There was a period in Los Angeles when fairy tale architecture was all the rage. What fairy tale architecture is is something that could only happen in Hollywood the land of make believe. These were homes and businesses that were built in the style of homes in fairy tales; they have the look of a house that Hansel and Gretel might just live in. One of the most famous is the Witch's House (actually known as the Spandena house) located in the very glam Beverly Hills. It was built in 1921 by a Hollywood art director named Harry Oliver for a film company in Culver City. The house was moved to its current location in 1934 where it became the family home of the Spandena family. It was originally surrounded by a moat and intentionally overgrown looking English style garden. The Spandena family lived there unti selling it in the 1960's. the house slowly fell into disrepair and in the 1990's it was once again up for sale. The location is a prime spot in Beverly Hills ( the corner of Carmelita and Walden Drives) and most people were interested in buying it as a tear down. Local Realtor Michael Libow bought the house and started restoring it. He put up a large wall around the property that caused a local uproar as the neighbor's assume he was tearing it down. The house now it completely restored and a beloved local landmark. It can also be seen in the movie Clueless. It is a must see when visiting Beverly Hills.
On a corner of Sunset Blvd. in Beverly Hills across the street from the world famous Beverly Hills Hotel is an abandoned and decaying mansion. This was once the glamorous home of film director Vincent Minnelli. It was in this house that Minnelli died in 1988. The house was left in his will to his only daughter Liza. The will also had a stipulation in the will that Minnelli's widow Lee be allowed to live there. Lee Minnelli did indeed live in the house but in 2000 Liza wanted to sell the house and offered to buy her stepmother a condo. Lee refused the offer and stayed in the mansion. Liza in an effort to get Lee to move out stopped paying all the bills. The electricity was turned off and the garden was left to grow. There were servants who stayed on working for Lee Minnelli for free.
Well Liza did eventually sell the house and Lee died. There were lots of problems with the sale and the new owners still have done nothing with the place just letting it decay. Squatters eventually took of residence in what was left of this once beautiful Hollywood Regency style mansion. There it sits sad and neglected in one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in Los Angeles.
