Table of Content
- Property Description
- The Buster Keaton Estate, a Beverly Hills Italian-style mansion
- A Look Inside the Most Famous Homes of Old Hollywood Stars
- George Cukor’s house
- The modern fireplace in Crawford's living room is another statement piece in the home.
- Mary Pickford's Los Angeles mansion, PickFair, was one of the most famous homes in the US.
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall are one of Hollywood's greatest love stories. Even after the whirlwind of their 1945 nuptials, we can tell how much he loved her — just look at his study. Complimenting the plaid wallpaper in the actor's home office are three photographs of a young Lauren.
However, it did include some features popular even today, including a flowing floorplan divided only by glass, a library with towering ceilings, and a primary suite that functions as its own house wing. At one time, the Hearst Estate was one of the most opulent hangouts in Beverly Hills. It attracted the who's-who of the political and entertainment scenes thanks to the huge influence of owner and newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst. According to Dirt, the Hearst Estate was even featured in "The Godfather," Beyonce's "Black Is King" music video, and was the honeymoon spot of the Kennedys. The mansion dates back nearly a century, built with eight bedrooms and 15 bathrooms. About 20 years after its inception, Marion Davis and Hearst picked it up for just $120,000, which would amount to $1.8 million today.
Property Description
In 2016, Keaton's estate was finally reassembled by new owners, who purchased the $16.2 million property. During that time, lots of filmmakers and actors rose to unprecedented fame and went on to make unprecedented salaries. They splurged on Los Angeles real estate with that newfound cash and built the first amazing mansions in the region. Today, some of those same estates continue to live on, bringing old-school luxury and history to their newfound owners, while other mansions from Old Hollywood have become piles of rubble. Once a celebrity-owned home hits the market, it is usually sold quickly. Whether it be because of tragedy, death, or a controversy, some homes are just left completely abandoned.
Maybe you’ll find a last-minute present, or a New Year’s gift for yourself. Conveniently located next to the-then Samuel Goldwyn studio, stars like Humphrey Bogart and James Dean would pop into this narrow, neon West Hollywood spot for food and drinks. On any given day, patrons might have seen Lana Turner dancing past the old, red leather booths, or Elvis Presley nursing a late-night beer. “I always thought this is exactly what Hollywood should look like,” John Waters once said of the joint, which has since closed—but is reportedly on the verge of reopening. The glamorous hotel, founded in 1923, quickly made a mark on Hollywood by hosting the very first Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences meeting. Per legend, production designer Cedric Gibbons even sketched out the first design for the Oscar statuette on a Biltmore restaurant napkin.
The Buster Keaton Estate, a Beverly Hills Italian-style mansion
When Keaton's funds ran out and he and his wife divorced, it was time to bid what was once the Buster Keaton Estate goodbye. It was passed onto various owners, who later subdivided and sold the property. Luckily, the owners who purchased it in 2002 made substantial renovations and brought it back to its original splendor. With both canyon and ocean views, the seven-bedroom estate where composer Maurice Jarre lived for many years is back on the market for nearly $50 million. Built in 1930, the English-style manor boasts quite a few of its original architectural details, including the Georgian-inspired plaster fretwork ceiling and the antique limestone fireplace.
It functioned as such for several more years, until it ran into an all-too-common fate. At least it had quite the sendoff — hundreds of admirers showed up in 1920s garb to bid the Garden of Alla goodbye. The paper went on to report that the mansion would be converted to a Chinese studies center. Unfortunately, the house faced structural problems and maintaining it was almost impossible. Only four window frames and a colorful mosaic structure made by Lee would be preserved, with the rest being demolished and redeveloped.
A Look Inside the Most Famous Homes of Old Hollywood Stars
However, being the former home of Harry Warner is just a smidgen of the home's past. It was listed by the president of television network Cinémoi, and it also made appearances in the FX show "The People v. O.J. Simpson" as O.J. Plus, it's been used by prominent politicians like Al Gore and Hilary Clinton as a location for fundraisers and other events. Old Hollywood estates aren't limited to the silent film era, however, and stars from the golden ages of the 1930s and 40s through the 1960s all used their wealth to create elaborate living spaces for themselves. From acres of gardens and stables to garages large enough to hold an entire fleet of cars, these estates provided an appropriate setting for Hollywood's larger-than-life elite to spend their days and nights.
Horn put the home on the market after his wife was accidentally shot by their son with an air rifle at the home. She survived but spent more than three years in a coma and retained brain damage, rendering her unable to move or speak. Built in 1929, the gothic hotel nestled away on Sunset Boulevard has always been a bit more on the rock-and-roll side, thanks to its protective, camera-free atmosphere .
Henry Huntington made a fortune in real estate and railroads, and in 1903 he purchased 600 acres of land in San Marino for $240,000. In 1905, he began planning the design of his enormous home, commissioning an architect to carry out his vision three years later. After its completion in 1911, Huntington's 55,000-square-foot house took on the look of Spanish and Italian Renaissance homes with its porte cochere entryway and many classical ornamentations. The estate featured an 8,000-square-foot garage and a private railroad spur to accommodate deliveries. There were several large gardens, and Huntington purchased a Japanese tea garden originally located in Pasadena, relocating it onto his property. Old Hollywood mansions may not be as large or lavish as many celebrities' homes today, but considering their size and cost during the time in which they were built, they're still impressive.
Actor, comedian, and filmmaker Buster Keaton did well during his silent movie heyday, and that showed with his 20-room Spanish-style home just steps away from the Beverly Hills Hotel. Tragedy only continued with later owner Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft. After buying Enchanted Hill in 1997 for $20 million, Allen demolished the mansion and planned to create another in its place, along with a winery and horse stables. But when he died of cancer in 2018, his trust was forced to put the property up for sale, which eventually sold it for $65 million — just a fraction of the $150 million it was originally listed for.
It was actually the priciest home any star lived in during the 1920s, said The Legendary Estates of Beverly Hills. There was a 5-foot-wide fireplace and a room with a pool table and a hidden bar that could be converted into a screening room. Keaton's property also held a tennis court, a swimming pool built to resemble a Roman bath, and an aviary. Among the gardens outside, he built a trout stream and planted 42 palm trees, which cost a total of $14,000. Talmadge kept the estate when she and Keaton divorced in 1932, and she became the owner of the property. The house saw many visitors, counting Cary Grant and James Mason among those who lived with Keaton's former wife there.
Although actress Myrna Loy once claimed, " no ballroom, no game room, no projection room, no elaborate bar," the home that she and her husband shared was still more than impressive. Known as "Lime Orchard," the house sat in Pacific Palisades off Sunset Boulevard. What it lacked in indoor amenities, it made up for with the grounds. With an English garden, lime orchard, swimming pool built to resemble a lake, and a tennis court built into the side of a hill, there was much to enjoy. In 2009 producer Mark White reportedly bought the mansion for $15 million, but the home was never renovated or even lived in, as documented by numerous people photographing the empty bedrooms.
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