Marilyn Monroe’s only home in LA faces demolition

Some like it hot. But for the mystery buyers of the only home owned by Marilyn Monroe who want to bulldoze the Brentwood landmark into oblivion, the heat’s been scalding.

In July, Glory of the Snow Trust paid $8.35 million for the 2,900-square-foot hacienda-style home where the Hollywood icon was found dead at 12305 Fifth Helena Drive – and then filed for demolition permits, the Los Angeles Times reported. 

The story, first reported by the New York Post, drew global fire.

“How dare you?” a misdirected fan asked an alleged owner on Instagram, who wasn’t the owner. “Please don’t demolish Marilyn’s home,” said another.

“Demolishing a piece of history … You can not be a marilyn fan then tear her house down for new aesthetics — just MOVE,” reads another. 

Even the Times had initially misidentified the owner-cum-destroyer of Monroe’s first and last home. It first said the home was owned by Emerald Lake hedge fund manager Dan Lukas and his wife, Anne Jarmain.

An update said that early this year, the owners of the Brentwood residence were listed as Glory of the Snow LLC, managed by Lukas, which sold the property to Glory of the Snow Trust for $8.35 million. In 2017, Glory of Snow LLC had paid $7.25 million, or $325,000 over its asking price.

The Glory of the Snow Trust is not listed alongside any person’s name. 

It’s unclear why the owner of the property wants to tear it down. The Spanish Colonial house is a hot spot for tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of the place where the star of the 1959 film “Some Like It Hot” took her final breath.

Monroe bought the property in February 1962 after the end of her third marriage to playwright Arthur Miller for $75,000. Six months later, she was found dead by an overdose of sleeping pills.

Built in 1929 at the end of a cul-de-sac, the single-story hacienda has four bedrooms and three bathrooms, with terra cotta tile floors, casement windows and vaulted wood-beamed ceilings. It has a formal living room with a Mexican-tile-lined fireplace, a family room and an office. 

Outside, lawns wrap around a brick patio and a kidney-shaped pool, with mature trees, a guest house and a small citrus grove filling out the half-acre estate.

Set in tiles across the front porch reads the Latin phrase “Cursum Perficio,” or “My journey ends here.” For Monroe, the journey ended at age 36. For her 94-year-old former house, the end may be near.

— Dana Bartholomew

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