“There is no other person or place in the city of Los Angeles as iconic as Marilyn Monroe and her Brentwood home,” said City Councilor Traci Park.
Marilyn Monroe acquired this 270 square meter single-storey hacienda in 1962, just after her divorce from the writer Arthur Miller, in an attempt to regain some semblance of privacy.
It was in this house, invisible from the street, that the star was found dead barely six months later due to a drug overdose at just 36 years old.
The place has had several owners since the death of the “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “Some Like It Hot” star.
But controversy erupted last year after it was bought by Brinah Milstein, a wealthy heiress, and Roy Banks, a reality TV producer.
The couple, who own a neighboring house, acquired the house for $8.35 million, with plans to raze it to expand. But their demolition permit was quickly canceled by the city, because of the historical issue.
This decision prompted the new owners to take the matter to court. A case that the courts have not yet decided on the merits.
The city’s classification of the house does not prohibit its demolition. But this requires rigorous scrutiny before the municipal heritage commission.
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