Marilyn Monroe's LA House, Where She Died, Set For Demolition And How To Save It

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Social media blew up yesterday with news that 12305 Fifth Helena Drive—a lovely 1929 Spanish Colonial hacienda with deep historic ties to Los Angeles, and the world, it being the house Marilyn Monroe bought, lived in, and died in—was going through the early stages of its demolition paperwork.

This was reported by the New York Post, and I saw no small number of people say “well I don’t liiiiike the New York Post, so obviously this isn’t real.” I can assure you, it is quite real:

 

Monroe’s former home at 12305 Fifth Helena, the only home Monroe ever bought, is owned by Glory of the Snow LLC, a company that purchased the house in May 2017 but went defunct in 2020, and yet sold the house a month ago to itself, specifically to whom we presume must be the LLC majority shareholder, a man named Andrew Sahure (though a Google search doesn’t turn up anything on such a person).

The prospect of losing such an important shared cultural referent as 12305 is staggering. Not only is the structure itself wonderful, but it remains remarkably intact since Monroe’s death there in August 1962.

It’s very important to advocate for threatened structures in your community, and if you’ve never done so, here’s a good chance to start the practice. I know, Brentwood is very likely not your community, but Marilyn is important to all Angelenos, and heck, is beloved by the world.

L.A. doesn’t have the best reputation when it comes to retaining and maintaining our heritage.

A good start, then: write an email—now—to Council District 11, who have the power to involve Office of Historic Resources about getting the structure made a Historic Cultural Monument. The Conservancy suggests writing Traci Park directly; my initial thought was to, rather, send emails to CD11 Planning Deputy Jeff Khau, who will be running point on the matter. However, I just got off the phone with a Park field deputy, Sean Silva. He is one of those painfully rare, first-rate, super-competent civil servants who knows how to navigate the interstices of government. I told him he might be receiving some emails from y’all, and he said bring ‘em on, I’ll make sure they get in the proper hands. His address is [email protected] 

https://www.riplosangeles.com/post/marilyn-s-house

[Blackout19 12,238]

Noooooo 

This house should be open for fans, and nobody should touch it 

I hope everything will be fine

[Pablo 7,887]

I hate that if it will be demolished a McMansion will certainly be built on the land. It's a beautiful home with character. 

[BUtterfield 8 41,528]

They can’t make it a landmark or something 

[HIM820 1,843]

Any Mariah fans here know how to get her attention? She’s a huge Marilyn fan and I feel like she would be outraged by this/ have the possible means to stop it? 

[Wolf Boy 3,278]

As a Marilyn fan, the world needs to stop. She’s dead, she has been for decades, the house does not need to be there for next 300 years. 
 

Beautiful house though. 

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1 hour ago, Wolf Boy said:

As a Marilyn fan, the world needs to stop. She’s dead, she has been for decades, the house does not need to be there for next 300 years. 
 

Beautiful house though. 

Aaaa, yas it does. 

 

[robboadam 2,312]

1 hour ago, Wolf Boy said:

As a Marilyn fan, the world needs to stop. She’s dead, she has been for decades, the house does not need to be there for next 300 years. 
 

Beautiful house though. 

I agree, it’s a bit weird honestly that people feel a house where someone died ‘needs’ to be saved, rather than somewhere they did their life’s best work.

Would we really want Gaga’s house to be there if it was where she (hopefully never) committed suicide? It’s just weird and maudlin.

But it should be saved anyway for the fact that it’s such a beautiful period house and Marilyn Monroe lived there.