Main author
Michael BrooksPlayboy Mansion
Contents |
[edit] Introduction
The Playboy Mansion was the iconic residence of Hugh Hefner, founder of the Playboy magazine empire. Located in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, it is one of the most famous mansions in the world, notorious for its decadent and lavish parties.
Construction of the mansion began in 1927. It was bought by Hefner in 1971, and became his full-time residence in 1974, when he moved from the original Playboy mansion in Chicago. Hefner purchased the mansion for $1.1 million from Louis D. Statham, an engineer, inventor and chess-master.
In 2016, the property and its 5.3 acres of land were put on the market for $200 million, making it one of the most valuable estates in California. It was eventually bought for half that amount by Daren Metropoulos who stated his intention to renovate and restore the mansion to its original form.
[edit] Design and construction
The 2,048 sq. m mansion was designed by the architect Arthur R. Kelly in the Gothic and Tudor Revival styles. Hefner has described it as resembling an English country manor.
The mansion contains 22 rooms, including six bedrooms, six baths and two powder rooms. The estate also includes a 4-bedroom Aviary greenhouse which acts as a guesthouse and a 2-bed games house.
Some of the features of the mansion include a wine cellar accessed via a Prohibition-era secret door, a screening room with pipe organ, and extensive carved-oak décor which dates back to the 1970s. The west wing of the mansion contained the editorial offices of Playboy, while the extensively renovated Master’s suite is located across several rooms on the second and third floors. Throughout the rest of the mansion, the original Gothic Revival furnishings are maintained, including an oak-panelled drawing room with open fireplace.
The landscape is equally lavish and includes a tennis/basketball court, a swimming pool with patio, a basement gym and sauna, a large koi pond with artificial stream, a citrus orchard and two forests of tree ferns and redwoods. Perhaps most famous is the artificial waterfall and stone grotto containing several whirlpool hot tubs.
It is one of the only residential properties in the Greater Los Angeles area to hold a zoo licence and as such, the estate contains three zoo buildings with exotic birds, squirrel monkeys and rabbits.
[edit] Post-construction
The mansion is currently used for corporate activities, charitable events and civic functions.
Due to its iconic status and close proximity to Hollywood, the mansion has become a symbolic backdrop in magazine photography, as well as numerous films and TV programmes, including ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’, ‘WWE Smackdown’, ‘The Apprentice’, ‘Beverly Hills Cop’, ‘Sex and the City’, and ‘Curb your Enthusiasm’.
In 2011, a widely-reported incident occurred in which 123 people suffered with fever and respiratory illnesses after a corporate event. Investigators found that the virus outbreak was Legionnaire’s Disease spread from bacteria that was traced back to one of the grotto’s hot tubs.
[edit] Find out more
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
The Constructing Excellence Value Toolkit
Driving value-based decision making in construction.
Meet CIOB event in Northern Ireland
Inspiring the next generation of construction talent.
Reasons for using MVHR systems
6 reasons for a whole-house approach to ventilation.
Supplementary Planning Documents, a reminder
As used by the City of London to introduce a Retrofit first policy.
The what, how, why and when of deposit return schemes
Circular economy steps for plastic bottles and cans in England and Northern Ireland draws.
Join forces and share Building Safety knowledge in 2025
Why and how to contribute to the Building Safety Wiki.
Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regs
Approved amendment coming into effect 1 March 2025.
A new CIOB TIS on discharging CDM 2015 duties
Practical steps that can be undertaken in the Management of Contractors to discharge the relevant CDM 2015 duties.
Planning for homes by transport hubs
Next steps for infrastructure following the updated NPPF.
Access, history and Ty unnos.
The world’s first publicly funded civic park.
Exploring permitted development rights for change of use
Discussing lesser known classes M, N, P, PA and L.
CIOB Art of Building 2024 judges choice winner
Once Upon a Pass by Liam Man.
CIOB Art of Building 2024 public choice winner
Fresco School by Roman Robroek.
HE expands finance alliance to boost SME house building
Project follows on from Habiko public-private place making pension partnership for affordable housing delivery.
Licensing construction; looking back to look forward
Voluntary to required contractors (licensing) schemes.