The saga over whether Marilyn Monroe’s Brentwood home should be spared from demolition was largely resolved Wednesday when the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to designate it as a historic cultural monument.
Its long-term fate, however, remains in limbo.
“There is no other person or place in the city of Los Angeles as iconic as Marilyn Monroe and her Brentwood home,” Councilmember Traci Park said in her remarks before the vote. “Some of the most world-famous images ever taken of her were in that home, on those grounds, near her pool, and that Marilyn tragically died there forever ties her in time and place to this very home.”
Monroe purchased the Spanish Colonial-style home at 12305 5th Helena Drive for $75,000 in 1962. She lived there for just six months before she died from a drug overdose inside the house at age 36.
Last year, the current owners obtained permitting to raze the home and build a new residence before city leaders and preservationists intervened, setting into motion a review of its cultural significance.
“To lose this piece of history … would be a devasting blow for historic preservation and for a city where less than three percent of historic designations are associated with women’s heritage,” Park, whose 11th District includes Brentwood, told the council.
Her fellow council members agreed, voting 12-0 in favor of the historic designation.
Park said she was working closely with the property owners on a long-term solution to potentially relocate the home. She noted that street traffic from tourists, including tour buses, has been an ongoing neighborhood nuisance.
“While that [plan] hasn’t happened yet, I remain hopeful and committed to working with the property owners to see if this can be done in the future,” Park said. “But today, let’s preserve this essential piece of L.A.’s history and culture.”
However, attorneys representing the current homeowners, Brinah Milstein and Roy Bank, blasted Wednesday’s vote as part of an “unconstitutional and rigged” process, and their lawsuit against the city remains unresolved.
They allege city officials have approved dozens of renovations to the home over 14 prior owners, resulting in there being “nothing left reflecting Ms. Monroe’s brief time there 60 years ago,” attorney Peter C. Sheridan said in a statement to KTLA 5 News.
Sheridan also disputes Parks’ assertion that she is collaborating with the owners on a plan to move the home.
“Neither she nor her staff have worked closely with the owners, throughout this process or anytime else, to relocate the house to allow for public access,” the statement read. “Traci Park’s actions today and throughout the process, disregarding the interests of her constituents and the facts and merits, demonstrate that no one’s home or investment is safe.”