the Great Depression. In using data collected from a variety of different archives, this study analyzed the significant disparities between the two municipalities and Organizing Committees (OCOGs) concerning the strategies and implementation of hosting their respective Olympic festivals. With a particular emphasis on the period leading up to the delivery of the Games, this study focused on how the Great Depression altered the financing and planning of each. After delineating the data into four separate categories of analysis, two separate narratives were formed, conclusions made, and the two narratives were compared. Results reveal two distinct methods of delivery and financing of the respective Olympic Games by each OCOG. For Lake Placid, the small nature of the town combined with the need for construction of large facilities caused a heavy reliance on public monies with few examples of private involvement. For Los Angeles, the strong business community and existent facilities helped minimize the effects of the Great Depression. Conclusions emphasized the efficient modes of delivery and the need to adapt to the new local environments as a result of the Great Depression. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2004 .P38. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 43-01, page: 0083. Adviser: Scott Martyn. Thesis (M.H.K.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2004