Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills
I couldn't think of a better place to set me loose!
Graystone Manor is a hidden gem tucked away above Sunset Blvd in Beverly Hills. The mansion, built in 1927 is only open during special programs such as Music in the Mansion and Friends of Greystone events, although the outside grounds are open daily for visitors to enjoy!
Greystone Mansion, and the surrounding grounds with which it shares its magnificent beauty, are rich in California history. Edward Laurence Doheny, who bought the land in the 1910s, was born in 1856 in the small Midwestern town of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. In 1892, Doheny and his friend Charles A. Canfield, were the first to strike oil in Los Angeles. They later discovered large oil deposits in Mexico which, combined with their Los Angeles holdings, made them the largest producers of oil in the world at that time. Edward Doheny and his wife Carrie Louella Wilkins had two children. Their first, a daughter Eileen, passed away when she was just seven years old. On November 6, 1893, their only son, Edward “Ned” Laurence Doheny, Jr., was born and grew up as heir to one of the world’s great financial empires. Ned went on to marry Lucy Smith of Pasadena and in 1926 Edward Laurence Doheny Sr. gave his son a premium parcel of land consisting of 12.58 acres with sweeping citywide views.
On the night of February 16, 1929, only five months after the family had moved in, Ned Doheny was found shot to death inside the home, at the age of 35 and the victim of an apparent murder-suicide perpetrated by his longtime personal friend and aid Hugh Plunkett. Lucy continued living at Greystone until 1955, after which she and her second husband Leigh M. Battson sold the majority of the original land to the Paul Trousdale Corporation, developers of Beverly Hills’ prestigious “Trousdale Estate” homes.
Crime scene photo of murder of Ned Doheny Jr from 1929
The following year Lucy and her husband sold for approximately $1.5 million the remaining 18.3 acre parcel, including Greystone Mansion, to Henry Crown of Chicago-based Park Grey Corporation. Mr. Crown, however, never formally occupied the site but instead leased it out as a popular filming location, a legacy Greystone still maintains today. The City of Beverly Hills purchased the property from Mr. Crown in 1965 for approximately $1.3 million with plans to install a 19-million gallon water tank on the property as its hilltop site provided tremendous natural water pressure. This site continues to serve as the City of Beverly Hills’ largest reservoir.
On September 16, 1971, the entire 18.3 acre site, including its centerpiece Greystone Mansion, was formally dedicated as a public park by the City of Beverly Hills. Five years later, on April 23, 1976, Greystone was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The following photos are of different rooms throughout the manor
The Master Bedroom back in the day and today.
The Breakfast Room. I just love the original silverish wallpaper that was popular during the 1920s.
The Kitchen. Some of you may recognize this from "The Witch's Of Eastwick"
Daughter's bedroom with amazing views
Daughters bathroom
Balcony looking over the living room. Reminiscent of the balcony over looking the lobby at the Biltmore in downtown L.A.
Second Floor servants area
One of the very many balconies
There is so much movie history here. AFI occupied the Manor during the 1970s and 1980s. The first movie to ever screen there during that time was David Lynch's ERASERHEAD. John Cassavette use to edit above the garage. Many Major motion pictures have been shot here over the years. Some of them include: Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte, The Disorderly Orderly, Dead Ringer, The Loved One, Phantom Of the Paradise, Stripes, Ghostbusters, All Of Me, the Witches Of Eastwick, The Fabulous Baker Boys, The Marrying Man, Death Becomes Her, The Bodyguard, Indecent Proposal, Nixon, Batman and Robin, X- Men, Spider-Man, Charlie's Angels, The Prestige, There Will Be Blood, and the Social Network. In fact, There Will Be Blood was loosely based on the Doheny Family.
"The Loved One" filmed in 1964.
Greytone's movie theatre is currently being restored! This was heavily used during the time AFI occupied the manor. The first movie to screen here was David Lynch's ERASERHEAD
The Famous bowling alley used in "There Will Be Blood".
Growing up in Los Angeles and being a fanatic of historic properties, I must say spending a few hours with the Friends of Greystone was one of the biggest highlights for me. I can't thank them enough for taking the time, along with their lovely park rangers, to show VLA around. My eyes were a poppin'! I'm so honored to share today's adventure with you. Big thanks to Gay Parrish, John Huybrecht and Kathy Melamed!
Had to give a shout out to park ranger (and newest friend) @gattacaboy and Greystone Manor, docent Gay Parrish for the private tour of this spectacular property today. As many times as I've been on these historic grounds, I never learned as much as I did today about its history. They also made it FUN! They both have such terrific senses of humor and dispositions. Plus they know everything about Greystone Mansion. Spending the afternoon with them made me feel extremely lucky that I can visit places in my home town that I'm still fascinated by after all these years. Los Angeles history is endless.
In 2018, I was interviewed by Tina Malave for EYE ON LA about the history of Greystone. We revealed some secret history such as the secret prohibition bar that's way underground!
For even further information about how to visit Greystone, please visit our "friends of Greystone! The annual Concours d'Elegance at Greystone is a must-do. visit https://www.greystonemansion.org/
- Alison Martino
Alison Martino is a writer, television producer, and pop culture historian. She founded the Facebook pageVintage Los Angeles in 2010. Alison muses on L.A’s. past and present on Twitter and Instagram.
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ReplyDeleteI attended the AFI Center for Advanced Film Studies at Greystone Mansion from 1978 to 1981, when I received my Masters in Cinematography there. We shot every square inch of the place during those two years, both inside the mansion and around the grounds.Less than 100 of us Fellows had complete run of the place, and I have endless stories I could tell, a tiny one of which is seeing perhaps the greatest silent film director, King Vidor, walking towards me down that long black-and-white tiled central hallway. My cinematography instructor was the great MGM cameraman George Foley, who started in silent films, shot the first two Marx Brothers movies in the early sound era, and shot many of Judy Garland's films and musicals at MGM. Too many stories for here, but I will tell you one: The bowling alley just off the port cochere was rarely entered back then, most people at AFI weren't even aware of it. I thought it was interesting, so I went there once or twice. The second time, I just happened to notice a very fine line in the wood paneling near the entrance to the lanes. Almost undetectable. But upon further examination, I realized what I was looking at. I gently pried the line apart, and the wall opened up...revealing a hidden bar...a SPEAKEASY. The staff and directors at AFI were astonished, apparently no one had ever noticed this long-forgotten secret. Coincidentally, about a decade before that, while living in Houston, I was exploring an area way out in the country northwest of Houston (now long since a fully developed area within the city)...an area forever rumored to be haunted, where people would see "blue lights" floating through the forest. Ghosts? Or luminous swamp gas? The legend said there was an old cemetery out there, long lost but called "The Blue Light Graveyard" by generations of locals. I'd ridden my motorcycle out there, was far off the road in the middle of nowhere among the trees that day. Exploring deeper and deeper into the woods, I came to a dark area, the dense vegetation making it impassable. For some reason, something compelled me to get down on my hands and knees and crawl under the underbrush, and about thirty feet in my hand came across something hard under the leaves... like a sharp rock. But with a smooth flat surface. I cleared away the leaves, and saw that it was a headstone. A very old headstone. Searching further...another one hidden by leaves. Then another. And another. I don't remember the dates, but certainly from the 1800's. Of course, like the young idiot I was, I told my friends about my discovery...and have always regretted it. Soon, it was a destination for teenagers, was no longer a mystery, and over the years was desecrated, then fenced, and became world famous. Believe me...the legend was MUCH greater before I disturbed the hallowed peace of those long resting souls.
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