Twelve Oaks Lodge

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

[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 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”.

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.

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.

[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.

[15][16] The original intended purchaser, New Urban West of Santa Monica, California, backed out of the deal amid the community backlash.