Beverly Hills is home to the weird and the wonderful. It’s best known for movie stars, whom fans imagine lounging poolside behind high hedges, but not everyone who lives in this luxurious community is in the film industry. For generations, Beverly Hills has also been home to wealthy industrial families.
Of the many palatial estates in Beverly Hills, most are not open to the public. A delightful exception is the Greystone Mansion, a sumptuous estate that now belongs to the city. While its grounds are a public garden, there are only select days when visitors can go inside the mansion. For those interested in ornate architecture with a little Hollywood history on the side, it’s worth planning your next trip to Los Angeles around one of those touring days.
History of the Doheny Mansion
The Greystone Mansion is located in Trousdale Estates, an exclusive neighborhood in Beverly Hills. Sometimes called the Doheny Mansion, it was built in 1926-28 by oil tycoon Edward Lawrence Doheny for his son Edward “Ned” Laurence Doheny Jr. and his family. The 46,000-square-foot house cost over $3 million to construct, making it the most expensive house built in California at the time.
In September 1928, Ned moved into the mansion with his wife, Lucy, and their five children. Tragically, only five months later, 35-year-old Ned was found dead in the house, along with his secretary and childhood friend Hugh Plunkett. Although the exact circumstances of the deaths remain a mystery, the incident is believed to have been a murder suicide.
After Ned’s death, the widowed Lucy continued living in the mansion with the children. In 1932, she married banker Leigh M. Battson and the family lived there until 1955. Having sold the Doheny Ranch portion of the property to developer Paul Trousdale the year before, Lucy sold the house and remaining grounds to industrialist Henry Crown in 1955. For the next 10 years, Crown rented the property to movie studios, before selling it in 1965 to the City of Beverly Hills. Many successful movies were filmed at the Greystone since the mid-1950s.
Guests arrive at Greystone Estate for a dinner for then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Sept. 16, 2008. (David McNew/Getty Images)
About the Greystone
The Greystone was built on a hill, on ranch land that Doheny bought years earlier but found to be unsuitable for drilling. The Tudor Revival exterior of the mansion was designed by English architect Gordon B. Kaufmann and its lush gardens by German landscaper Paul G. Thiene, who combined Gothic architectural elements with the style of a formal English garden.
The castle-like structure is covered in Indiana slate with a Welsh slate roof, giving it the appearance of a medieval fortress. It’s generally believed that the name Greystone refers to the color of its exterior, but another story holds that it was named after the New York estate of a family friend.
The 5th Annual Kidstock To Benefit One Voice Scholars Program sponsored by Hudson Jeans attracted crowds to Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif., on June 5, 2011. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for One Voice)
With 55 livable rooms and a basement with a bowling alley, the two-story mansion represents the epitome of 1920s opulence. The woodwork throughout the house was hand-carved, and there is a grand hall with tiled marble floors that opens out onto a terrace with views of the Los Angeles Basin. In an outbuilding across the courtyard, there is a private movie theater. The grounds originally included stables, a greenhouse, tennis courts, a swimming pool, kennels, a playhouse, a gatehouse, and a firehouse. An assortment of outdoor water features includes lakes, ponds, and waterfalls.
Visiting the Greystone
The Greystone grounds are open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with free parking in a lot adjacent to the gardens reserved especially for the Greystone. The gardens may be closed occasionally during holidays, filming, or special events.
A general view of The Crescendo Foundation Launch Party at Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Sept. 18, 2018. (Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images for The Crescendo Foundation Inc.)
Through the Inside the Mansion program, visitors can explore its ground floor in a self-guided tour on the first Saturday or Sunday of each month, January through November. Timed tickets are available at 11 a.m., 12 p.m., 1 p.m., and 2 p.m., with the last entry at 2:30 p.m. The cost is $8 for Beverly Hills residents and $10 for everyone else.
Since 2001, Friends of Greystone has worked to restore, preserve, and protect the estate. The nonprofit organization, together with the City of Beverly Hills, puts on events throughout the year. Programs at the Greystone include Music In The Mansion, Greystone In The Movies, Gatsby Redux, Play Readings, and the Beverly Hills National Auditions, and upcoming events can be found on the Beverly Hills website.
