The fight to preserve the historic Playboy Mansion has officially begun, and its first contender is not who you would expect.
Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz introduced a motion to declare the notorious Playboy Mansion as a historic-cultural landmark on Tuesday, Curbed reported.
He claimed the mansion is an “excellent example of a Gothic-Tudor” architecture and nearly failed to mention the property’s connection with its raunchy past as the home of Playboy.
The move comes on the heels of Playboy icon Hugh Hefner’s recent death, which left the fate of the Holmby Hills mansion in the hands of Hostess heir billionaire Daren Metropoulos.
Metropoulos purchased the 20,000-square-foot home from Hefner in August 2016 for a cool $100 million, marking the priciest sale in Los Angeles history at the time. He has repeatedly mentioned plans to create a behemoth estate of the mansion and the residence next door – which he also owns – despite concerns from fans (and now council members) wanting to preserve the estate.
If awarded landmark status, the 1927-built property would be protected from exterior alterations and any attempt to demolish it would require a review by the city.
Incumbent Koretz also spearheaded the effort to halt the development of large houses, dubbed “McMansions,” in single-family neighborhoods. [Curbed] – Natalie Hoberman