Owners of Marilyn Monroe's last residence sue Los Angeles for right to demolish it

2024-05-08T18:27:00-04:00

Alleging an "abuse of power" by Los Angeles city officials, the owners of Marilyn Monroe's former Brentwood home are suing the city to block an effort to have the structure declared a historic-culture landmark, which would prevent its demolition. The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit [...] alleges "illegal and unconstitutional conduct" by the city "with respect to the house where Marilyn Monroe occasionally lived for a mere six months before she tragically committed suicide 61 years ago."

The LA Times (which has been reporting on the story since January of this year when the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission recommended landmark status for the former Monroe residence) writes that the lawsuit was filed by billionaire heiress Brinah Milstein and her TV producer husband Roy Bank, who also own the home next door and purchased the contested mansion in 2023 with the intent to demolish it and merge both properties.

The preservation fight involving the Marilyn Monroe house follows the public uproar over the demolition of Craig Ellwood's 1950 Zimmerman House in Los Angeles by its new owners, actor Chris Pratt and his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger, last month.

Marilyn Monroe: 14 Stations

2012-08-06T12:27:00-04:00

When I was growing up, teenagers on the weekend would be on certain streetcorners selling maps to star’s homes. Yes, I lived amongst the myths.

An account in architecture and memory, Los Angeles artist Hildegarde Duane follows and records fourteen stations evoking memory cuts via buildings and the city, stitching the course of Marilyn Monroe.

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Owners of Marilyn Monroe's last residence sue Los Angeles for right to demolish it

Marilyn Monroe: 14 Stations