Top 5 Hollywood Mansions That Were Demolished With Their Stars' Careers
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- Опубліковано 16 тра 2024
- In the golden age of Hollywood, the hills were alive with more than just the sound of music-they were dotted with the palatial homes of the silver screen’s brightest stars.
Imagine, if you will, a veritable Shangri-La nestled in the Hollywood Hills - where every mansion was seemingly in competition to outdo the opulence of the studio sets where their owners spent their working hours.
The walls of these estates could, of course, not talk - but had they been afforded the gift of gab - the stories they could tell would rival the screenplays that won their residents their statuettes.
In today’s episode of Old Money Mansions, we’ll take you through the top five most opulent mansions of the Golden Age of Hollywood that eventually met the wrecking ball - and, unfortunately, were demolished.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Introduction
1:08 #1 The William O. Jenkins House - “The Sunset Boulevard Mansion”
3:11 #2 Falcon Lair - The Majestic Moorish Mansion
5:26 #3 The Garden of Allah - A Silent Film Star’s Paradise
7:38 #4 The Italian Villa of a Comedic Genius
9:43 #5 The Rococo Retreat
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In the sunny sprawl of Los Angeles - precisely at Six Forty One South Irving Boulevard - once presided a residence that could rival the star power of Tinseltown's finest.
The William O. Jenkins House - a stately name for a stately place, - was as iconic to the Hollywood scene as the celebrities on the Walk of Fame.
Indeed, this illustrious dwelling wasn't just bricks and mortar - it was an emblem of Hollywood's gilded era - echoing the grand narrative of its cinematic triumphs.
Sprouting from the vision of William O. Jenkins - a mogul whose sweet tooth for sugar plantations in Mexico was well-known - the mansion's Mediterranean flair was conjured between 1919 and 1924.
Despite its splendor, the Jenkins Family’s occupancy was as brief as a cameo appearance-they called it home for merely a year before Mexico beckoned them back.
Yet, the structure stood resilient, with a skeleton of steel, concrete, and brick, all lining its imposing interior.
In an era when the Jazz Age was in full swing and Hollywood's silver screen glowed with stars, Rudolph Valentino stood out.
This Italian-born actor - who set hearts aflutter in "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" and "The Sheik” - soared to the zenith of his profession in the Roaring Twenties.
With fame came the spoils - and Valentino's spoil of choice was a Moorish-style palace nestled in Beverly Hills- the so-called “Falcon Lair”.
Costing the princely sum of one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars-no chump change back then-Valentino's estate was more than a home - it was a declaration of his celluloid success.
Perched above Benedict Canyon, it was a sanctum of status and solitude.
Next, in a twist reminiscent of the great stage dramas, the iconic Alla Nazimova Estate - originally crafted in 1913 by the savvy developer William H. Hay - was ultimately christened with the flair of Broadway itself by none other than the star Alla Nazimova.
Nazimova - whose name echoed through the halls of Broadway - saw beyond the estate's mere mortar and beams to envision a realm of Hollywood splendor - dubbing her abode the Garden of Alla-a nod to both her own name and the literary work by Robert Smythe Hichens.
As the Roaring Twenties reached their zenith, Nazimova's estate underwent a metamorphosis of Hollywood proportions.
The year 1927 saw the Garden of Alla transform from a silent star's mansion to the talk of Tinseltown - the Garden of Allah Hotel.
With the cunning of a showbiz veteran facing financial straits, Nazimova spun her land into gold - erecting around 30 villas of quaint charm to host Hollywood's elite.
Keaton - the stone-faced sultan of slapstick - found his castle nestled just a stone's throw from the Beverly Hills Hotel - staking his claim on the comedic and architectural map of Tinseltown.
This Italianate villa - carved out of the rolling hills - set the gold standard for the celebrity cribs that followed - each vying for a slice of Beverly grandeur.
Architect Gene Verge - the maestro of Mediterranean revival - took a page from the old-world charm of Italy - envisioning a villa that echoed the rustic nobility of Tuscany and Lombardy, with a pinch of Californian pizzazz.
Last on our list -in a sunny nook of Santa Monica, where the ocean's breath whispers of silver-screen legends - the once-storied abode of Marion Davies offered a window into the sumptuous lives of Hollywood royalty.
Dreamt up by the architectural maestro Julia Morgan and realized between the Roaring Twenties and the early Thirties, this splendid residence was a beacon of the era's extravagance.
COMMENT: Which of these five mansions on the list would you like us to do a “deeper dive” on?
Pickfair, it should never been knocked down, yet used as the Pickford library
Davies.
Definitely the Garden of Allah, the stories of this playpen must be endless l would start with police reports .
The Garden of Allah please!
All of them, because you have the time and they provide sumptuous material for future videos, for which you must come up with topics for anyway.
The Keaton estate was purchased by James and Pamela Mason in 1948. Pamela died in '96 her daughter sold the property to two investors who made extensive repairs to the estate. in 2002, new owners purchased it and restored the original look that had been remodeled in the previous decades.
I don’t like to tell people when they are wrong, Buster Keatons Italian Villa is still standing in Beverly Hills.
The sunset blvd house. It has always fascinated me
The Jenkins house, in addition to “Sunset Blvd,” was used in, “Rebel Without a Cause,” starring James Dean, Sal Mineo, Natalie Wood, etc.
Sal Mineo takes the 2 lovers to this old mansion that he points out from the Griffith Park Observatory. The house, of course, isn’t anywhere near there, but at the dead end of Crenshaw into Wilshire Blvd. it spanned the entire block between Irving and Lorraine.
What made the house so fascinating was that it really was abandoned and overgrown. The pool, made for the Sunset Blvd movie, was empty and full of debris, just as depicted in Rebel. Warner Bros. Set up the generators, etc., on Lorraine next to the old tennis court. The court was where they set up all the catering. This was 1955 and I was 10 years old. We lived across the street from the old house on Lorraine. My sister and I got to watch some of the night filming.
But more interesting was prior to tearing it down for the Tidewater Oil Bldg., they allowed people in to bid on pieces of the interior (not furniture.) Some of the walls were covered in tapestry or fabric, and I remember finding a full size vault behind a door. Of course, the famous staircase was going to be removed by someone, but it was something to see. I actually went down into the basement, but seeing mounds of dirt was more than my teenage imagination could handle, so I was out of there!
So glad to see your piece on this. We never could really see what the house looked like because it was so overgrown with vegetation.
ET
Very interesting commentary. You should be a curator of the area. Good job!
Happy to say there is an active Windsor Square Historical Society, that monitors this neighborhood. Windsor Square, and many of the adjacent areas are part of HPOZs, historic preservation overlay zones. A California tax incentive called the Mills Act, also helps those with historic properties that maintain historic and architectural details and character. Sadly, many important, significant buildings and homes continue to be destroyed in Los Angeles.
Buster Keaton's home wasn't torn down. The property was subdivided, but the house is still there.
I'd like to see a deeper dive done on Marion Davies' Versailles-By-The-Sea. My first awareness of that mansion was in 1962, when my best friend's parents and several others built an A-frame beach chalet right next door to the mansion, to the south. In 1962, the swimming pool was empty and a slightly seedy beach club occupied the premises, trying to make a go of it, but the house looked sadly neglected, even then. I'd like to hear more about the glory years, the Davies era, when movie stars frolicked there; when David Niven and Errol Flynn rented an adjacent cottage and called it Cirrhosis By The Sea. You can see exteriors of my friend's parents' beach chalet in the film, "Bachelor Flat" (1962) with Terry-Thomas and Tuesday Weld. Now, some remains of Marion Davies' beach palace and a new swanky hotel (1990's) occupy the former site of the palace and the chalet.
Perfect timing for this request! We have a video on the Marion Davies “Beach House” coming next week about many of the things you asked for 😎
I was going to be a docent at this place but ended up getting lots of work and had to bow out. It’s a great place now!
@@oldmoneymansionscan you make a video on all their properties?
Me too!!
Some of the vintage post cards, representing Valentino's Falcon's Lair are actually the earlier home he owned in Whitley Heights, near the Hollywood Bowl. This too, was destroyed in 1953 making way for the 101 Freeway, which tore through thiat historic neighborhood.
Keaton's estate gave up one last great secret when James Mason owned it. In an overgrown shed on the property, Mason found most of Keaton's silent films (in good condition!) that had been thought lost until that point. I'd like a "deeper dive" on the William O. Jenkins mansion.
Thanks for your comment and info, noted on the Jenkins home!
Niiiiiice!!!
Bull
@@DemnRaig80 There's also a story about Mason taking down a screening room wall and finding them, but he did find them.
Did a lot of the early start keep copies of all their films
I alway thought that Harold Lloyd had kept his in a vault on his grounds
ALL of them! BTW, when mentioning Falcon Lair, you had images of Valentino's Beverly Hills home as well as his Whitley Heights home. Completely different places.
I'd love to see a deeper dive on all of them, but if I had to choose just one, the Marion Davies house would be fascinating. Thanks for a great video and a great channel!
Thanks, Neil! Will do!
I was surprised not to see Pickfair on this list.
They already did a full video of Pickfair by itself.
So did I. Pickfair was the most famous of all the Hollywood mansions.
Would like more on Buster Keaton's house.
Davies' Ocean House has held my fascination for years!!!
Sad these places are gone, replaced by hideous bldgs.
Keaton's Mansion can be seen on Google Maps…at the end of Pamela Dr (James Mason's wife). They subdivided the property with the pool on another lot
What a shame that the studio bosses couldn't be bothered to save them from demolition.
These houses were all fabulous, but Marion Davies' house must surely have an interesting history. She was the paramour of William Randolph Hearst. I would vote for that story.
The first picture in the segment about Valentino was not Falcon Lair, but his Whitley Heights house that was torn down to build the freeway.
Its a shame all these beautiful homes are long gone , 😢
All incredibly interesting. Sunset Blvd was all Victorian mansions at one time. One by one they were bulldozed for the commercial buildings that you find there now. You might want to explore Harold Lloyd and his ownership of all Benedict Canyon and his magnificent estate. His movie studio occupied the land that is now the home to the massive Mormon Temple on Santa Monica Blvd. The studio ran all the way to Wilshire Blvd. Another great property for you to explore would be the ranch estate of the first silent film cowboy star, Tom Mix. His ranch was where Century City and Fox Studios currently are. He sold it all to Fox. And then Fox almost went bankrupt making Cleopatra with Elizabeth Taylor, so in order to survive they sold off their entire backlot-- which is now Century City. All of these properties would be interesting to see in their glory and learn more about. I'd love to know more about Buster Keaton's place as well, but I believe it is still standing and has been restored.
thank you.
Enjoyed a different twist at ‘Ol Money. Always informative and well presented. Thank you.
The movie ‘Sunset’ a favorite film.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Totally,one hundred percent this is a video that is informative an entertaining ... great voice over, well put together... that you
Wow, thank you!
What a beautifully fantastic, and tragic, video on the luxurious Hollywood lifestyle....thanks for sharing 😁🍿🎥
The first picture during the Valentino section was not Falcon Lair, but the Whitney Heights home. And Rambova NEVER set foot in Falcon Lair...he moved in ALONE, his family staying with him into that last summer of 1926. Pola Negri was involved with him at the time. The house was finally bought by a director who tried in vain to save it, tearing it down to the studs to restore it, but the costs became prohibitive and if finally was demolished. He made a movie there and it's on YT and you an see many of the rooms...
I had the great fortune of visiting Buster Keaton Italian Villa when renovations were underway- his old movie screen was found behind bookcases, the vault door that guarded his movies behind the garden shed was there, original floors, many of the fixtures, the fireplace and even one of his movie props turned home furnishing- a large mirror were still there. The lower properties on the hill were sold off, but the pool at the bottom was also still there, just part of another homes property now.
The old-school narration is as grandiose as the mansions ! It’s so overblown, it’s kind of entertaining.
Excellent presentation!
Glad you liked it!
My grandfather lived two blocks from the house where Sunset Blvd was filmed. That location is at the intersection of Wilshire blvd and Crenshaw
I would like to hear more on the Davies and Keaton mansions, please. I've always wanted to know more about the beginnings of Hollywood. The 1920s are my favorite. 🙂💙🌴🌷🌟
Go on Google Earth Pro, type in the address 1018 Pamela Drive, Beverly Hills Calif. and you can see the Keaton mansion is still there, it wasn't torn down. Clearly the property was divided and the grounds are no longer the large mass they once were however the house itself still stands.
You do have a gift of writing sir!
A fascinating video
Stars, Who made a Fortune back in those days, Which is called Old Money. Anything you put down $300,000 in the 1920's for a Mansion. You are definitely in the Money. But everything must come to an End! Great Video 😀❤️😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
In the 1900s more like 25-50 k
As a young man of 23 in 1968, I worked for Lytton Savings and Loan. There was a monument where the "Garden Of Allah" once was. Through the years, "Lytton Savings And Loan" became an icon as well. Its Mid Century Modern architecture and design became world-renowned. Bart Lytton, too, would become an icon in his business. His clients were some of the biggest names in Hollywood, and in the lower level of the building was a wall covered with photographs of celebrities from Clark Gable to Elizabeth Taylor. The building itself would have the same fate as "The Garden Of Allah" when the wrecking ball tore it down in 2021, after an attempt to save it failed in order to make way for "Progress" !
Definitely the home from Sunset Boulevard!!!
MOST INTERESTING/INFORMATIVE video !
VALENTINO'S FALCONS LAIRS WAS AN ARTISTIC RETREAT FOR THE STAR
I'd like to know more about all of them,. The servant's quarters of Marion's beach house remains, a two story building at the north end of the property. The Sunset Boulevard mansion lives on in my mind for sure. Wasn't another mansion used for the interiors?
The interiors were supposedly modelled on the original house but were done on a soundstage at paramount, the interior set was later used in “a place in the sun’ and ‘fancy pants’
@@leemalcolmson7852 Thank You.
All your narratives are cleverly written, and delivered with posh aplomb. I enjoy your channels very much.
Thanks Karen, glad you like them!
Marian Davies home of course. I’d love to see more on that one. I’ve been to Hearst Castle and I’ve watched everything possible about it but I haven’t learned very much about the home in Malibu.
The house (mansion) was in Santa Monica. It’s quite a bit south of Malibu.
I'd love to learn more about Davis' mansion and the other homes along the coast.
Definitely the William O. Jenkins house ❤ thanks!
What a horrible waste of beauty and resources.
The exteriors of the Jenkins mansion were used in Sunset Boulevard, but the interiors were done on Paramount sound stages.
Pls do a part 2
I could be wrong but wasn't Marion Davis the girl friend of William Randolph Hearst? If I am please forgive me and dont be little me by my lack of knowledge. Thank you for the video to many times we lose the beautiful homes of yesteryear and bring in new and then say what have we done
Yes she was.
That's what these mansions turned out to be "Norma Desmonds" houses. All destroyed for progress and new homes and businesses. Like Pickfords house!
That’s not progress. Change yes, but not progress.
There is another huge beautiful mansion Pickfair was torn down too
I want to hear more about the Marion Davies beach house, please.
Falcon Lair, should never have been demolished..
GREEN ACRES of Harold Lloyd
Please do Buster Keaton's Estate.. it was the most impressive for me! Question, l can't find anything on it, really... was this beautiful place really demolished?
I remember reading about Harold Lloyds home I believe? It had a moat?
I would love to see more on the William O. Jenkins house. Maybe some actual interior shots?
The Garden of Allah on Sunset Blvd.
We can overlook certain things attempted to make the production more ‘interesting’ as no one is perfect. And your respectfully reply and attempt to keep viewers happy, appreciated. 🙏🏿
Cheers! We’ll definitely work on it and thanks for the support
@@oldmoneymansionsI guess what you're going to have to work on... is knowing that the subject matter is cool enough, and that weird colors and distortion techniques are not. Like nobody watches flickering and goes "oh wow!! It flickered at me, I'm gonna keep watching!!"
The last one the Beachfront property. Interesting.
Interesting history.
All things must past
(George Harrison)
My actor friend Parley Baer knew Buster Keaton at a later time, when he had an address on Sylvan, in Woodland Hills.
I would love to see the inside of Buster Keaton's home. So sad they are gone.
Didn't Marion Davies get her place from Hearst? He built it for her.
My friend was the daughter of the owner of the Marion Davies mansion. It became a very exclusive private club (it was actually leased by the state of California) . I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time there. Did you know that pool was painted black? My friend Brigit Badt had an original New York hot dog cart and she ordered all her hot dogs from N.Y. Most of the members were transplanted New Yorkers so she made a fortune on the weekends. Being right there on the beach surrounded by history was indescribable. William Randolph Hearst had purchased it for his long suffering paramour Marion.
Later a part of it became the address for the TV show 90210.
Thanks for sharing this insightful comment!
Pickfair was demolished also
My God all of them!
Wow imagine if walls could talk 🤔Now that would be interesting 😏😮
I'm surprised "Pickfair" the iconic mansion and estate purchased and extensively renovated by Douglas Fairbanks for his bride-to-be Mary Pickford is not included in this short list 🤔
April 2021, The Lytton Savings Bank (Chase) 1960's landmark building began demolition, to make way for a 57,300 Sq Ft Retail & Restaurant space.
I'd be interested in finding out more about Charlie Chaplin's Hollywood home and his film studio. Or, Lucy and Desi's home and their studio.
I’ve driven past Lucy and Desi’s house quite a few times. That street was littered with stars. It’s fairly mundane compared to some of these homes. The attraction was in the fact that the neighborhood was illustrious.
Chateau Marmont hotel is still off Sunset Blvd, just a stone’s throw from where Garden of Allah was. Chateau gives you the charm, and character of old Hollywood, a taste of yesterday.
Well, Marion Davies did have a stalwart and enormously wealthy and exceedingly powerful backer, William Randolph Hearst supporting her....and Hearst castle (San Simeon) still stands on the California coast...
I remember Marion Davies house at the beach in Santa Monica.
I hate to be a "party pooper", and I don't think it was big enough to qualify as a "mansion", and it certainly was not the "golden age", but I have to mention the actor who had a bit part in "The Towering Inferno" -- that's right, OJ Simpson. After the trial, his "mansion" was bought by someone and immediately demolished. People cheered. It was on Rockingham, down the street from the house Roseanne Barr and Tom Arnold briefly shared.
Number one.
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot... oooh bop bop bop bop
Marion Davies please
How very strange to plow down so much beauty. Davies was supported by Wm. Randolph Hearst, no?
You managed to miss maybe the most famous of all Hollywood mansions; Picfair.
What no Pic-fair?
A complete video of Pickfair has already been done by them.
Are there any of these mansions that have been saved and preserved?
The Jenkins mansion.
The subject matter is truly interesting, but your use of filtering or whatever the heck you are choosing to do with the images you're presenting, is so obtuse and irritating that it rendered it completely unwatchable. Whatever that blast of 3D color edging and weird lines were trying to elicit, merely succeeded in giving me a headache. I really wanted to watch this for the content, but your choice of optics blew...
We’ll tell the video editors to change it nice time 🙏
This!!!!
Agreed. Unwatchable.
Don't be a jerk ...
I hope so because your narrative and content was excellent.
Would’ve loved to have seen better pictures of the houses.
Valentinos please
Keaton
You forgot Pickfair.
William Randolph Hearst was the money behind Marion Davies
The Davies beach house should have - and could have - been turned into a successful motel.
This guy’s voice reminds me of Richard Burton.
Marion Davies & Valentino......
More on all but M. Davies Mansion first
Should have shown what modern views of the former places look like.
I hope Pia Zadora can sleep at night knowing that.......she destroyed Pickfair.
Marion Davies for sure but also the Garden of Allah. Liked your narration but please 🙏 you don’t need all the 3D affects. Your content is interesting and I want to see the fabulous pictures.
Pickfair is a dam shame
You added a c to Bogart’s last name
The early photos with only a few mansions, the landscape actually looked better back then. Now the area is build to the seams and looks terrible.
I dont like mansions, because they are short lived, and most of them has a tragic story, always ending in rubble and bad memories. Falcon Lair was nothing but a tragic adventure without any sence of fairytale what so ever.
Valentino died without even have had a minimum of happy time in the glorius mansion, his so called wife did not sleep one night in the wonderland, and his death was a farce, waiting in vaine for the right doctor, and later a lit.de.parade where everything went wrong, then a long travel by train, finally ending in a tomb not even belonging to him.
After all the troubles a nasty family who just went for the money and his fame, leaving his home in a chaos. abandon all his beloved animals, not to forget his poor dog who nobody cared about.
Valentino was his own worst enemy, because he made terrible choises about women, who just used him, because he had a soft heart and a kind soul.
He became a legend and a bestseller for moneyhunters, and today nearly a hundred years after his tragic death, fans and confused women still adore him without even having the smallest idea about his way of living and how ruined he was from a nasty ilness that only got worse by the day.
No doubt he was a nice guy, but he was totally captured by the female sex no matter their age or status, he loved Rampova no doubt, but she was a manipulating cold chick with no family wishes at all, so one can say that she was the upperset of everything he adored and wanted.
His last fling was Marion Davies from Sigfield Follies, she was with him the fatal night where he later died after a failed operation. These long gone mansions are nothing but closed graves, keeping a strong hold in a long gone time, where the truth of the matters are the only way one can get the right impressure what really made this high society lives like descreibed by memory hunters, I think the golden age was what Hollywood is today, a dunhill full of sadness and ruined lives, a lot of glory and fame, with a dark side of misery not even money can repair.
Do correct me if I am wrong, but then I would like a better story to compensate to form my openions better.....the mansions that still exist from the golden age will eventually meet the same destiny, so much for big spenders.....
One word Research!!!
GOOD - HELL
PICKFAIR
Buster's