The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to designate Marilyn Monroe’s former home as a historical landmark, preventing its planned demolition. This decision protects the house where the iconic actress spent her final days.
The vote followed a lengthy battle between the council and the property’s new owners, Roy Bank and Brinah Milstein, who purchased the Brentwood home in July 2023 for $8.35 million. The couple intended to demolish the house to expand their estate, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Shortly after acquiring the property, Bank and Milstein obtained a demolition permit. However, Councilmember Traci Park introduced a motion to grant the house landmark status, which was subsequently approved by the Cultural Heritage Commission and the Planning and Land Use Management Committee.
“There’s no other person or place in the city of Los Angeles as iconic as Marilyn Monroe and her Brentwood home,” Park stated before the council’s vote. “Losing this piece of history, the only home Monroe ever owned, would be a devastating blow for historic preservation.”
Monroe purchased the Spanish Colonial-style home in 1962 for $75,000. It was her only owned residence, and she died there six months later from an apparent drug overdose.
In response to the council’s actions, Bank and Milstein sued the city in May, claiming unconstitutional conduct to preserve the house. A judge denied their injunction request to halt the historical designation, and a trial-setting conference for the lawsuit is scheduled for August 13, according to The New York Times.
