In the golden age of Hollywood, the hills were alive with more than just the sound of music—they were dotted with the palatial homes of the silver screen’s brightest stars.

Imagine, if you will, a veritable Shangri-La nestled in the Hollywood Hills - where every mansion was seemingly in competition to outdo the opulence of the studio sets where their owners spent their working hours.

The walls of these estates could, of course, not talk - but had they been afforded the gift of gab - the stories they could tell would rival the screenplays that won their residents their statuettes.

In today’s episode of Old Money Mansions, we’ll take you through the top five most opulent mansions of the Golden Age of Hollywood that eventually met the wrecking ball - and, unfortunately, were demolished.

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Why Hollywood's Most Opulent Mansion Was Demolished: Pickfair:    • Why Hollywood's Most Opulent Mansion ...  

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The 5 Gilded Age MANSIONS That Inspired The “GREAT GATSBY”:    • The 5 Gilded Age MANSIONS That Inspir...  

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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Introduction
1:08 #1 The William O. Jenkins House - “The Sunset Boulevard Mansion”
3:11 #2 Falcon Lair - The Majestic Moorish Mansion
5:26 #3 The Garden of Allah - A Silent Film Star’s Paradise
7:38 #4 The Italian Villa of a Comedic Genius
9:43 #5 The Rococo Retreat

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In the sunny sprawl of Los Angeles - precisely at Six Forty One South Irving Boulevard - once presided a residence that could rival the star power of Tinseltown's finest.
The William O. Jenkins House - a stately name for a stately place, - was as iconic to the Hollywood scene as the celebrities on the Walk of Fame.

Indeed, this illustrious dwelling wasn't just bricks and mortar - it was an emblem of Hollywood's gilded era - echoing the grand narrative of its cinematic triumphs.
Sprouting from the vision of William O. Jenkins - a mogul whose sweet tooth for sugar plantations in Mexico was well-known - the mansion's Mediterranean flair was conjured between 1919 and 1924.

Despite its splendor, the Jenkins Family’s occupancy was as brief as a cameo appearance—they called it home for merely a year before Mexico beckoned them back.
Yet, the structure stood resilient, with a skeleton of steel, concrete, and brick, all lining its imposing interior.

In an era when the Jazz Age was in full swing and Hollywood's silver screen glowed with stars, Rudolph Valentino stood out.
This Italian-born actor - who set hearts aflutter in "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" and "The Sheik” - soared to the zenith of his profession in the Roaring Twenties.

With fame came the spoils - and Valentino's spoil of choice was a Moorish-style palace nestled in Beverly Hills— the so-called “Falcon Lair”.
Costing the princely sum of one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars—no chump change back then—Valentino's estate was more than a home - it was a declaration of his celluloid success.
Perched above Benedict Canyon, it was a sanctum of status and solitude.

Next, in a twist reminiscent of the great stage dramas, the iconic Alla Nazimova Estate - originally crafted in 1913 by the savvy developer William H. Hay - was ultimately christened with the flair of Broadway itself by none other than the star Alla Nazimova.

Nazimova - whose name echoed through the halls of Broadway - saw beyond the estate's mere mortar and beams to envision a realm of Hollywood splendor - dubbing her abode the Garden of Alla—a nod to both her own name and the literary work by Robert Smythe Hichens.

As the Roaring Twenties reached their zenith, Nazimova's estate underwent a metamorphosis of Hollywood proportions.
The year 1927 saw the Garden of Alla transform from a silent star's mansion to the talk of Tinseltown - the Garden of Allah Hotel.

With the cunning of a showbiz veteran facing financial straits, Nazimova spun her land into gold - erecting around 30 villas of quaint charm to host Hollywood's elite.

Keaton - the stone-faced sultan of slapstick - found his castle nestled just a stone's throw from the Beverly Hills Hotel - staking his claim on the comedic and architectural map of Tinseltown.
This Italianate villa - carved out of the rolling hills - set the gold standard for the celebrity cribs that followed - each vying for a slice of Beverly grandeur.

Architect Gene Verge - the maestro of Mediterranean revival - took a page from the old-world charm of Italy - envisioning a villa that echoed the rustic nobility of Tuscany and Lombardy, with a pinch of Californian pizzazz.

Last on our list -in a sunny nook of Santa Monica, where the ocean's breath whispers of silver-screen legends - the once-storied abode of Marion Davies offered a window into the sumptuous lives of Hollywood royalty.

Dreamt up by the architectural maestro Julia Morgan and realized between the Roaring Twenties and the early Thirties, this splendid residence was a beacon of the era's extravagance.