The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 36

4 Part 1-B Thursday. March 29. 1984 Angeles Slmes SHOP ALL STORES THURSDAY 10 A.M. TO 9 P.M.' l.r;-.V-''r. M01 as SAVE 30 TO 34 SELECTED COLLECTOR DOLLS FROM WELL-KNOWN DOLL DESIGNER SUZANNE GIBSON ON SALE FOR THE FIRST TIAAE.

22.90 TO 42.90 FINAL EDITION SUZANNE GIBSON COLLECTOR BABY DOLLS. NEVER BEFORE ON SALE. Originally 33.00 to 62.50. Suzanne Gibson knows that details are what makes her baby dolls truly collectible. From silky, life-like hair to beautifully shaped fingers, soft and supple like a real baby's.

Selected Elfanbee dolls at 30 savings. Not all styles in every store. Collectibles. 238. Carrie, regularly 62.50, now 42.99.

Chelsey. regularly 47.50. now 32.99. Shirley, regularly 52.50. now 34.99.

Sydney, regularly 57.50, now 39.99. Amanda, regularly 40.00, now 28.99. i 1 i 7z Columbia Nna Stmc Graffiti on Grant's Tomb has now been cleaned up with help of $50,000 in special congressional funds, and the tourists are beginning to return. Had Become Eyesore Cleanup Brings the Tourists Back to Grant's Tomb By GARY WARNER. Columbia Sews Service NEW YORK One of America's most famous Civil War generals is still at war.

although he has been dead for almost 100 years. And he seems to be winning. For Ulysses S. Grant, the battlefields once were Gettysburg and Cold Harbor. Now the fight is at 122nd Street and Riverside Drive in Riverside Park.

Once the enemies were Robert E. Lee and Jeb Stuart. Now they are graffiti and decades of apathy. In the first quarter of this century. Grant's Tomb was the most popular tourist attraction in New York City.

But in recent years it had become a rarely visited eyesore. 'Bad Impression of Place "People had a bad impression of the place." said Lillian Reisert. the monument's supervisor. "They had all sort of stereotypes about what Grant's Tomb was like: graffiti, crime in the park. Technically, we're in Harlem, so people don't think it's safe up here." In the last two years however.

Reisert said, the general and his marble sarcophagus have won a number of victories. "We just spent $50,000 to get rid of an accumulation of graffiti on the columns and outer walls." she said. "Some of it has come back, but the place looks a lot better. We've had concerts and lectures to give people a reason to come back up here, such as our Black History Month celebration. We had 48.000 visitors in 1982.

This year we've had 87,000. so it must be working." "We're planning a lot of programs for next year, which will be the 100th anniversary of Grant's death in 1885," she said. "The plans haven't been finalized, but we know there will be school -involvement programs and free lectures about Grant's life and times." Special Grant From Congress The Tomb, which is maintained by the National Parks Service, obtained the $50,000 for the graffiti removal through a special congressional grant. Normally, the money for such maintenance would have to come out of the tomb's 100.000 annual budget. Graffiti and apathy are only the latest in a long series of troubles for Grant and his tomb.

The first battle resulted in a decisive defeat by a dead child. When Grant died he was "temporarily" buried in Central Park while plans for his tomb were drawn up. A site at 122nd Street and Riverside Drive in Riverside Park was chosen, although Grant had probably never even visited the area while he lived in New York City. r- i 1 I i I ir mm si dJv Grave Needed Removal However, it was soon discovered that the burial site of a 5-year-old from colonial timesy known as the "Amiable Child" grave, would have to be removed to accommodate the final resting place of the 18th President of the United States. A storm of protest erupted over the plan, with many New Yorkers vowing to ring the grave until such time as the tomb planners would change their minds.

Eventually they did. and Grant now rests 100 yards southeast of the original site. The troubled did not end there. Once the site was chosen, a fund-raising drive to build the tomb began. Contributors proved scarce during a time of economic hardship in America.

It would not be until 1897, 12 years after his "temporary" burial, that Grant would be laid to rest at his current address. His wife, Julia, joined him in 1902. Controversy erupted again in the early 1970s when the Park Service commissioned neighborhood artists to create tile benches at the Tomb in an attempt to get residents involved in the fight against vandalism and graffiti. Free-Form Artworks The benches came out looking more like free-form artworks. There was a cigar-smoking camel, birds, and a flag with only five stars, among other things.

Although historical groups protested and the president of the U.S. Grant Assn. likened the artwork to "putting a roller coaster on the Jefferson Memorial," the benches remain today. Besides the coffins of Grant and his wife, the memorial houses many artifacts of Grant's military career and presidency. There are busts of Sherman and other generals, as well as traveling exhibits of Civil War-era photographs and memorabilia.

Bob Mahoney. the Park's Service's Manhattan supervisor, feels optimistic despite all the problems. "We've gotten tour bus companies to put the tomb back on their list of stops," he said. "Up until a couple of years ago. most tours in New York City ignored the place.

Now we have concerts and lectures. The city's I t) (2 Jazzmobile had a couple of concerts there last summer. With all these programs, there's a reason to go to Grant's Tomb. The people are coming back." SHOP BY PHONE 24 HOURS A DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK. CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-626-4800.

NOMINAL CHARGE FOR ALL DELIVERIES EXCEPT PLAZA THURS. CRENSHAW THURS. GLENDALE THURS. 10 9:30..