Chris Pratt may be a good actor, but not all of his decisions have been appreciated by his fans worldwide. Like the fact that he actually razed a historic site from the 1950s in L.A., just to build a massive mansion in its stead. Oh, and by the way, that property was one of the many that Diane Keaton wanted to save as a board member of the L.A. Conservancy.
As pointed out by a fan recently (@zoeloveshouses on X), the Guardians of the Galaxy star bought the Zimmerman House in Brentwood, Los Angeles, in 2023, and demolished it to instead build a 15,000-square-foot mansion at the site. This revelation came out in the wake of Keaton’s recent unfortunate death on October 11.
if you're unfamiliar with the lore, chris pratt bought ellwood's zimmerman house in brentwood and demolished it to build a 15,000 sq ft mcmansion https://t.co/7YCRkr0nRr pic.twitter.com/6jYPn3ciK0
just found out that diane keaton was an LA conservancy board member and was really passionate about preserving historic architecture… they should’ve let her kill chris pratt for tearing down that craig ellwood house
The same source previously pointed out on X that the late actress was actually a Los Angeles Conservancy board member and was really passionate about preserving historic architecture. In fact, she herself owned a massive historic home in Brentwood that she perfectly preserved, among her multiple other reported properties throughout the United States.
This inevitably made Pratt’s decision to buy and destroy that historical house even more disappointing to his fans worldwide, since preserving those houses was the very thing that the late, legendary fan-beloved Diane Keaton was so passionate about.
All About the Historic L.A. Mansion Chris Pratt Razed to Build a New Mansion
According to reports, Chris Pratt and his wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger, have been overseeing the construction of their brand new 15,000-square-foot home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. The lot, located right across the street from the estate of Maria Shriver, Schwarzenegger’s mother, previously featured the historic Zimmerman House.
Per the Architectural Digest, the abode in question was built by modernist architect Craig Ellwood in 1950. The house spanned 2,770 square feet and was a single-story dwelling featuring five bedrooms and three bathrooms. Unfortunately, with the demolition of the iconic historic home, the original landscaping by designer Garrett Eckbo was also reportedly torn up.
Old photos of the former dwelling showed a living room with a brick fireplace, sliding glass doors opening to the backyard, and an eat-in kitchen featuring a light fixture shaped like a flying saucer (via US Modernist). Videos of the property from December 2022 show a well-preserved light-filled home with large windows, wooden floors, and mid-century furniture (via TikTok).
It’s worth noting that the Pratt couple bought the since-razed nearly one-acre historic property for $12.5 million in an off-market January 2023 deal. After they purchased it, the home and its grounds have since been cleared, despite the home even having been previously featured in the Progressive Architecture magazine.
In its place is set to be established a giant home in the modern farmhouse style that has come to dominate the US suburbs in recent years. This massive mansion will reportedly be a sprawling two-story home, with each level measuring in at roughly 5,000 square feet. Plus, the property is also expected to feature a three-car garage and a secondary unit near the pool.
The same will reportedly be designed by architect Ken Ungar, whose portfolio largely features high-end modern farmhouse-style residences. Before the Passengers actor, the single-story mansion was home to the late Hilda Rolfe, the widow of Sam Rolfe, who was the co-creator of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Diane Keaton Was Heavily Involved in the Preservation of Historic L.A. Architecture
The late Oscar-winning actress Diane Keaton, who was famous for her quirky characters and inimitable personal style, boasted a tremendous real estate portfolio. This commendably featured numerous notable, thoughtfully designed Spanish-style dwellings, as well as two Lloyd Wright-designed houses (via the Architectural Digest).
She was also heavily involved in the preservation of historic L.A. architecture and successfully spent almost 20 years as a board member of the Los Angeles Conservancy, which is a non-profit that seeks to save and protect historic buildings. During a 1999 tour of her Wallace Neff-designed home, the actress told AD,
My feeling is that you find an authentic house and, authentically, try to restore it. I saw this house and thought, someone is going to destroy it. Then a neighbor walked by and said, ‘Why don’t they just tear down that place?’ And I thought, That’s it. You’re not going to tear it down.
She also candidly talked about her choices and perspective, before sharing a very important life goal of hers that she has since gone on to realize over the two and a half decades that followed. Keaton said,
I wanted a Spanish Colonial because I’m in love with California and our history. I see it in a romantic way—the twenties, indoor-outdoor living, arches, comfort… California has a wealth of beauty. My fantasy would be to continue to buy homes that are representative of the architecture of California and restore them.
Additionally, just days before her demise at 79 after a short illness, it was reported by The U.S. Sun that The Godfather actress attempted to sell her Los Angeles dream home – which was reportedly worth more than $27 million – for months before taking it off the market. She bought this five-bedroom, seven-bathroom house back in 2011 for $4.7 million.
In the years that followed, Keaton reportedly didn’t hold back on renovating it. In fact, she even eventually wrote a book about the home as well, The House that Pinterest Built.
In the book, she confessed that the reason behind her buying that property was because her mother used to read her the children’s tale, The Three Little Pigs, as a young kid. At the time, the actress was so inspired by the story, even referencing the third pig’s “indestructible home,” that she knew she wanted to live in a house “made of bricks” after growing up.
Notably enough, this unique 9,206-square-foot mansion is in a community on the border of Brentwood and the Pacific Palisades. It was reportedly built with 75,000 reclaimed clay bricks that Keaton had personally selected from Chicago and had an industrial chic style. And to make it even more heartwarming, the star spent many years in that home.
A source claimed to PEOPLE about Keaton,
She lived in Brentwood for many years. She loved her neighborhood. Up until just a few months ago, she’d walk her dog every day. She was usually dressed the same, with a hat and her signature sunglasses, regardless of the weather. She was always very nice, funny, and chatty. She’d talk to her dog like he was a person. She was eccentric and had this old-school Hollywood aura. She was very, very special.
The L.A. Conservancy warned of the demolition and said that the residence appeared “to be highly intact and a noteworthy example of modernist design from this era” (via Instagram). The city’s SurveyLA program had identified the property as potentially historic as well, though no protections were afforded.
Besides them, the Eichler Network, which covers mid-century homes in California, lamented the destruction as well. Writer Adreine Biondo said of the decision,
At the same time as architectural homes are being marketed as high-end, collectible art, others are being torn down to build new. Perhaps a historic-cultural monument designation could have saved the Zimmerman house or allowed the necessary time to delay demolition. Tragically, calls for preservation fell on deaf ears.
Needless to say, as significant as all those historic homes were to the late Diane Keaton, Chris Pratt’s razing down that iconic property truly isn’t being considered an honorable decision by many. It remains to be seen how exactly this entire turn of events ends up affecting the actual preservation of historical homes, after all.
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