Jayne Mansfield's former 'Pink Palace' (Los Angeles, California)

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  wrtintx

  10100 Sunset Boulevard. The 8 bedroom/13 bathroom Spanish Colonial-style house was originally built in the 1920s for Rudy Vallee. Jayne Mansfield and Mr. Universe Micky Hargitay purchased the estate in 1961 for $74,000. The couple set about turning their new home into a Hollywood extravaganza. The house was given the moniker "The Pink Palace" after Mansfield had it painted a soft shade of pink. The house famously glistened and sparkled because the pink paint was mixed with crushed sandstone. The house quickly because a tourist trap--cars and buses would slow down and stop looking at the estate and the big wrought iron gates that featured the initials "JM" centered in her signature heart shape. Mansfield loved the attention and would often step out onto a balcony facing Sunset to wave to her adoring fans. The most unusual and notable feature of the house was without doubt the heart-shaped pool with the words "I love you Jaynie" spelled out in mosaics on the bottom. Directly behind the "Pink Palace" was Owlwood, another very famous and fabled estate that was once owned by Tony Curtis and later Sonny and Cher. Across the road from The Pink Palace was the former Esther Williams' estate. Tragically Jayne Mansfield was killed in an automobile accident in 1967 just outside of Biloxi, Mississippi. After Mansfield's death, the "Pink Palace" is said to have been occupied at different times by Mama Cass and Ringo Starr. The estate was later purchased by Englebert Humperdinck and it was his residence for 17 years before selling it in 2002 to the owner of Owlwood. Mansfield's beloved "Pink Palace", as well as the Esther Williams house, were demolished by the owner of Owlwood in order to create a monstrous 10 acre estate for himself.

  17 years ago | reply | hide comment
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  wrtintx

  Jayne Mansfield's Fabulous Pink Palace is Razed / By Mike Szymanski Wednesday, November 20, 2002 One of the most recognizable private homes along Sunset Boulevard, Jayne Mansfield's Pink Palace, has been unceremoniously razed last week much to the surprise of neighbors, fans and historians who remember it as a piece of Hollywood history. A favorite stop for tour buses for nearly half a century, this mansion at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Carolwood Drive is where the '60s blonde starlet herself would pop out on her pink balcony and wave to tourists almost daily before her death in a car accident near New Orleans in 1967. This house and the neighboring houses on the cul-de-sac just appeared on an American Movie Classics special about the property. The eight-bedroom, 13-bathroom estate was the epitome of Hollywood lavishness and excesses. Mickey Hargitay, now 76, released a statement to Zap2it saying: "As far as I'm concerned, the house died when Jayne died." He never went back to the house. Before the house, guest house and neighboring house owned by Esther Williams was leveled last week for a private park, the children of Mansfield were able to take personal remnants for themselves. TV actress Mariska Hargitay, who plays Det. Olivia Benson on "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit," went to the house last week and took away copper hood over an indoor fireplace in the poolhouse that her father made for her mother and engraved with the inscription: "Jaynie -- My love will flame for you forever -- Mickey." Her brothers Zoltan and Mickey Jr. managed to save 85 percent of a petrified wood fireplace from the den of the house that was installed by their father. This house was next door to Owlwood which was then owned by Tony Curtis and later sold to Sonny and Cher. Across the street lived 1940's swimming star Esther Williams, and that colonial estate was razed at the same time. Before Mansfield bought it and added the hearts and painted it pink, the Spanish colonial mansion was built by Rudy Vallee for a honeymoon house that he never lived in, and it was at times owned or rented by Mama Cass, Ringo Starr and finally by Englebert Humperdinck, who tried to sell it for the past 15 years. After first asking $9.5 million, Humperdinck finally dropped the price to $2.5 million. Although the house seemed as if it was in decent condition, it lacked air conditioning and always had the severe traffic noise at the much-traveled Sunset Boulevard just outside the eight-foot pink walls. The main grand chandelier was brought piece by piece across the world from Europe by Mickey and Jayne, according to one of the world's largest collectors of Mansfield memorabilia, Sabin Gray, who has served nearly a dozen years on the West Hollywood Cultural Preservation Board. "I think it's a shame that something could disappear so fast and it isn't there for people to see anymore," said Gray, who toured the house privately years ago when it was for sale. "It's a tragedy something like this can happen because future generations could have enjoyed something that represented her, where she lived and how she lived," said Gray. "It was always nice to know that something was around and you could have the feeling that at one time she was there." A site for lavish parties, magazine photo shoots and Hollywood legends, the house was bought by Mansfield and Hargitay in 1961 for $74,000. The couple put $2,000 down and performed at the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas for two weeks and came back to buy the house outright. "Houses aren't necessarily historic just because of the people who live there, the stars went to the best architects of the time, and these properties were phenomenal," says Offenhauser. No city law was broken, and no one is saying one has. But Offenhauser says the developer hasn't recognized the value of the landmarks, and the buildings were not declared historic. Calls to the developer have not been returned. "Classic buildings like this are disappearing, it's very disheartening," says the architect, who acknowledges that what Mansfield did to her house "was atrocious, but her taste has become sweet over the years." The next-door estate of Owlwood is described as a beautiful as walking into the French Palace of Versailles. So far, that house hasn't been touched. But the Pink Palace is gone before any public outcry. The property is near Beverly Hills in an area of the City of Los Angeles, and although some districts are deemed historic zones, certain properties of historical significance get torn down quickly, and that is why homes such as Lucille Ball's and the famed Pickfair Estate have been bulldozed overnight without notice. Offenhauser says that if the property is meant to be subdivided, the elimination of the potential landmark homes could make it easier for developers. In four hours, with all the pink, all the tiles and all the fixtures, the house was but a memory.

  17 years ago | reply | hide comment
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  bad user aka guest (guest)

  place comments: 9 months ago wrtintx 0 [good] [bad] [good] [bad] 10100 Sunset Boulevard. The 8 bedroom/13 bathroom Spanish Colonial-style house was originally built in the 1920s for Rudy Vallee. Jayne Mansfield and Mr. Universe Micky Hargitay purchased the estate in 1961 for $74,000. The couple set about turning their new home into a Hollywood extravaganza. The house was given the moniker "The Pink Palace" after Mansfield had it painted a soft shade of pink. The house fam

  16 years ago | reply | hide comment