This supposedly contains footage of the Greta Garbo Home for Wayward Girls and Boys in San Francisco.
I landed at the "Greta Garbo Hotel for Wayward Girls and Boys Too" (that's the real name, not "boys and girls" as popularized by the song) in the summer of 1966 when I was 16 years old. That was the summer before the "summer of love" and it was a heady time. I had announced to my parents that I intended to spend the summer on my own in San Francisco and for some reason they let me do it. My older sister - college age - was already out there and they must have thought she would look out for me. I arrived with backpack and guitar in hand, crashed at her place for a few days and found out that I could rent a room at the Greta Garbo for about $25 a week so she and her friends dropped me off.
The real name of the hotel had been the "Kirkland" and there was an old sign with that on the outside of the building. I don't recall that it said "Greta Garbo..." anywhere but there was a huge old movie poster of GG in the lobby and, of course, every one knew it by that name.
I took up residence in one of the front rooms on the second floor. Very sunny with a big bay window facing the street. Bathroom and kitchen were down the hall. Doors were locked by padlocks, the original old fashioned keys probably lost long ago. The place was incredibly seedy but I loved it.
jz@what.org
I landed at the "Greta Garbo Hotel for Wayward Girls and Boys Too" (that's the real name, not "boys and girls" as popularized by the song) in the summer of 1966 when I was 16 years old. That was the summer before the "summer of love" and it was a heady time. I had announced to my parents that I intended to spend the summer on my own in San Francisco and for some reason they let me do it. My older sister - college age - was already out there and they must have thought she would look out for me. I arrived with backpack and guitar in hand, crashed at her place for a few days and found out that I could rent a room at the Greta Garbo for about $25 a week so she and her friends dropped me off.
The real name of the hotel had been the "Kirkland" and there was an old sign with that on the outside of the building. I don't recall that it said "Greta Garbo..." anywhere but there was a huge old movie poster of GG in the lobby and, of course, every one knew it by that name.
I took up residence in one of the front rooms on the second floor. Very sunny with a big bay window facing the street. Bathroom and kitchen were down the hall. Doors were locked by padlocks, the original old fashioned keys probably lost long ago. The place was incredibly seedy but I loved it.
jz@what.org