A Beverly Hills mansion once owned by Warner Bros. co-founder Harry Warner has sold for $27.25 million, nearly a decade after it first hit the market for $39.99 million. The historic property, restored by former owner Daphna Ziman to retain its Old Hollywood character, had been listed on and off for years before the deal was reported by The Wall Street Journal. The 1923-built estate features hand-carved oak, leaded-glass windows, a screening room with silk velvet curtains and a guesthouse associated with Marilyn Monroe. Its sale price was below its original asking price of nearly $40 million and its most recent reported asking price of $31.5 million.
A mansion with a Hollywood legacy
Located at 1005 North Woodland Drive in Beverly Hills, California, the estate was built in 1923 for Harry Warner, one of the four brothers who established Warner Bros. Studios. According to Realtor.com, Warner commissioned architect Paul R. Williams to design the residence, combining French Country influences with Tudor-style elements.Williams was a pioneering architect who became the first African American member of the American Institute of Architects. His work helped shape the appearance of several prominent Los Angeles homes, and the Warner mansion reflects the period’s preference for elaborate detailing, generous entertaining spaces and a mix of European architectural influences.The property is spread across approximately 1.1 acres, with the main residence measuring around 12,000 square feet. Reports have described it as a seven-bedroom mansion, although published accounts differ on the exact number of bathrooms and the total square footage. The estate also includes a guesthouse, a swimming pool, a tennis court and landscaped gardens.Harry Warner reportedly owned the house during the 1940s. Its guesthouse has been associated with Marilyn Monroe, who is said to have stayed there while Warner occupied the main residence. This detail has appeared in real-estate coverage, including the original 2016 listing reports.
Preserving its Old Hollywood character
The mansion’s more recent history is closely tied to Ziman, a filmmaker, philanthropist and founder of the cable television network Cinémoi. She and her then-husband, real-estate investor Richard Ziman, purchased the property in 1996.Rather than strip the house of its traditional character, the owners undertook an extensive renovation that sought to restore its historic atmosphere while incorporating modern amenities. According to a 2016 Los Angeles Times report, the renovation took more than three years to bring the house back to its former glory.The work involved removing later finishes and restoring architectural details. Ziman told the newspaper that photographs helped her recreate the house’s earlier appearance. Hand-painted kitchen tiles were reproduced, while the renovation exposed wooden beams and other details that had been concealed by false ceilings.The property also incorporates some period-inspired elements sourced from elsewhere. According to the Los Angeles Times, these included leaded-glass windows acquired in Italy, wooden beams from a church in England and a 16th-century fireplace purchased at auction from the Palace of Versailles. The distinction matters: the restoration preserved and revived historic features, but not every decorative element was necessarily original to the house.The result was a residence designed to retain its Old Hollywood atmosphere rather than resemble a newly built contemporary mansion. Listing agent Joyce Rey’s website highlighted the hand-carved oak, leaded-glass windows, hand-painted kitchen tiles and silk velvet curtains in the screening room as defining features of the restored property.
A home built for entertaining
The estate was also used as a venue for political and philanthropic gatherings. Ziman hosted fundraisers and events attended by prominent political figures, and the Los Angeles Times reported in 2016 that more than 80,000 guests had visited the property over the years.Its entertainment spaces include a screening room, a library, a game room and a lounge with an indoor-outdoor bar. The screening room’s silk velvet curtains reportedly came from a downtown Los Angeles theatre, adding another layer of cinematic history to the house.The grounds feature a European-style garden, a rock-lagoon-like pool and spa, waterfalls, a tennis court and a koi pond crossed by a footbridge. The guesthouse and extensive entertaining areas helped make the property suitable for both private gatherings and large events.The mansion also had a television appearance of its own. It was used as O.J. Simpson’s home in the 2016 FX series The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. Several rooms and the garden appeared in the production, bringing renewed attention to the property when it was first listed for nearly $40 million that year.
A long road to the final sale
The mansion’s journey to a buyer was not straightforward. It first appeared on the market in August 2016 for $40 million, according to The Real Deal. The asking price subsequently changed, and the property went on and off the market over the following years.In March 2022, The Real Deal reported that the estate was under contract with a last asking price of $32.5 million. That report did not establish a completed sale, and the property later returned to the market. By the time of the final transaction reported by The Wall Street Journal, the asking price had reportedly been reduced to $31.5 million.The reported $27.25 million sale represents a substantial reduction from the original asking price, although the two figures reflect different stages of a long marketing process rather than a simple price cut at one time. The buyer’s identity was not disclosed in the Wall Street Journal report.
