A photo of the Afton Arms from the Hollywood Citizen, Jan. 25, 1925.
Note: This is an encore post from 2019.
Built in 1925 and advertising itself as modern and up-to-date, filled with every convenience, the aristocratic Afton Arms offered stylish living for aspiring entertainers and striving businessmen. Located a few blocks away from motion picture studios, the Afton Arms appeared as a luscious fantasy designed for cinematic dreams.
During the 1920s, striking apartment complexes sprang up all over Hollywood and Los Angeles, offering gorgeous designs and and comfortable living to a growing middle class. They represented attainment of financial or career success, or at least the illusion of having it all. For those trying to achieve stardom in Hollywood, these residences suggested that they too, had arrived.
Mary Mallory’s latest book, on Grace Kelly, “Living With Grace.”
Roby Heard, 1921-1960.
March 25, 2011: Site of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire / Photograph by Eve Golden
