Dec 1, 2016
The Garden of Allah was a famous hotel in Hollywood, California located at 8152 Sunset Boulevard between Crescent Heights and Havenhurst on the east end of the Sunset Strip. Built in 1913, it was owned by a famous silent film era star named Alla Nazimova, the highest paid silent film era actress at the time. This 2.5 acre estate featured a series of private bungalows surrounding a swimming pool and it was home to some of the biggest names in Hollywood at one time or another. Buster Keaton, Groucho Marx, Greta Garbo, Orson Wells, Frank Sinatra, Red Skelton, Jackie Gleason, Vic Damone, F. Scott Fitzgerald and many others called Allah home at some point in their lives.
It became a notorious party spot and everyone in Hollywood had heard plenty of wild stories about the place. Alla Nazimova hit a rough patch financially and professionally and the Garden would change ownership a handful of times before finally being bought and torn down in 1959 after a steady decline in business. Today there is no trace of The Garden remaining on Sunset Blvd and Alla Nazimova has basically been erased from the history books. So what the heck happened??? How does a hot piece of property owned by one of the biggest stars in the world go from being the most notorious spot in Hollywood to completely erased from history?
Martin Turnbull is the leading expert on the topic and an author. He is my guest on this episode and teaches us all about this incredible place and it's infamous Hollywood history.
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