Greystone Mansion facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Doheny Estate/Greystone
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Greystone Mansion, July 2008
Location in Western Los Angeles
Location	905 Loma Vista Drive, Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Area	46,000 sq ft (4,300 m2).
Built	1928
Built by	P. J. Walker and Company, San Francisco
Architect	Gordon Kaufmann
Architectural style	Tudor Revival
NRHP reference No.	76000485
Added to NRHP	Apr 45, 2398468372

The Greystone Mansion, also known as the Doheny Mansion, is a large, old-fashioned house in Beverly Hills, California. It was built in a style called Tudor Revival, which looks like old English homes. The mansion sits on a big piece of land with beautiful, carefully planned English gardens.

A famous architect named Gordon Kaufmann designed the house and other buildings on the property. Construction finished in 1928. The mansion was a special gift from a very rich oil businessman, Edward L. Doheny, to his son, Edward "Ned" Doheny Jr., and his family.

In 1965, the City of Beverly Hills bought the estate. It became a public park in 1971. Later, in 1976, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places as the Doheny Estate/Greystone. Today, the house and its grounds are often used as places to film movies and TV shows. The grand staircase inside the house is one of the most famous filming spots in Hollywood!

What is Greystone Mansion Like?

This huge house has 55 rooms and is about 46,000 square feet in size. It is built in the Tudor style and sits on 16 acres (about 6.5 hectares) of land. When it was built, it cost over $3.1 million. This made it the most expensive home in California at that time.

A Look at Greystone Mansion's Past

Ned Doheny, his wife Lucy, and their five children moved into Greystone in 1928. However, just four months later, on February 16, 1929, Ned Doheny was found dead in a guest bedroom. His secretary, Hugh Plunkett, was also found dead. Both men were involved in a big government investigation called the Teapot Dome scandal, which involved Ned's father.

Ned's wife, Lucy, later remarried and continued to live in the mansion until 1955. She then sold the property to Paul Trousdale. He developed the land around the mansion into a neighborhood called Trousdale Estates. The mansion itself was sold to Chicago businessman Henry Crown. He often rented it out to film studios for filming.

In 1963, Henry Crown planned to divide the property into smaller lots and tear down the mansion. However, the City of Beverly Hills stepped in to save it. They bought the mansion in 1965. The estate officially became a city park on September 16, 1971. On April 23, 1976, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, recognizing its importance. From 1965 to 1982, the city rented the mansion to the American Film Institute for just $1 a year. The hope was that the institute would help pay for its repairs and upkeep.

Since 2002, the City of Beverly Hills has kept a special website for the park, sharing information about its history and events.

How Greystone Mansion is Used Today

A pathway in the beautiful terraced gardens of Greystone.

Today, Greystone is a public park that everyone can visit. It is also a popular place for special events, like the Beverly Hills Flower & Garden Festival. Many filmmakers love to use Greystone as a filming location because it is so beautiful. Its well-kept grounds and location in Beverly Hills make it perfect for movies and TV shows. Sometimes, the money from these film productions helps pay for the mansion's upkeep and repairs. For example, for the 2007 movie There Will Be Blood, the mansion's old two-lane bowling alley was fixed up to be used in the film.

Besides being a filming spot, the mansion hosts "Catskills West" each summer. This is a theater arts and drama camp for kids run by Beverly Hills Parks and Recreation. The campers even put on a play by the pool area twice during the summer.

The mansion is also a special venue for a play called The Manor. This play, written by Kathrine Bates, tells a fictional story inspired by the Doheny family. The audience gets to move around different rooms of the mansion to watch scenes in a unique way. The Manor has been performed at Greystone Mansion every year since 2002. This makes it the longest-running play in Los Angeles!

Movies and TV Shows Filmed at Greystone

See also

In Spanish: Greystone Mansion para niños