Marilyn Monroe's Final Home Spared, Receives Monument Status

As of June 26, Marilyn Monroe's Brentwood house has been saved from demolition and declared a landmark, reported the Los Angeles Times.

After a yearlong fight, The Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted on Wednesday to preserve the house where the star lived and died after its current owners, heiress Brinah Milstein and her reality TV producer husband Roy Bank purchased the house for $8.35 million and drafted plans to demolish it. They owned the neighbouring property and were looking to expand it.

Last summer, the city's Department of Building and Safety issued a demolition permit for the home.

"We have an opportunity to do something today that should've been done 60 years ago. There's no other person or place in the city of Los Angeles as iconic as Marilyn Monroe and her Brentwood home," Councilmember Traci Park said before the vote was decided. "To lose this piece of history, the only home that Monroe ever owned, would be a devastating blow for historic preservation and for a city where less than 3% of historic designations are associated with women's heritage."

The city council all agreed with Councilwoman Traci Park's urgent request to stop the house from being demolished. They also started the steps to officially recognize the house as a historic building. This decision was reported earlier by CNN.

This week's preservation vote was the final step in the process for designation, the city's planning department told CNN.

The current owners argued that the house has undergone multiple renovations and no longer looks like it did when Marilyn Monroe lived there. They filed a lawsuit against the city, stating, "There is not a single piece of the house that includes any physical evidence that Ms Monroe ever spent a day at the house, not a piece of furniture, not a paint chip, not a carpet, nothing," despite also claiming the home was a nuisance to the neighbourhood, as it became a tourist attraction for fans of the late actress.

Park said that she did not take the matter lightly and that she has been in communication with nearby residents about their concerns over traffic and safety. "My team and I have worked closely with the property owners to assess potentially moving the home to a place where the public might actually be able to visit and spend time," she said. "I remain hopeful and committed to work with the property owners to see if this can be done in the future, but today, let's preserve this essential piece of LA's history and culture."

Peter C. Sheridan of Glaser Weil Fink Howard Jordan & Shapiro LLP, an attorney representing the owners, said in a statement that neither Park "nor her staff have worked closely with the owners, throughout this process or anytime else, to relocate the house to allow for public access."

"In fact, the opposite is true," he continued, adding that "Ms. Park has ignored the fact that her constituents - civic and homeowner's groups in the community - are adamantly against the designation of the home. Ms. Park has also ignored that the City granted dozens of permits to over 14 different prior owners to change the home through numerous remodels, resulting in there being nothing left reflecting Ms. Monroe's brief time there 60 years ago."

In the ongoing lawsuit, the homeowners want the court to declare the process to save the home from demolition illegal and to order the city to cancel its designation.

The Los Angeles Conservancy, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving historic places in the city, called Wednesday's vote a "success." It expressed its approval to preserve the residence.

"Thank you to everyone who rose up to meet this challenge by voicing their support on social, via email, and in person. And we are particularly grateful to the bold leadership of Councilmember Traci Park and her team: this designation would not have happened without their passion and dedication," the organization said in a statement.