Art World
Marilyn Monroe’s Final Home Declared Landmark, Saved From Demolition
The current neighbors wanted to knock the residence down to expand their estate.
by
Adam Schrader
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The beloved final home of Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe has been declared a historic cultural monument by the Los Angeles City Council after it was granted a last-minute reprieve from demolition in October 2023.
The members of the City Council voted unanimously, 12-0, during a June 26 meeting to declare that Marilyn Monroe’s final home at 12305 West 5th Helena Drive be added to the list of historic cultural monuments, documents show.
Councilwoman Traci Park, who championed the eleventh-hour demolition reprieve last fall, spoke to her fellow politicians ahead of the vote, a recording of the council meeting shows.
“We have an opportunity to do something today that should have been done 60 years ago,” Park said. “There is no other person or place in the city of Los Angeles as iconic as Marilyn Monroe and her Brentwood home.”
Park noted that some of the most famous pictures of the film icon were taken at the home near her pool. Monroe purchased the Spanish Colonial-style property for $75,000 in the spring of 1962, after filming Something’s Got to Give and following her divorce from playwright Arthur Miller, decorating it with furniture crafted by Mexican artists.
An aerial view of Marilyn Monroe’s former residence in Brentwood, California. Photo: Mel Bouzad/Getty Images.
In its application for landmark status, the L.A. Conservancy, a nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing historic buildings and places in the city, called Monroe’s former residence “the first place she sought out and bought for herself and on her own.”
Six months after moving in, Monroe died at the age of 36 from an overdose of barbiturates at the home.
“There is likely no woman in history or culture who captures the imagination of the public that Marilyn Monroe did. Even all these years later, her story still inspires us today,” Park said.
Brinah Milstein and Roy Bank, the current owners of the home, live next door and bought the property for $8.35 million to demolish it to expand their own estate, EuroNews reported. They have filed a lawsuit against the city that remains pending.
“The Marilyn Monroe Residence in Brentwood is now a Historic-Cultural Monument!” the L.A. Conservancy wrote on X. “Today, L.A. City Council unanimously approved the nomination for Marilyn Monroe’s final home. Thanks to all who voiced their support and a HUGE thanks to Councilwoman Traci Park & team!”
