Gildred (Theodore) Personal Papers, 1900-1967

View only results with digital items
Printable guide [HTML]

Summary

Title:
Theodore Gildred Special Collection
Dates:
1900-1967
Creators:
Gildred, Theodore E.
Abstract:
Theodore Gildred (1900-1967) was born on May 12, 1900, in Rochester, New York. His parents moved to South America in 1905, and he was educated in Argentina and Ecuador. Theodore Gildred’s collection primarily consists of documents relating to his Ecuador Goodwill Flight of March 1931.
Extent:
0.5 Cubic Feet One Box
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Item], [Filing Unit], [Series Title], [Subgroups], [Record Group Title and Number], [Repository “San Diego Air & Space Museum Library & Archives”]

Background

Scope and content:

Theodore Gildred’s collection primarily consists of documents relating to his Ecuador Goodwill Flight of March 1931. Included in the collection are telegrams, personal correspondence, pilot book logs and flight notes, drawings, newspaper articles in Spanish and English, and several maps.

There are 54 original English cablegrams + 1 copy, 1931. •Note: Some of the photographs in this collection are present in the Papers of Theodore E. Gildred Special Collection. •Note: Theodore Gildred is sometimes referred to as Theodore Gildred Sr., though this was not his legal name.

Biographical / historical:

Theodore Gildred (1900-1967) was born on May 12, 1900, in Rochester, New York. His parents moved to South America in 1905, and he was educated in Argentina and Ecuador. He entered New York University in 1915 and graduated as a civil engineer in 1918. He then began his engineering career with the job of surveying Lake Tahoe to establish the permanent water levels of the lake. He later returned to Ecuador to work with his brothers.

In 1925 Theodore and his brother, Phil Gildred, came to San Diego, California, where they began building the Fox Theater in 1927. While in San Diego, Theodore began flying in a Travelair biplane at Dutch Flats with Doug Kelly, a pioneer San Diego aviator. Theodore bought a Stimson monoplane in 1929 and, accompanied by Doug Kelly, flew to New York. Then in 1931, he acquired a Wright R5 Whirlwind-powered Ryan Brougham monoplane from Mahoney Ryan Aircraft Corporation and embarked on a 4,200 mile goodwill flight to Quito, Ecuador. He was given a warm welcome upon landing in Quito and commemorated with the Ecuadorian Medal of Honor by the President of Ecuador. After his historic flight, he donated his aircraft, “Ecuador,” to the people of Ecuador as a goodwill gesture to help the growth of aviation in that country.

After returning to San Diego, he married Maxine Edmonds and moved to Mexico City in 1934 with his family. In the period between 1937 and 1965 he worked on the development of Lindavista, one of the largest subdivisions north of Mexico City, in association with Ign. Pascual Ortiz Rubio, ex-president of Mexico. During the 1940s and 1950s, Gildred also developed one of the largest chains of movie theaters in Mexico with Gen. Abelardo Rodriguez, who had also been one of Mexico’s presidents.

Gildred died in June 1967, in San Diego. Prior to his death, he established the Gildred Foundation, which has made major contributions in the medical research field to the San Diego Air & Space Museum (then the San Diego Aero-Space Museum), the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, Salk Institute, and University of California, San Diego.

Acquisition information:
The materials in this collection were donated to the San Diego Air Space Museum. The collection has been processed and is open for research with no restrictions.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Alan Renga
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2016-01-04 20:14:27 +0000 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open to researchers by appointment.

Terms of access:

Some copyright may be reserved. Consult with the library director for more information.

Preferred citation:

[Item], [Filing Unit], [Series Title], [Subgroups], [Record Group Title and Number], [Repository “San Diego Air & Space Museum Library & Archives”]

Location of this collection:
2001 Pan American Plaza, Balboa Park
San Diego, CA 92101, US
Contact:
(619) 234-8291
archives@sdasm.org
Website