Taylor Swift is one of the world’s richest celebrities, with estimated career earnings from her music, concerts, acting and endorsements approaching $800 million. What to do with all that money? Swift has invested much of it in real estate, with homes in New York, Rhode Island, Nashville, Tenn., and her most recent purchase of Samuel Goldwyn’s mansion in Beverly Hills. In recognition of Goldwyn’s historical contributions to the film industry, Swift is seeking landmark status for her new home to ensure its preservation for future generations of movie fans.
In the last year, Swift worked closely with her architects to bring the estate back to its exact condition that existed in 1934 when it was built for Goldwyn and his wife, Frances. The home was a neighborhood destination for many of the era’s Hollywood stars, including Clark Gable and Charlie Chaplin, and used by Goldwyn as collateral for several of his films, including “Wuthering Heights” and his 1946 Oscar winner “The Best Years of Our Lives.” After he died in 1994, the home stayed in the Goldwyn family for over 80 years, until Swift purchased it from the estate of Goldwyn’s son in 2015 for $25 million.
The Goldwyn Mansion restoration has covered virtually every detail of the property from the original windows, replicating the original wooden fencing and reconstructing the pool cabana’s column, even hoisting the blue wisteria vine at the entry onto scaffolding while the house wall was refinished so that it could later be reinstalled in its mature glory. Virtually every inch of the 10,982-square-foot Georgian Revival, with its seven bedrooms and 10 baths, is being addressed. Included are a library-screening room, a guest suite with a private entrance on the home’s main level, a library, card room, gym and an additional private guest apartment above the garage. The master suite has a veranda that overlooks the city lights. Outside is a swimming pool and pool house with kitchenette and sunken tennis courts.
To date, Swift’s application for landmark status has been given an enthusiastic thumbs up by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission and is awaiting the vote of the Beverly Hills City Council.
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