Top 5 Hollywood Mansions That Were Demolished With Their Stars' Careers
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Published 2023-11-10
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.
All Comments (21)
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COMMENT: Which of these five mansions on the list would you like us to do a “deeper dive” on?
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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.
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I don’t like to tell people when they are wrong, Buster Keatons Italian Villa is still standing in Beverly Hills.
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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.
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Buster Keaton's home wasn't torn down. The property was subdivided, but the house is still there.
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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
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The sunset blvd house. It has always fascinated me
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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.
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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.
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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.
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What a shame that the studio bosses couldn't be bothered to save them from demolition.
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Sad these places are gone, replaced by hideous bldgs.
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I was surprised not to see Pickfair on this list.
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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.
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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" !
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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!
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Its a shame all these beautiful homes are long gone , 😢
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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.
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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
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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.
