Gamut Club (Los Angeles, Calif.)

Biography / Administrative History

The Gamut Club was founded in 1904 by L.E. Behymer and a group of Los Angeles musicians. The membership of this musical society was exclusively male and its objective, as described by their librarian Ben F. Field in 1918, was "brotherhood, assistance to the musical fraternity, and the uplifting of the art." Shortly afterwards, the Club broadened the scope of its activities by including other types of artists such as writers, painters, sculptors, filmmakers, and actors. According to the 1912 Gamut Club yearbook, the Club continued to expand its society by adding "business and professional men of artistic tastes and talents." The Gamet Club building was located on 1044 South Hope Street in Los Angeles and built to meet the needs of their artistic clientele. Their building included a 668 seat theatre, music and banquet room, and artists studios. Charles Fletcher Lummis was a member of the Gamut Club and in 1924 they held a fiesta in his honor. The Club described Lummis as "our most distinguished member."

From the guide to the Gamut Club Collection, 1906-1947, 1906-1932, (Autry National Center. Institute for the Study of the American West)