Castillo del Lago is part fairy tale, part rumor mill, and entirely Hollywood. Built high above Lake Hollywood in 1926, it has cycled through oil-boom money, underworld whispers, pop stardom, and fashion-world polish. The constant is its presence: a vertical procession of towers, terraces, and rooms that stack up the hillside like a camera move. Its silhouette, especially the distinctive entry tower, is one of the most recognizable in the Hollywood Hills.
Quick Facts
Address: 6342 Mulholland Highway, Los Angeles, CA 90068
Built: 1926
Architect: John DeLario (Supervisory architect for the Hollywoodland development, known for his “California Renaissance” style)
Style: Mediterranean / Spanish Colonial Revival with significant Moorish details, including elaborate tilework, wrought iron, and coffered ceilings
Size: Approximately 10,500 sq ft across nine levels, typically 9 bedrooms and 6 baths, stepped terraces over roughly 2.7–3 acres
Notable owners: Patrick M. Longan (original oilman client) · Bugsy Siegel (reported 1930s tenure) · Madonna (1993–1996, acquired for approx. $5 million) · Leon Max (21st century owner and restorer, acquired for $7 million in 2010)
How Castillo del Lago came to be
The estate was commissioned as part of the ambitious Hollywoodland development, famous for its grand sign (which originally read “Hollywoodland”). Oilman Patrick M. Longan hired DeLario to produce a showpiece visible from both the lake road and the ridgeline. As supervisory architect for the entire tract, DeLario designed the house to climb the hillside naturally, stacking spaces up the slope so it appeared as a sculpted silhouette from below and a sequence of gardens from within. It remains a testament to his romantic “California Renaissance” philosophy.
Architecture: a vertical procession
The plan ascends through nine distinct levels. Two towers dominate the composition: the iconic entry tower housing a spiral staircase and a vintage wood-paneled elevator, and a smaller tower that serves as a private lounge within the primary suite. The two-story living room is a highlight, featuring ornate wood beams and a commanding fireplace. Classic revival details are everywhere: stucco, terracotta, patterned tile, Moorish arches, and custom wrought iron fixtures. The vertical design makes the elevator a necessity rather than a luxury. At night, the house glows like a lantern over Lake Hollywood, which made it a natural magnet for gatherings long before anyone called them “parties.”
1930s lore: Bugsy Siegel and the house that hears stories
By the 1930s, Castillo del Lago had entered Los Angeles mythology. Accounts place notorious mobster Bugsy Siegel here, using the secluded compound as a private speakeasy and rumored gambling den. These claims remain unverified, but the setting fits the legend. Tiered rooms, hidden stairs, and moody lighting invite speculation. Some say bullet marks from that era still pock the plaster near the entryway, adding to its infamous allure.
Midcentury to late 20th century: big views, deferred care
Like many hillside estates, Castillo del Lago endured cycles of neglect and revival. Its complex structure and terraced site demanded constant upkeep, yet its cinematic silhouette ensured it never faded from memory. In the 1980s, it became a recognizable film location, most notably appearing in Beverly Hills Cop (1984), its towered facade standing in for a different kind of Hollywood royalty.
Madonna era: a 1990s reinvention
Madonna purchased the estate in 1993 for about $5 million and sold it three years later. Her brother, designer Christopher Ciccone, reimagined the interiors, transforming the Spanish bones into what one critic called a “root-beer-red faux Florentine villa.” The aesthetic echoed her Erotica and Bedtime Stories eras: luxurious, self-aware, and deliberately provocative. The house became both a retreat and a mirror of her persona, glamorous, guarded, and endlessly discussed.
Recent stewardship and the modern market
In 2010, fashion designer Leon Max acquired Castillo del Lago for $7 million and undertook a careful restoration, reopening breezeways, resurfacing terraces, and returning the walls to their original pale stucco. Listed for $21 million in 2023 and later adjusted to $18.9 million, the estate ultimately sold in 2025 for roughly $18 million. That price trajectory reflects what buyers now value most: architecture, authorship, and narrative provenance.
Context: Hollywood then and now
- 1920s: Hollywoodland sells a dream of European hill towns; Castillo del Lago makes it real on the slopes above Lake Hollywood.
- 1930s–40s: Glamour and shadow intertwine as the house becomes shorthand for both privilege and rumor.
- 1990s: Celebrity domestic life becomes part of the brand. Madonna’s tenure returns the house to global pop culture.
- 2020s: Trophy estates trade in narrative as much as square footage, and this house has both.
Castillo del Lago also sits in conversation with other landmark hillside properties. In nearby Los Feliz, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis House and Lloyd Wright’s Sowden House push concrete block and Mayan Revival forms in more experimental directions. Further across the hills, Moorcrest and The Cedars show how Hollywood combined spiritualism, European revival styles, and celebrity lives into equally theatrical hillside estates.
Why Castillo del Lago matters
- Architectural authorship: A defining work by John DeLario, whose vision helped shape the identity of Hollywoodland.
- Vertical composition: A rare towered hillside design in a city better known for its wide horizontals.
- Cultural resonance: From oil fortunes and rumored underworld ties to pop superstardom and fashion-world stewardship, its ownership history reads like a condensed version of Los Angeles myth.
- On-screen legacy: Its silhouette remains one of Hollywood’s most cinematic backdrops, with appearances in Beverly Hills Cop and countless establishing shots of the Hollywood Hills.
What it’s like inside today
Expect stairs and elevators, courtyards and lookouts, and rooms that frame Los Angeles like a sequence of film stills. The primary suite tower lounge offers a near 360 degree view of the city. Morning light spills over terracotta floors; at dusk, ironwork throws lattice shadows across plaster. The house is inherently dramatic. You do not need to stage much to feel like you are living in a scene that never quite ends.
All home images are artistic illustrations used for educational and historical commentary.
