Harrison "Buzz" Price papers

The Harrison “Buzz” Price collection, 1952-2006 is comprised of reports, proposals, research, photographs, and company files related to Price’s career as an economics consultant for theme parks and tourist attractions. The collection primarily documents the business activities of the Harrison Price Company (HPC), but some materials from earlier projects with Economic Research Associates (ERA) are also included.

This collection offers insight into the theme park and tourism industry in the U.S. and internationally. It features background research involved in planning attractions, feasibility analysis reports for attraction locations, and notes from collaborative sessions on project ideas. Price was involved in projects for Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Six Flags, Universal Studios, MGM, Cedars Fair, Knott’s Berry Farm, and several other entertainment organizations and resorts. The papers are divided into eight series: Reports, Proposals, Speeches, World's Fairs, Images, Subject Research Materials, Project Research Materials, and Price Company Files.

Series I: Reports, 1952-2003, holds reports that contain feasibility studies, research reports, and other studies created by HPC or other collected companies. The series is arranged by order of importance, beginning with commercial attractions, and ending with other study areas. The types of reports vary, depending on the stage of the project under analysis and may include photographs, maps, architectural renderings, and pamphlets. Reports are in order by number, provided by Price. Reports by HPC are numbered 1-900; other firms collected reports number over 1000. Each entry includes the name of the corporation for which the study was conducted, the title of the report, the location of the project, other economic research companies involved (if applicable), and the date of the report's completion.

Series II: Proposals, 1978-2001, contains proposals which Harrison Price returned to potential clients concerning research requests. The series is in original order. Sub-series are arranged by order of project importance according to Harrison Price's organization, and then alphabetically. The proposals generally include background information on the needs and wishes of the client, the scope of services, time and cost estimates, and an acceptance portion. Each entry includes the name of the company for which the proposal was written, the project's location, and the date it was written.

Series III: Speeches, 1966-2006, includes speeches given by Harrison Price at various events documenting his many projects and professional activities. The speeches are arranged chronologically. Each entry contains the name of the organization for which Price gave the speech, the title of the speech, the location where the speech was given, and the date the speech was given.

Series IV: World's Fairs, 1974-1989, documents Price's involvement and research on World's Fairs, specifically the fairs in Knoxville in 1982, the Louisiana World Exposition in 1984, and Vancouver's Expo '86. The bulk of the materials in this series document the Louisiana World Exposition and the lawsuits which occurred after the exposition went bankrupt. The series is arranged by order of importance according to Price's organization, with supporting documentation arranged alphabetically.

Series V: Images, 1964-1997, contains collected materials organized by location and project. Contents include pictures, negatives, slides, postcards, brochures, and posters from such places such as Disneyland, Walt Disney World, SeaWorld, NASA, Hong Kong, Taiwan, London, Sydney, Japan, and China. Most of the negatives and prints from the locations can be linked to Price's consulting trips.

Series VI: Subject Research Materials, 1960-1995, holds collected materials organized in alphabetical order by subject category. These materials were used for background research and initial information for multiple projects. Many of the research materials provided background for the reports in Series I.

Series VII: Project Research Materials, 1948-2005, contains research materials for specific projects including Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Six Flags, Knott's Berry Farm, Cedar's Fair, The Longaberger Company, Silver Cup Studios, Silver Dollar City, among other projects. Some projects also include municipalities including the City of Norfolk, Virginia, the City of Coachella, California, the City of Branson, Missouri, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and governments such as Australia, Nigeria, Panama and others. These materials were collected as the research basis for projects that Price was hired to perform. Many of the research projects found in this series may not have become reports or proposals. In some cases, this series contains the only record of a project that Price worked on during his long career.

Series VIII: Price Company Files, 1963-2000, contains materials from the Economic Research Associates, Planning Research Corporation, and Harrison Price Company. These materials consist of company profiles, correspondence, organization files, council and meeting files, faxes, projects, and Price’s personal files labeled as Buzz files.