Photography: The Agency
Movie buffs should recognise the peachy pink exterior of The Beverly House – the Los Angeles manse was the setting for The Godfather’s infamous horse’s head scene.
Hoover Dam architect Gordon Kauffmann designed the house in 1927. William Randolph Hearst and silver screen actress Marion Davies called it home, while Jacqueline and John F Kennedy honeymooned there and later returned to launch JFK’s West Coast presidential campaign.
The H-shaped Beverly Hills property clocks in at a tidy 50,000 sq ft and boasts 18 bedrooms, 25 bathrooms, its own Art Deco nightclub, cinema rooms and a swimming pool just shy of Olympic standards. Landscape architect Paul Thiene crafted its ornate gardens, which are reminiscent of those found in Italy and France, complete with cascading waterfalls.
Rooms – including a 102-ft-long hallway and 22-ft-high formal living room with hand-painted arched ceilings – are ornately decorated in a palatial style. The present owner, financier Leonard Ross, has fastidiously maintained Beverly House, which represents the zenith of Golden Age Hollywood.
After 35 years, Ross is looking to sell enormous Los Angeles property for $125m. Mauricio Umansky and Santiago Arana of The Agency have the listing.
