Johnny Depp's Hidden Castle on the Sunset Strip

Johnny Depp
Mt. Kalmia
Mt. Kalmia
Mt. Kalmia from Sunset Boulevard in the 1970s
Mt. Kalmia .
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Johnny Depp in Mt. Kalmia kitchen

INSIDE

• Introduction

• The Dracula Connection

  A Depp-Lugosi connection

• Death Is a Treat

  Hersee Carson’s dream

• The Fairy Lady

  Hersee goes bankrupt

• Chaos

  Queen Hogan is evicted

• Rock Dreams

  Gary Kellgren’s dream

• You Won’t See him

  Johnny Depp wants privacy

FEATURED EXHIBITS

Colorized version of the viral photo of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe in a nightclub in the 1950s

The Truth about That Famous Photo of Marilyn Monroe and Ella Fitzgerald

“All photographs are accurate,” wrote the celebrated photographer Richard Avedon. “None of them is the truth.” Case in point, a photograph of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe in a nightclub in the 1950s that has gone viral recently.  The story that has circulated with the photo is  shrouded in myth. Here we bust the myth, and yet the story has a happy ending.

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The Garden of Alla

A Place Called the Garden of Allah

‘I’ll be damned if I’ll believe anyone lives in a place called the Garden of Allah.’ – Thomas Wolfe, in a letter to F. Scott Fitzgerald, July 26, 1937
The most complete history available of the Garden of Allah Hotel, which for 32 year was an oasis of sophisticated hedonism in Hollywood. Its long list of celebrity guests included movie stars, world-renowned musicians, East Coast and European aristocrats and even a mobster or two.
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EXHIBITS

WEHO Vice

Charges dropped: from left, Allen Smiley, attorney Jerry Geisler, Patricia Dane Dorsey and Tommy Dorsey

Battle of the Balcony: The Mother of All Celebrity Brawls

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Rock n’ Roll

Micky Cohen

Excavating the Viper Room – Early History of One of the Sunset Strip’s Oldest Buildings

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WEHO Vice

The Strip was once a Gambler’s Playground, Why Not Let the Games Resume?

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BECOMING WEST HOLLYWOOD
TONGVA PEOPLE: Tongva People lived nearby in a village called "Kawee’nga"(“Place of the fox") and that the Spanish called "Cahuenga." In the 1820s Rancho La Brea was awarded to a Californio family. Its footprint today encompasses Hollywood, Hancock Park and West Hollywood.
TONGVA PEOPLE: Tongva People lived nearby in a village called "Kawee’nga"(“Place of the fox") and that the Spanish called "Cahuenga." In the 1820s Rancho La Brea was awarded to a Californio family. Its footprint today encompasses Hollywood, Hancock Park and West Hollywood.
RANCHO LA BREA: In 1860, Henry Hancock, a Harvard-trained lawyer and surveyor, acquired Rancho La Brea and its asphaltum mines at the tar pits. Many years after he died, Hancock’s widow and son became wealthy overnight when they struck oil under what is now Park La Brea.
RANCHO LA BREA: In 1860, Henry Hancock, a Harvard-trained lawyer and surveyor, acquired Rancho La Brea and its asphaltum mines at the tar pits. Many years after he died, Hancock’s widow and son became wealthy overnight when they struck oil under what is now Park La Brea.
SHERMAN YARDS: In the 1890s, Moses Sherman and partners built a streetcar yard at what is now the intersection of Santa Monica and San Vicente Blvds. The village of Sherman grew up around the yards, establishing the historic core of West Hollywood.
SHERMAN YARDS: In the 1890s, Moses Sherman and partners built a streetcar yard at what is now the intersection of Santa Monica and San Vicente Blvds. The village of Sherman grew up around the yards, establishing the historic core of West Hollywood.
VICTOR PONET: Belgian émigré Victor Ponet, a wealthy Los Angeles financier, bought 280 acres north of Sherman. Years later, his heirs, the Montgomery family, developed Sunset Plaza there. They still operate the high-end retail and dining zone today.
VICTOR PONET: Belgian émigré Victor Ponet, a wealthy Los Angeles financier, bought 280 acres north of Sherman. Years later, his heirs, the Montgomery family, developed Sunset Plaza there. They still operate the high-end retail and dining zone today.
STUDIOS CITY: In 1919, Charlie Chaplin built a studio on La Brea Avenue - it's the Jim Henson Studio today. That same year Jesse Hampton built a studio on Santa Monica. It later became the Pickford-Fairbanks Studios and is now called The Lot.
STUDIOS CITY: In 1919, Charlie Chaplin built a studio on La Brea Avenue - it's the Jim Henson Studio today. That same year Jesse Hampton built a studio on Santa Monica. It later became the Pickford-Fairbanks Studios and is now called The Lot.
FAMOUS NIGHTSPOTS: In 1934, Hollywood Reporter publisher Billy Wilkerson opened Café Trocadero, a hive of elegance on the Strip. In 1940, he opened Ciro’s down the street where Hollywood elites dined and danced. Mocambo, another world-famous club on the Strip, opened soon after.
FAMOUS NIGHTSPOTS: In 1934, Hollywood Reporter publisher Billy Wilkerson opened Café Trocadero, a hive of elegance on the Strip. In 1940, he opened Ciro’s down the street where Hollywood elites dined and danced. Mocambo, another world-famous club on the Strip, opened soon after.
HOLLYWOOD MOB: The 1947 assassination of Bugsy Siegel (above) ignited a war for control of the millions generated by illegal gambling on the Strip. Attacks by the Jack Dragna mob on Siegel’s successor, Mickey Cohen, outraged the public and signaled the end of high-stakes gambling on the Strip.
HOLLYWOOD MOB: The 1947 assassination of Bugsy Siegel (above) ignited a war for control of the millions generated by illegal gambling on the Strip. Attacks by the Jack Dragna mob on Siegel’s successor, Mickey Cohen, outraged the public and signaled the end of high-stakes gambling on the Strip.
GAY ON THE STRIP: Cross-dressing acts like Karyl Norman, “the Creole Fashion Plate,” and Rae Bourbon (above), performed on the Strip. Café International and Jane Jones’ Little Club catered to lesbians, while Café Gala and Club Bali were popular with gay men.
GAY ON THE STRIP: Cross-dressing acts like Karyl Norman, “the Creole Fashion Plate,” and Rae Bourbon (above), performed on the Strip. Café International and Jane Jones’ Little Club catered to lesbians, while Café Gala and Club Bali were popular with gay men.
ROCK MECCA: The opening of PJ’s Discotheque on Santa Monica at Crescent Heights in 1961 introduced rock ‘n roll to West Hollywood. Four years later, the Whisky a Go-Go opened on the Strip, launching a revolution.
ROCK MECCA: The opening of PJ’s Discotheque on Santa Monica at Crescent Heights in 1961 introduced rock ‘n roll to West Hollywood. Four years later, the Whisky a Go-Go opened on the Strip, launching a revolution.
RUSSIAN EMIGRES: In the waning decades of the Soviet Union, thousands of Russians emigrated to West Hollywood, including many were fleeing religious and political persecution. Since the 1970s, as many as 13,000 Russian natives have made the city their homes.
RUSSIAN EMIGRES: In the waning decades of the Soviet Union, thousands of Russians emigrated to West Hollywood, including many were fleeing religious and political persecution. Since the 1970s, as many as 13,000 Russian natives have made the city their homes.
GAY RIGHTS: In 1951, the pioneering gay rights group ONE formed in West Hollywood. Over the ensuing decades, the area became a center of LGBT life and a focus for gay civil rights nationwide.
GAY RIGHTS: In 1951, the pioneering gay rights group ONE formed in West Hollywood. Over the ensuing decades, the area became a center of LGBT life and a focus for gay civil rights nationwide.
CITYHOOD: In the late 1970s, a coalition primarily of seniors and gay activists coalesced around renters’ rights and other issues. The movement culminated in a vote that established the city of West Hollywood in 1984.
CITYHOOD: In the late 1970s, a coalition primarily of seniors and gay activists coalesced around renters’ rights and other issues. The movement culminated in a vote that established the city of West Hollywood in 1984.
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IN THIS SITE

The Crescent Heights Market, including world-famous Schwab's Drug Store, on the south side of Sunset between Laurel and Crescent Heights

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