The house where Marilyn Monroe lived and died was designated a local historic landmark by a unanimous vote of the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday, ending a months-long battle to save the Spanish Colonial-style home from demolition.
The City Council voted 12-0 to add the house to the list of historically significant properties.
The designation was supported by the City Council’s Land Use Management Subcommittee and the city’s Cultural Heritage Committee.
“There are no more iconic people or places in the city of Los Angeles than Marilyn Monroe and her Brentwood home,” said City Council Member Tracy Park, who introduced the proposal to landmark the house. “Losing this piece of history, the only home ever owned by Marilyn Monroe, would be a devastating blow to historic preservation and to a city where less than 3 percent of historic buildings are connected to women’s legacies.”
The four-bedroom house A list of about 1,300 sites According to the City of Los Angeles, there are approximately 444 buildings that the city considers to be historically and culturally significant, of which approximately 444 are private homes.
The vote came weeks after a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge denied the owners’ request for a preliminary injunction to block the landmark designation. In court documents, Brina Milstein and Roy Bank accused the city of “underhanded tactics” for rushing the process, saying the city violated its own rules and conspired with third parties to secure the designation. The owners’ lawsuit against the city is pending, and a pretrial conference is scheduled for August 13.
Milstein and Bank also argued that landmarking the house would bring more visitors — it’s hidden from view from the street behind a painted brick wall — but that hasn’t stopped fans from leaving flowers and trying to get a glimpse.
Fans and preservationists say the home is important to Hollywood history – and to Monroe’s legacy.
“She represents the magic of Hollywood and Los Angeles,” said Terence London, 39, a downtown Los Angeles resident who spoke at the City Council meeting in support of preserving the house and making it more visible from the street for tourists. “Marilyn Monroe’s own designs are printed on the house. It’s historic.”
Lawyers for Mr. Milstein and Mr. Bank did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
Monroe was a pop culture icon in the 1950s. 2,900 sq. ft. She bought the hacienda for $75,000 in the spring of 1962, just as she was divorcing playwright Arthur Miller and finishing filming what would become her final film, Something’s Gotta Give.
The home, believed to have been built in 1929, was located in a cul-de-sac called the Helenas, where privacy is valued, and offered just that much privacy to the world’s most famous actress. According to city filings, Monroe traveled to Mexico to purchase furniture and decor from local artists, including a variety of painted ceramic tiles for the kitchen and bathrooms.
Partly inlaid with ceramic tiles, the house became known as “Culsum Perficio,” a Latin phrase that roughly translates to “finishing the journey.”
Her stay in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles will be short. died of a drug overdose It was August 1962, six months after she moved in. The private world she created in her home was revealed in photographs taken after her death, including one of a policeman standing guard over the tranquil, kidney-shaped swimming pool lined with palm trees.
Lawyers for Messrs. Milstein and Banks had argued that at the time of her death, Ms. Monroe’s permanent residence was in New York City and that her time in Brentwood was not significant enough to warrant landmark designation, and that the house had been significantly remodeled since her death more than 60 years ago.
According to city ordinances, the designation does not prohibit demolition, relocation or alteration, but it does require a rigorous review process by the Cultural Heritage Commission. Milstein, an heir to a wealthy real estate family, and Bank, a reality TV producer, own the property next door to the Monroe mansion and had planned to demolish it and combine the two properties.
According to property records, Milstein and Banks purchased the home through their limited liability company, the Glory of Snow Trust, for $8.35 million in July of last year and applied for demolition permits shortly thereafter. As rumors of the impending demolition spread, Spread the word In the Brentwood area, a moratorium on demolition permits was put into place after the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted in September to begin the process of having the area designated a historic landmark.
The couple had proposed relocating the Monroe mansion and opening it to the public. The Brentwood Community Council, which represents about 35,000 homeowners and business groups, and other homeowners associations in the area opposed the designation and supported relocating the mansion.
Councillor Park said he was in discussions with the landowners to relocate the house and was “hopeful” an agreement would be reached. He also said he had tabled a motion to consider restricting tourist bus traffic near the house to address neighbours’ concerns about traffic and safety.
“But today, let’s preserve an important part of Los Angeles history and culture,” she said.
