The Cedars (1926): Hollywood’s Gothic Masterpiece in Los Feliz

The Cedars is Hollywood at full dramatic scale: sand-colored stucco, towers rising from the Los Feliz hillside, and a constant attempt to out-glamor the hills themselves. Completed in the mid-1920s, it has swept through silent-era ambition, horror-movie legend, rock-and-roll excess, and high-fashion restoration. Its presence alone is enough to settle a narrative.

Origins: a director’s hilltop villa

In the mid-1920s, Los Feliz was becoming the enclave of Hollywood’s elite — secluded enough for privacy, but close enough to the studios. French film director Maurice Tourneur commissioned the villa, envisioning it as an architectural showpiece — a personal statement of European refinement meeting California sunlight. Completed around 1926 by architects Lyman Farwell and Herman C. Light, the home was designed to feel cinematic: every angle a frame, every archway a scene transition, reflecting Tourneur’s eye for dramatic staging.

Architecture: opulence with purpose

The Cedars merges Mediterranean warmth with Baroque theatricality. Its façade is punctuated by cypress trees, an ornate stone entrance, and deep-set arched windows. Inside are Venetian-style murals, gold-leaf ceilings, imported marble floors, and a grand salon once described as “fit for a czar’s ball.” The design cleverly uses different woods — mahogany, oak, birch — and intricate tilework to define the home’s 26 rooms. The house’s name reportedly came from the cedar trees that lined the slope when it was built, a nod to old-world permanence amid a city chasing reinvention.

Silent-era residents and glamour

The earliest residents included Madge Bellamy, one of silent cinema’s brightest names, who purchased the home from Tourneur in 1927. She was at the height of fame, starring in classics like Lorna Doone and White Zombie, and The Cedars became her stage away from the studio — hosting lavish dinners for producers, actors, and the era’s literati. Her romantic scandal in 1935 briefly ended her career, and her retreat from the spotlight mirrored the mansion’s own quiet descent into mystery.

The Lugosi years and the gothic myth

By the late 1930s and early 1940s, Hungarian actor Béla Lugosi — fresh from his defining role as Dracula — reportedly rented the home. The connection stuck: his residency cemented The Cedars as one of Hollywood’s unofficial “haunted” mansions, where he allegedly hosted dark, theatrical parties. Its high-arched interiors, deep shadows, and candlelit halls played directly into the gothic legend. Decades later, actor Johnny Depp owned the home from 1995 to 2004 while researching his portrayal of cult director Ed Wood, completing the eerie full circle between fiction and reality.

Rock-and-roll era and excess

In the 1960s and 70s, The Cedars became a magnet for musicians and artists drawn to its gothic privacy. Parties hosted there reportedly drew figures from the Sunset Strip scene, including members of The Doors and Jimi Hendrix’s circle. Stories tell of impromptu jam sessions echoing through its tiled halls. The home’s worn grandeur fit the mood of the era — faded but intoxicating, like old Hollywood itself reclaiming its eccentric past.

Restoration and Sue Wong’s stewardship

By the early 2000s, the mansion had decayed into near ruin. In 2004, fashion designer Sue Wong purchased it and spent years restoring every surface — stabilizing the structure, gilding the 24-karat gold ceilings, hand-painting murals, and reviving the original craftsmanship. Her work transformed The Cedars into a living gallery of art and couture, a personal tribute to Hollywood’s Golden Age. Wong regularly hosted film and fashion events there, keeping its creative pulse alive while honoring its architectural roots.

Context: Hollywood’s evolving identity

• 1920s: The age of spectacle — directors and stars build castles in the hills to match their cinematic dreams.
• 1930s–40s: Shadows and glamour — The Cedars becomes part of Hollywood’s gothic lore, fueled by Lugosi’s tenancy.
• 1960s–80s: Counterculture revival — old mansions gain new lives as creative havens for the music and art scenes.
• 2000s–present: Preservation as luxury — restored estates like The Cedars symbolize Los Angeles’ rediscovered heritage and architectural value.

Why The Cedars matters

• Architectural authorship: A rare link between European film artistry (Tourneur’s vision) and California architecture (Farwell & Light’s execution).
• Cultural continuum: Each era — silent, noir, rock, and couture — left a visible mark on the house’s story.
• Mythic presence: Its silhouette, legends, and restorations make it an enduring emblem of Hollywood’s evolving, often gothic, identity.

What it’s like inside today

Walk through wrought-iron gates into a courtyard anchored by a Moorish fountain. Step inside, and the light falls through red velvet drapes onto hand-painted ceilings. The scent of polished wood and candle wax lingers in the air. Upstairs, terraces open toward the Hollywood Hills, and at sunset, the gold of the house reflects the city’s last light. Time feels suspended — not lost, just layered.

All home images here are artistic illustrations used for education and historical commentary.