The house in which Marilyn Monroe died in 1962 was declared historical monument cultural this Wednesday by the Los Angeles authorities who saved it from being demolished, after a bitter legal battle. …
«We have the opportunity to do something today that it should have been done 60 years ago», said Councilor Traci Park, in a speech before voting for its protection. «There is no other person or place in the city of Los Angeles more iconic than Marilyn Monroe and her home in Brentwood,” they added.
The statuesque diva of ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ and ‘Con Skirts Ya Lo Crazy’ purchased the four-bedroom Spanish colonial-style property in February 1962. It was there that she was found dead. six months later as a result of an overdose when he was just 36 years old.
Six decades later his followers continue to occasionally place flowers on the property, which is also a visiting point for tourists visiting the tinsel town. The house, built in the 1920s, went through several owners and renovations during these sixty years.
It currently belongs to a couple who own the neighboring property and who bought this house in July for $8.35 million to demolish it and extend their residence, which sparked the legal battle a year ago.
Brinah Milstein and her husband, producer Roy Bank, had obtained permission to proceed with their plan but historians, Monroe fans and citizens raised an objection opposition campaign which prompted the municipal council.
«Losing this piece of history, the only house Monroe ever owned“It would be a devastating blow to historic preservation and to a city where less than 3 percent of historic designations are associated with women’s heritage,” Park said.
