Marilyn Monroe's Former Home Under Threat of Demolition

Los Angeles officials have intervened to prevent demolition of the only home Marilyn Monroe ever owned independently, which is also the one in which she died. City residents responded with outrage after the owners of 12305 Fifth Helena Drive applied for permits to demolish the Spanish colonial-style home in which Monroe overdosed at age 36, per the Guardian. City councilwoman Traci Park said she received hundreds of calls from people urging her to save the home in the Brentwood neighborhood. But "the department of building and safety issued a demolition permit before my team and I could fully intervene and get this issue resolved," Park announced last week, calling for "urgent action" to be taken.

The building department revoked the permit after city council voted Friday to approve Park's motion to consider the home for historic preservation, per People. It means there can be no major changes to the property while the city evaluates it for landmark status, per the Guardian. "This home must be preserved as a crucial piece of Hollywood's and the city of Los Angeles' history, culture and legacy," Park said, noting that "for people all over the world," Monroe stands as "a shining example of what it means to overcome adversity." She emerged from a childhood spent in orphanages and foster homes to become a global icon as an actor, model, and singer.

Monroe purchased the single-story, 2,900-square-foot home, reportedly built in 1929, for $75,000 in the early 1960s following the end of her third marriage. She called it "Cursum Perficio," a Latin phrase meaning "my journey ends here," per the Guardian. She soon after died in a "probable suicide" at the home, from an overdose of barbiturates, in August 1962. The home was purchased by Glory of the Snow LLC for $7.25 million in 2017. It was then bought by the Glory of the Snow Trust for $8.35 million in July. The owner had not submitted any plans for the land, Park said. LA's Office of Historic Resources now has 75 days to decide whether the property should be permanently protected, per People. (More Marilyn Monroe stories.)