Greystone Mansion and Park (Los Angeles, California)

USA / California / Beverly Hills / Los Angeles, California / Loma Vista Drive, 905
 park, mansion / manor house / villa, historic landmark
905 Loma Vista Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 285-6830
www.beverlyhills.org/departments/communityservices/city...


www.youtube.com/watch?v=63JShruZPfg

Built by Edward L. Doheny for his son, Edward (Ned) L. Doheny, Jr. In 1976 the mansion was recognized as a historic landmark and placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is now used as a location for special events such as weddings and filming movies.

The house, a wedding gift from Doheny, Sr. to his son Edward (Ned) L. Doheny, Jr. was built in 1928 for $3,200,000. Ned lived at the house with his wife, Lucy Smith, and five children. Though Doheny, Sr. purchased the land it sat on in 1910. He had discovered oil in the area and acquired a total of 429 acres. 22 acres went towards the house for his only son and wife in 1914.

Nothing was done with the land until 1925, when Ned began construction of an 85-room mansion. Built of Indiana limestone, giving the building its name, it contained 46,000 square feet. Its roof is of slate, three inches thick; the inner structure of the house is of steel-reinforced concrete. Situated as it is in the hills above Sunset Boulevard, and facing the Santa Monica Bay, most of the family rooms had magnificent views through leaded-glass windows. The Great Hall's windows reach one and one-half stories.

Among the amenities were a bowling alley, two movie theaters, a library, a billiard room, and numerous secret bars (remember, this was during Prohibition). The servants' wing had room for 16 live-in staff members; in addition, 20 more servants were required to run the household. It had its own tennis courts, a swimming pool, a greenhouse, a fire station with two firetrucks, and kennels. It took three years to complete and was ready by September, 1928.

The family moved into the new home in October, 1928. On February 16, 1929, half a year after moving into the house, Hugh Plunkett, Ned's private secretary, shot and killed his boss. Plunkett then took his own life.

Mrs. Doheny continued to live in Greystone with the five children until 1954. She had remarried three years after the death of her husband to financier Leigh Battson. After selling 410 acres of the ranch to developer Henry Crown, she and her husband built and moved to a Roland Coate-designed, 35room house just above Greystone which they called "The Knoll." Mrs. Doheny died in 1993 at age 101.

Since 1965, when the property was leased to the American Film Institute, Greystone has had feature roles in many famous movies. The property is maintained by the City of Beverly Hills.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greystone_Mansion
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   34°5'31"N   118°24'4"W

Comments

  • Polygon is per property map at LA County Assessor's Office. Look into it, jefscot.
  • Impressive property. Just drive up, park and walk. A good feel of how the other side lives. The pool is no longer there. Well, it is but it's filled with dirt and tiled over for low maintenance purposes. I was amazed at how many hidden nook and crannies areas there are in this property.
This article was last modified 4 years ago