Twelve Oaks Lodge

Last updated
Original entrance Twelve Oaks Lodge Original Entrance.jpg
Original entrance

Twelve Oaks Lodge is a retirement community situated on 4.5 oak-covered acres located in the northern part of Glendale, California. [1]

Contents

The facility is licensed to accommodate 63 assisted living residents. [2]

Begun in a private residence in the 1930s, the facility has gradually expanded over its 80-year history with the addition of independent living cottages, two dorm buildings and, most recently, a large dining room/community center constructed in the 1980s and renovated in 2017.

The community is owned by the Twelve Oaks Foundation [3] with the mission of providing affordable care for seniors.

The renovation continues with the upgrade of 10 independent living cottages [4] and 9 assisted living units, to be completed by the end of 2018.

History

Twelve Oaks Lodge was conceived by James and Effie Fifield. James Fifield was a successful Midwestern lawyer and businessman who headed several companies and civic organizations. [5] The Fifields spent their winters in California, specifically the Crescenta Valley. They purchased a comfortable 13-room home with oak-shaded acreage in Verdugo City at 2820 Sycamore Avenue. While there, they became involved with a charity group called the International Sunshine Society (ISS), whose aim was to "bring sunshine into the hearts and lives of those less fortunate". The Fifields started a local chapter with the goal of providing low-cost home-like housing for the elderly “who can be made happy by our particular brand of sunshine”. Their dream was to turn their home into an old-people's home. When James Fifield died in 1933, Effie began the process of donating their home and property at no cost to the Verdugo Hills Sunshine Society, and by 1935, it was fully deeded to them. [6]

The Sunshine Society was run by a group of community volunteers. They constructed the various cottages that still stand today, filled them with local elderly who were charged a nominal sum, and provided entertainment and social activity for them as well. [7] Facilities provided by the Sunshine Society included a library, a recreation room, croquet courts and acres of oak-shaded parkland. Their fundraising included other acts of charity in the Crescenta Valley, such as help for local needy families.

In 1963, the National Charity League of Glendale raised over US$50,000 to fund a new retirement home in Glendale. Impressed with the Sunshine Society and Twelve Oaks, they instead decided to donate the entire sum to them, building Stern Hall at Twelve Oaks, a nine-unit residence hall specifically for elderly women. [8] [9] Sensing a kindred spirit in the Charity League, the Sunshine Society decided to merge with the Glendale Charity League, donate Twelve Oaks to them and allow them to operate it, again on a volunteer basis.

The Charity League ran Twelve Oaks until the early 2000s when the facility was donated, once again free of charge, to the non-profit Southern California Presbyterian Homes, which owned several other assisted living facilities. It was felt that a professional organization such as Presbyterian Homes could operate Twelve Oaks more effectively. The Twelve Oaks Foundation, which technically owned the donated property and which held $4.7 million in bequeathed donations, was overseen by the Southern California Presbyterian Homes, and the Board of Directors of the Foundation were replaced with representatives from Presbyterian Homes. In 2011 the Southern California Presbyterian Homes conducted a rebranding campaign and established a DBA as the “be.group”. [10]

2013 Closure and 2017 Re-opening

In 2013, be.group announced that they would be selling the Twelve Oaks property to a housing developer, and the 50 residents were given 60-day eviction notices. The group said they could no longer afford to run the property. [11] The surrounding community of Crescenta Valley and the former owners, the Glendale chapter of the National Charity League, mounted several campaigns to stop the closure. A website called Friends of 12 Oaks was created in October. [12] A peaceful protest on October 2, 2013 was attended by over 100 people from the local community as well as several of the seniors still at the home. [13] Also in October, the Charity League filed a lawsuit asking a judge to block the closure of the facility and to appoint a receiver to control it. [14]

On September 9, 2013 California State Assemblyman Mike Gatto, 43rd District, requested that the California State Attorney General investigate be.group for improprieties regarding their sale of the donated property, and the legality of transferring a property from a non-profit trust to a presumably for-profit developer. [15] [16]

The original intended purchaser, New Urban West of Santa Monica, California, backed out of the deal amid the community backlash. be.group was looking for another buyer. [17] The facility officially closed on November 1, 2013.

After the four-year closure, much of the Twelve Oaks community has been refreshed and the facility reopened to residents in December 2017. Twelve Oaks Senior Living is licensed for 63 assisted living beds on the 4.5-acre campus. Twelve Oaks continues the 80-year tradition of affordable senior housing in the San Gabriel Valley area. The Twelve Oaks property is owned by Twelve Oaks Foundation. The Twelve Oaks Foundation's top priority is to preserve the low-density, park-like charm of Twelve Oaks while also ensuring the long term economic viability of this unique community resource. The Foundation contracted with Northstar Management to operate the facility.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glendale, California</span> City in California, United States

Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from 191,719 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Los Angeles County and the 24th-largest city in California. It is located about 10 miles (16 km) north of downtown Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Cañada Flintridge, California</span> City in Los Angeles County, California, United States

La Cañada Flintridge, commonly known as just La Cañada, is a city in the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Crescenta Valley, in the western edge of the San Gabriel Valley, it is the location of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Crescenta-Montrose, California</span> Unincorporated community in California, United States

La Crescenta-Montrose is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The community is bordered by Glendale to the south and west, La Cañada Flintridge to the east, and Angeles National Forest to the north. According to the United States Census Bureau, the La Crescenta-Montrose Census-Designated Place (CDP) measures about 3.4 square miles (8.8 km2), and the population was 19,997 at the 2020 census, up from 19,653 in 2010 and 18,532 in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 2</span> State highway in California, United States

State Route 2 (SR 2) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It connects the Los Angeles Basin with the San Gabriel Mountains and the Victor Valley in the Mojave Desert. The highway's southwestern end is at the intersection of Centinela Avenue at the Santa Monica-Los Angeles border and its northeastern end is at SR 138 east of Wrightwood. The SR 2 is divided into four segments, and it briefly runs concurrently with U.S. Route 101 (US 101) and Interstate 210 (I-210). The southwestern section of SR 2 runs along a segment of the east–west Santa Monica Boulevard, an old routing of US 66, to US 101 in East Hollywood; the second section runs along segments of both the north–south Alvarado Street and Glendale Boulevard in Echo Park; the third section to I-210 in Glendale is known as the north–south Glendale Freeway; and the northeastern portion from I-210 in La Cañada Flintridge to SR 138 is designated as the Angeles Crest Highway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glendale Community College (California)</span> Community college in Glendale, California

Glendale Community College (GCC) is a public community college in Glendale, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glendale High School (Glendale, California)</span> Public school in Glendale, California, United States

Glendale High School is a high school in Glendale, California, United States. The school is part of the Glendale Unified School District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crescenta Valley</span> Valley in Los Angeles County, California

The Crescenta Valley is a small inland valley in Los Angeles County, California, lying between the San Gabriel Mountains on the northeast and the Verdugo Mountains and San Rafael Hills on the southwest. It opens into the San Fernando Valley at the northwest and the San Gabriel Valley at the southeast. It is nearly bisected by the Verdugo Wash, a smaller valley separating the Verdugo Mountains from the San Rafael Hills. Most of the valley lies at an elevation of over 1,500 feet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Verdugo Mountains</span> Mountain range of the Transverse Ranges in California, United States

The Verdugo Mountains, also known as the Verdugo Hills or simply The Verdugos, are a small, rugged mountain range of the Transverse Ranges system in Los Angeles County, California. Located just south of the western San Gabriel Mountains, the Verdugo Mountains region incorporates the cities of Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, and La Cañada Flintridge; the unincorporated communities of Altadena and La Crescenta-Montrose; as well as the City of Los Angeles neighborhood of Sunland-Tujunga.

The Glendale Unified School District is a school district based in Glendale, California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California's 30th congressional district</span> U.S. House district for California

California's 30th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. The 30th district takes in the Linda Vista neighborhood of Pasadena, and the Los Angeles area communities of Tujunga, Burbank, Glendale, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Edendale, Park La Brea, Hancock Park, and westside Echo Park. The district is currently represented by Democrat Adam Schiff.

Rancho La Cañada was a 5,832-acre (23.60 km2) Mexican land grant in the San Rafael Hills and Crescenta Valley, of present-day Los Angeles County, California given in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to a Mexican schoolteacher from Los Angeles, Ygnacio Coronel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rancho San Rafael</span> Spanish land grant issued to José María Verdugo in 1784

Rancho San Rafael was a 36,403-acre (147.32 km2) Spanish land grant in the San Rafael Hills, bordering the Los Angeles River and the Arroyo Seco in present-day Los Angeles County, southern California, given in 1784 to Jose Maria Verdugo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunland-Tujunga, Los Angeles</span> Neighborhood of Los Angeles in California, United States

Sunland-Tujunga is a Los Angeles city neighborhood within the Crescenta Valley and Verdugo Mountains. Sunland and Tujunga began as separate settlements and today are linked through a single police station, branch library, neighborhood council, chamber of commerce, city council district, and high school. The merging of these communities under a hyphenated name goes back as far as 1928. Sunland-Tujunga contains the highest point of the city, Mount Lukens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Friedman</span> American politician from California

Laura Friedman is an American former film producer and politician serving in the California State Assembly and a candidate for California's 30th congressional district. A Democrat, she represents the 44th Assembly District, encompassing the cities of Glendale, Burbank, the unincorporated community of La Crescenta-Montrose, and northern portions of Los Angeles, including Sunland-Tujunga, Shadow Hills, Lake View Terrace, La Tuna Canyon, Toluca Lake, Valley Village, Studio City and Sherman Oaks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korean Americans in Greater Los Angeles</span>

As of 2008, the sixty thousand ethnic Koreans in Greater Los Angeles constituted the largest Korean community in the United States. Their number made up 15 percent of the country's Korean American population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockhaven Sanitarium Historic District</span> Hospital in Glendale, California, United States

The Rockhaven Sanitarium Historic District is located in the Crescenta Valley at 2713 Honolulu Avenue in what is now the City of Glendale, California. The sanitarium for which it is named was opened in 1923 by psychiatric nurse Agnes Richards as a private mental health institution for women with mild mental and nervous disorders. The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in June 2016 and in 2021 it was announced that it would be developed into a museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glendale Main Post Office</span> United States historic place

Glendale Main Post Office is a historic post office in Glendale, California, operated by the United States Postal Service (USPS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sherman and Henrietta Ford House</span> Building in Glendale, California

The Sherman and Henrietta Ford House is a house in Glendale, California in the US. It is a rare intact example of a small, storybook-style Tudor cottage, reminiscent of the type of housing built in Southern California in the 1920s and 1930s. It is unique in its scale: affordable and built for a middle-class family, but with all of the care and craftsmanship of the great Tudor Revival estates of Southern California. It was built and designed by John (Jack) Frith in 1936.

References

  1. ↑ "Twelve Oaks · 2820 Sycamore Ave, Glendale, CA 91214".
  2. ↑ "Home". twelveoaksseniorliving.com.
  3. ↑ "Twelve Oaks Foundation - GuideStar Profile".
  4. ↑ "Paseo - Google Search".
  5. ↑ Yamada, Katherine. "Verdugo Views: The builders of Twelve Oaks Lodge". Glendale News Press. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Home to Become Haven for Elderly Persons". Los Angeles Times. August 1, 1935. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  7. ↑ Yamada, Katherine (May 3, 2012). "Verdugo Views: Sunshine society gets 'Rejuvenated'". Glendale News Press.
  8. ↑ "$50,963 Gift Paying Cost of Women's Home". Los Angeles Times. November 17, 1963. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  9. ↑ Yamada, Katherine (June 30, 2012). "Verdugo Views: Early charity for elderly helped grow Twelve Oaks". Glendale News Press (LA Times).
  10. ↑ www.thebegroup.org
  11. ↑ Clough, Craig (August 28, 2013). "Twelve Oaks Lodge Assisted Living Facility to Close After Almost 80 Years". Montrose Patch. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  12. ↑ www.friendsof12oaks.com
  13. ↑ Levine, Brittany (October 2, 2013). "National Charity League joins Twelve Oaks protest". Glendale News Press.
  14. ↑ Levine, Brittany (October 22, 2013). "Lawsuit filed against be.group over Twelve Oaks Lodge". Glendale News-Press. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  15. ↑ O'Keefe, Mary (Sep 9, 2013). "Gatto Adds His Voice to Twelve Oaks". Crescenta Valley Weekly.
  16. ↑ Levine, Brittany (September 7, 2013). "Twelve Oaks closure issue sent to state". Los Angeles Times (Glendale News Press).
  17. ↑ Levine, Brittany (October 9, 2013). "City can't intervene in Twelve Oaks sale but could buy property". Glendale News-Press. Retrieved 2 November 2013.

34°12′38″N118°14′27″W / 34.21043°N 118.24093°W / 34.21043; -118.24093

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.