Resident restores ‘Gold Medallion’ in Mutual 1

Mutual 1 resident Tammy Singer recently restored a medallion she found adhered to a sidewalk in her Mutual.

After doing some research, she found that it belonged to the “Live Better Electrically” program that began in the mid-1950s when General Electric and Westinghouse cosponsored a multi-million dollar nationwide effort to promote the sales of electric appliances and the benefits of electric power. There were two tiers: Medallion homes were outfitted with a certain number of electric appliances and lights, while Gold Medallion homes were fully electric, including the heating system.

In 1963, an Independent Press-Telegram Leisure World Seal Beach advertisement called it “America’s first GOLD MEDALLION ALL- ELECTRIC COMMUNITY.” The same ad said that more than 5,600 shareownership apartments had already sold, with final sections still being offered.

A sidewalk medallion from the 1950s marking Leisure World units as "Gold Medallion" homes. Leisure World was billed as "America's fi rst all-electric community.

Tammy Singer