Villa Scalabrini Retirement Center in Sun Valley, CA was opened for residents occupancy July 16, 1979.
The 90- room facility, capable of accommodating up to 130 ambulatory senior citizens in single and double occupancy rooms, was dedicated on April 22, 1979. The dedication ceremony was attended by Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, L.A. Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Manning, other civic and religious dignitaries and a crowd of over 2,000 people.
Villa Scalabrini is the brain-child of Father Luigi Donanzan, of the Scalabrini Fathers of St. Charles (a missionary religious order for assistance to migrants) and is based on concept “that old men and women should spend the sunset years of their lives in pleasant surroundings, engaged in stimulating activities among people of related ethnic culture.” Once the idea was launched, it found immediate endorsement from His Eminence Cardinal Timothy Manning and response from the Italian American community among whom a committee of prominent Southern California individuals was formed to raise the necessary funds.
Villa Scalabrini, located in Sun Valley, at the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains in the San Fernando Valley, is a modern, functional structure, universally praised in architectural circles as “a model home for senior citizens.” Designed by George Kirkpatrick and Panos Koulermos, architects, it is a one floor building with basement, covering a total area of 100,000 square feet area.
Residents rooms are distributed around seven inside gardens that go by the names of famous Italian cities, such as: Palermo, Napoli, Roma, Firenze, Venezia, Milano, and Torino, thus offering the advantage of privacy and open air, while, at the same time, being all connected to the central facilities.
Among the special features of Villa Scalabrini are: a spacious and modern chapel for daily Mass, dining room, arts and crafts room, physical therapy room, dentist room, optometrist room, beauty parlor, barber shop, bocce court, TV rooms. The building also houses the Sisters’ quarters and rooms for retired Priests.
The building is completely furnished in modern, elegant and functional style. Dining room, living room and entrance hall have furniture and chandeliers all imported from Italy, as is the marble of the entrance.
Among the many outstanding donors are: Henry Salvatori, Jimmy Durante (whose bust can be admired in the Napoli Garden, a work by sculptor Carlo Rambaldi), Michael Monteleone and Frank Sinatra.
Frank Sinatra held a “Tribute to Dolly Sinatra” night in Las Vegas in November, 1977, and a show at the Universal Amphitheater on June 3, 1979. A life-size picture of Dolly Sinatra, mother of the world famous entertainer, can be seen outside the Chapel which is dedicated in her memory. She died tragically in January, 1977 and had termed Villa Scalabrini “one of my favorite charities.”
