GLENDALE : Iron Eyes Cody Museum Backed

City officials moved a step closer to opening a third museum in Glendale, one that would house American Indian artifacts and items belonging to two prominent families.

“The proposal has been very well accepted by both the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Historic Preservation Commission,” said Nello Iacono, director of the city’s Parks Department.

The proposed Iron Eyes Cody Museum--in an old one-story adobe building on historic grounds at 2211 Bonita Drive--was approved by parks commissioners July 14 and preservation commissioners Aug. 2.

Actor Iron Eyes Cody, 89, perhaps best known for a TV public service announcement in which he gazes tearfully at a polluted stream, has offered to donate his collection of artifacts from various tribes, including the Sioux, Cherokee and Navajo nations. Cody is part Cherokee and part Cree.

“This has been a dream of his,” said his wife, Wendy. “This is something he wants to pass on to the children, not just the Native American children.”

Glendale officials welcomed the offer after they bought the Bonita Drive property for $1.75 million in 1989. Its previous owner was Jane Bashor, who died in 1988.

The 1,000-square-foot adobe home is believed to have been built between 1828 and the early 1870s by Julio Verdugo. City officials plan to exhibit Bashor’s 800 foreign dolls and other items belonging to the Verdugo family.