Marilyn Monroe’s last home saved in Los Angeles

The Los Angeles home where Marilyn Monroe spent the last months of her life has been saved after a judge rejected a request to demolish it, filed by the current owners, Brinah Milstein and Roy Bank.

Six months after moving into the Spanish-style hacienda at 12305 Fifth Helena Drive, Marilyn died at just 36 years old in the bedroom of an overdose of barbiturates, CE Report quotes ANSA.

Although her time in the house was brief, the Brentwood residence has become a silent monument to the actress’s life, with fans still leaving flowers at the gate more than sixty years after her death.

The Banks own a property adjacent to Marilyn’s house and had attempted to combine the two properties after purchasing the former diva’s home in August 2023 for $8.4 million. However, Brinah and Roy were ruled against by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant, ending a two-year legal battle.

Initially, the city had granted the Banks—he a former reality TV producer for shows like Survivor and The Apprentice, and she an heiress of a real estate dynasty—permission to demolish the home. The news of the permit predictably sparked protests from many Los Angeles residents, historians, preservation advocates, and Marilyn fans worldwide, prompting the city to reverse its decision and oppose the owners.

“There is no person or place in Los Angeles as iconic as Marilyn Monroe and her Brentwood home,” said City Councilor Traci Park in June 2024. “Losing this piece of history—the only home Marilyn Monroe ever owned—would be a devastating blow to historic preservation in a city where less than 3 percent of historic designations are associated with female property owners.”