A judge has denied a couple's desire to demolish Marilyn Monroe's former home, which the city has declared a cultural landmark.
Brinah Milstein and her husband, producer Roy Bank, bought the Brentwood residence in July 2023 for $8.35 million and obtained a demolition permit from the city. They wanted to move forward with their plans to tear down the Monroe structure to expand their current home, which is adjacent to the property.
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But on Tuesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant denied the couple's petition. He heard arguments last Thursday and had taken the case under submission.
"The property is Monroe's former home and the (historical-cultural monument) designation does not alter that fact or the desire of the public to see it," the judge wrote.
Bank and Milstein filed the petition in May 2024, alleging "illegal and unconstitutional conduct" by the city with respect to the house where they say Monroe occasionally lived for a "mere six months" before she "tragically committed suicide" on Aug. 4, 1962 at age 36.
According to court papers from the City Attorney's Office, the public inundated city officials with calls and emails to "express their dismay" at the imminent demolition of the home and urging preservation of the property.
In response, City Councilwoman Traci Park announced an effort to save the house by initiating the historic-cultural monument application, which was later approved.
Monroe would have turned 100 next June 1.
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