The Greystone Mansion & Park, originally named Doheny Mansion, is a Tudor Revival style estate that is often used as a filming location for big screen movies or television series. Batman & Robin, The Bodyguard, The Social Network, Star Trek, Austin Powers in Goldmember and X-Men are several movies that have used Greystone Mansion & Park as their film sets.
The vintage 1928 building was designed by architect Gordon B. Kaufmann under the supervision of construction company P.J. Walker. The 4,300-sqm Greystone sitting atop a hillside was the largest house in Beverly Hills and the most expensive in California at the time it was built, with a total cost exceeding $4 million.
An invigorating mesh of Gothic and neoclassical architecture styles, the stately residence features classic oak balustrades, a set of intricate wrought iron gates and arched cased openings. The interior is a clad in a neutral colour palette of beige tones. There are 55 rooms, a huge private cinema, a billiard room, a bar, a bowling alley and a lobby with black and white inlaid marble floor. The dramatic Greystone staircase is one of the most famous sets in Hollywood film history. Quite uniquely, there are seven chimneys crowning the roof, each one distinctively designed by different artists.
Greystone Mansion was originally owned by oil tycoon Edward Laurence Doherty before it was purchased by the city of Beverly Hills in 1965 to serve as a city park. That explains the beautiful English gardens surrounding the property, staged by landscape architect Paul G. Thiene. The Greystone complex is one of the National Register of Historic Places and a Beverly Hills Local Historic Landmark. The park is open for public visits while the elegant mansion is commonly used for wedding shoots and other formal events.