It may be a real estate dispute fit for the screen, but the fight over Marilyn Monroe’s Brentwood home has reached a conclusion—for now. Yesterday, the L.A. City Council unanimously voted to approve the home’s designation as a historic monument, effectively protecting it from demolition without permitting exceptions.
The owners of the Helena Drive property, who famously planned to demolish the property last year, recently filed a lawsuit against the city of L.A. alleging “abuse of power,” when officials stepped in and began to establish the home as a Historic-Cultural Monument.
The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges “illegal and unconstitutional conduct” by the city “with respect to the house where Marilyn Monroe occasionally lived for a mere six months before she tragically committed suicide 61 years ago.” The suit alleges that the city violated its own codes and procedures by pushing for the monument designation.
Despite the lawsuit, the council moved forward with the vote. The property’s new status subjects it to a stringent review process if demolition were proposed again.
“The Marilyn Monroe Residence in Brentwood is now a Historic-Cultural Monument! Today, L.A. City Council unanimously approved the nomination for Marilyn Monroe’s final home. Thanks to all who voiced their support and a HUGE thanks to Councilwoman Traci Park & team!,” wrote the L.A. Conservancy on X.
The L.A. Conservancy wrote in its proposal for landmark status that the house was “the first place she sought out and bought for herself and on her own while actively working in 1962.”
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