A First Lady...

Here we have photos of one of our notable Gaylord residents, May Allison with former First Lady Helen Taft.

May Allison resided at the Gaylord from 1925-1928. While living here she was married to Photoplay magazine editor, James Quirk from 1926 until his death in 1932. May Allison had 59 film credits to her name between 1915-1927.

A few film titles from her leading lady roles, while a Gaylord tenant, were "Flapper Wives," "I Want My Man," "Wreckage" and "Her Indiscretion." A favorite, "Youth For Sale," where she played the role of Molly Malloy. The synopsis for this story reads in part, "Molly, who has never tried alcohol before, is temporarily blinded by her first drink." This was filmed during the Prohibition years.

Helen Taft was wife of President William Howard Taft, who served from 1909-1913. He later became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1921-1930. Helen Taft was well connected and played a significant role, behind the scenes, in advancing her husband's ambitions and career.

(Date of photos are unknown. Courtesy of the George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress)

Correcting Inaccuracies...

There is a lot of misinformation out there when it comes to the history of the Gaylord and we find ourselves correcting those voiced or written inaccuracies quite a bit. Such as, the Gaylord was originally a hotel... NO, this is false. The Gaylord was originally one of Los Angeles' first co-ops when it officially opened on April 9, 1924 (our 95th Anniversary is coming up soon!). You could have purchased your own apartment at this time and enjoyed the luxury of provided full "hotel" amenities. We are talking about the elite & moneyed society of the age, from across the nation, which resided in the Gaylord. We have been working on the "Historic-Cultural Monument" application for the Gaylord and once completed we will publish all of those findings to share with all.

In June of 2013, Hadley Meares wrote a detailed story on the Gaylord history for kcet. If you missed it you can read the full story at https://www.kcet.org/history-society/the-gaylord-apartments-luxury-socialism-and-las-first-failed-co-op and pass on the correct history for our happy home.

April Fool's...

Located in the basement, when the Gaylord originally opened in 1924, the full service kitchen catered meals for the residents upon request. These photos are from the February 1926 issue of "Gaylord Glimpses."

Coming AVAILABLE for April 1st;

***RENTED***- One Bedroom unit, 8th floor, 740 sq ft, north/west corner unit, with views of the "HOLLYWOOD" sign, Griffith Observatory & overlooking our patio & pool, $1985/month.***RENTED***