Greystone Mansion: A Peaceful Getaway with a Chilling History
Up a windy road in the heart of the hills of Hollywood, sits a seemingly deserted yet breathtaking old mansion, complete with beautiful green lawns and landscaping. The grounds are open to walk and can consume you for hours, being that they’re so vast and beautiful. The mansion itself, however, is mysteriously locked up and out of general use to the public. (You can reserve tours and weddings are held there) After a little poking around, (and asking a nice security guard) the story unfolded itself to reveal a murder/suicide dating back to 1929.
The mansion cost 4 million to build at the time, equivalent to nearly 60 million today, making it the most expensive home to be built in California at the time. With 55 rooms, 46,000 square feet and 16 acres, this elaborate estate was impressive to even the most impressive pieces of real estate in the country, found in Beverly Hills. Oil Tycoon Edward L Doheny gifted the Tudor-style estate to his son, Edward “Ned” Doheny Jr., and his family.
Just four months after moving, this tragic murder/suicide mystery took place. The official story states Hugh Plunkett, Doheny’s secretary at the time, let himself into their expansive estate with his own key. This didn’t seem out of the ordinary, as Plunkett was a trusted friend and employee to the family. Soon after Plunkett’s arrival in the house, Ned’s wife Lucy reportedly found the two men dead in a guest bedroom in the house. Either temporarily insane or enraged with anger over not receiving a raise, Plunkett shot Doheny and then in turn killed himself.
image credit - californiabeaches.com
This could very well be the story, but as other theories have come to the surface, the mystery too seems to take shape. It was reported that the shot that took Plunkett’s life came from behind. How could a suicide shot come from behind? The story is told that Lucy called the doctor instead of the police. Together, they found the bodies around midnight but the police weren’t called until 2am. Could Doheny have actually called the doctor to calm the crazed Plunkett down? Another theory supposed that Plunkett and Doheny could have been secretly romantically involved and Lucy perhaps could have killed both men.
We will never know the true account of what happened that night, but we do know it was tragic. The murder/suicide happened in 1929, and after remarrying, Lucy continued to live in the estate until 1955. After several change of hands, the estate was purchased by the city of Beverly Hills in 1965 and became a state park in 1971. Though the story is chilling to recount, the estate today truly is a peaceful place to escape from the hustle of the city, to enjoy the beauty of the grounds and the stillness of the nature it is surrounded by.