Judge blocks demolition of Marilyn Monroe’s former LA home
Marilyn Monroe’s Los Angeles home will remain standing after a judge ruled against the current owners’ petition to tear it down. The home, where she spent the final months of her life, was purchased in August 2023 for $8.4 million.
Brinah Milstein and Roy Bank, who bought the Brentwood property, sought to demolish it and merge the lot with their adjacent home. But a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge denied that request last week, according to the New York Times.
Request to demolish
Milstein and Bank’s efforts to demolish the home have continued for two years. The city initially granted the permit. However, news of the plan sparked backlash from Angelenos, preservationists and fans around the world.
Traci Park, a Los Angeles City Council member who represents the neighborhood where Monroe’s former home sits, received hundreds of emails and phone calls from people against the permit.
Due to the response, Park issued a motion to the council. She asked that they declare the home a historic cultural monument.
“There is no other person or place in the city of Los Angeles as iconic as Marilyn Monroe and her Brentwood home,” Park said. “To lose this piece of history, the only home that Marilyn Monroe ever owned, would be a devastating blow for historic preservation and for a city where less than 3 percent of historic designations are associated with women’s heritage.”
The Cultural Heritage Committee approved the designation, marking it as a historical landmark.
Owners push back
Bank and Milstein, however, have argued that the house lacks historical significance. They pointed out that Monroe spent limited time there and that renovations have altered its original design. They even proposed relocating the home to a public site where fans could visit — an idea city leaders rejected.
Additional motions
Since that designation, Bank and Milstein have filed numerous motions, arguing against the landmark designation and saying it interfered with their right to knock down the home and expand their own.
Those motions have all been denied, the most recent having been denied last week.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
