Greystone History Edward Laurence Doheny became a successful oil magnate with the help of his partner Charles Canfield as they drilled for and discovered the first oil wells in Los Angeles in 1892. Oil gushers soon became part of the landscape of L.A. In 1926, Doheny gifted his son Edward “Ned” Laurence Doheny Jr., and his daughter-in-law Lucy, with a 12.58 acres parcel of land. This land acquired by Doheny in 1914, was adjacent to his 429 acre Doheny Ranch. It is on these 12.58 acres that Greystone mansion was built, at a cost of $3,135.563. It became the largest undertaking of a family estate in the city of Beverly Hills.

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The creation of the grounds began in 1926. A three-leveled gardens designed by German born landscape architect Paul Thiene, mixed a variety of garden styles and themes based on Italian and English gardens. There were nearly 100 different species of plants and flowers on the property, representing every continent. Incorporated in the gardens, were two cascading waterfalls, two lakes, and a green house. The estate included a swimming pool and pavilion, tennis courts, kennels and a charming playhouse, as well as stables and a gatehouse.   For the design of the mansion, the Doheny’s commissioned celebrated English born architect Gordon Kaufman. Construction was under way after the completion of the formal gardens in February 1927, and was finished eighteen months later.

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Greystone’s exterior is 19th century English revival architecture with a combination of two story turrets faced with Indiana limestone, Welsh slate and leaded glass windows. The interior is 18th century in style and includes fifty-five livable rooms in 46,054 square feet, including the entertainment wing consisting of a theater, bowling alley and billiard room. At the end of September 1928, Ned, Lucy, their four sons Edward, William, Patrick, Tim and their daughter Lucy (nicknamed “Dicky Dell”), moved into the mansion. Ned Doheny only enjoyed his new home for four months. He was found in the mansion in a murder suicide with his long time trusted family assistant, Hugh Plunkett. He was 36 years old. Three years after his death, his widow Lucy married investment banker Leigh M. Battson.

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In 1945, Lucy acquired the 429-acre Doheny Ranch, conveyed to her by her first mother in law Carrie Estelle Doheny. In 1954, she sold the Ranch to Paul Trousdale who developed the Trousdale Estates and built 539 homes.

Lucy sold Greystone in 1955 for a reported $1,500,000, to Midwest millionaire Industrialist Col. Henry Crown, who at the time owned the Empire State Building. Lucy and Leigh Battson had lived at Greystone for 23 years. They built a smaller home (27,0000 sq ft) to the North West of Greystone, on a 10 acre site, called the “Knoll”.

Crown never intended to live at Greystone, instead he rented the estate to movie studios. In 1963, he wanted to subdivide the property, which would have resulted in the mansion’s demolition.
A citizen’s committee was formed to save the mansion. For two years, the City of Beverly Hills negotiated with Crown to purchase the estate. An agreement was reached on November 3, 1965, and the city purchased Greystone and the grounds for $1,100,000. The grounds were converted into a park and a site for a 19,300,000 gallon subsurface reservoir.

The private story ceased and Greystone’s public life began.

In June 1969 Greystone was leased to The American Film Institute. AFI used the many rooms of the house as offices, classes and screening rooms. The basement rooms were converted into dark rooms and film storage, and the great living room was transformed into a theater. AFI moved out of Greystone in 1982.

The City of Beverly Hills formally dedicated Greystone Park, in 1971. On April 23, 1976 Greystone was added to the Department of Interior’s National Register of Historic Places.

Today, Greystone serves as the setting for a myriad of cultural and educational activities. Movies, commercials, T.V. shows and photo shoots are a major source of revenue for the upkeep of Greystone as are the exclusive weddings and reception sites located throughout the grounds.
Most of all, Greystone provides the visitor with the opportunity for a quiet moment in a pastoral park, offering sweeping panoramic views of the city below, moments away from a busy urban environment.

Katherine A. Timme
Historian, Archivist
Friends of Greystone

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