The Playboy Mansion might seem as elusive to the public as heading to the moon, but for thousands of celebrities, playmates, and Hugh Hefner himself, it was a piece of paradise tucked away in Chicago and then in Los Angeles.
Hugh established the original Chicago mansion in 1959 before he was convinced to buy another home in Holmby Hills, California. The original building was constructed in 1899, and later donated to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Moving into the California mansion – which was acquired by Playboy for $1.1million in 1971 – Hefner decided to construct his very own private nirvana. Featuring its own private zoo, sex grottos and the editorial offices for the Playboy magazine, the mansion was beset by allegations of drug and sexual abuse after Hefner’s death in 2017.
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Several bunnies have made heartbreaking allegations over the years, with Holly Madison claiming Hef would watch porn, smoke weed and masturbate while his girlfriends snogged each other around him on the bed wearing identical pyjamas. Fellow bunny Kendra Wilkinson claimed she for the sex so unbearable she couldn’t bear to stay sober for it.
(Image: Getty Images)
Holly also claimed Hefner warned her never to wear red lipstick, calling her “old, hard and cheap”. Kendra, meanwhile, alleges she was told to “go to the gym” when she told Hef she felt insecure at a party. She wrote in her book: “When we got home, I went to my room and cried myself to sleep. I was disappointed in myself.
“I had this whole mansion and a great life to enjoy, and all I was doing was lying around and eating. I felt so lazy and miserable. This was supposed to be paradise, but for me, it wasn’t.”
Sex spaces
(Image: AFP)
The Gothic Tudor mansion itself was full of private spaces to get frisky – including a stunning grotto outside with a pool. The pool itself featured aqua blue waters with a huge waterfall in the centre and was the scene for many a Playboy party over the years.
A jacuzzi was hidden away under the rocks, with a ceiling constructed from jagged stones and a swim-in hot tub. 12 bedrooms provided extra space for romping, while the property also boasts six full bathrooms and two half-bathrooms.
One guest bedroom includes a rotating, vibrating bed, as Hef explained to Vanity Fair: “I do my best work in the bedroom. The bedroom. In the original mansion, we had a round, rotating, vibrating bed. And that bed is here in one of the guest rooms. In the master bedroom, it is a typically shaped bed, but it’s about two or three times the size of a regular bed.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
“Originally I had silk pyjamas and silk sheets, and I kept slipping out of bed. So I have silk pyjamas and satin sheets.”
Hef’s former employee Stefan Tetenbaum described setting up the sex grotto for parties in his book, writing: “Inside the grotto, I lit dozens of small candles. I set the towels and robes in their place and spread the baby oil around the cave where it would be convenient to get to.
“The grotto itself was constructed with Palos Verdes stone. Six separate bathing areas were set into the floor… two passages lay under candles reflected on the surface of the water. A million stars.” He said the grotto was where “orgies” were held, describing: “Two girls floated in the warm bubbling water, like turtles, their breasts rising above the surface, then sinking down again…”
Bacteria breakout
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Despite the intimacy the grotto offered, it was likely not the most sanitary of locations, as in 2011 it was claimed that more than 200 people who attended a party fell sick from a bacterium in the water. The bacteria was known to cause Legionnaires disease and was found in the artificial cave.
The bacterium was suspected to have caused attendees at a DomainFest fundraiser at the mansion to fall sick. One attendee suffered a 102 degree fever and uncontrollable chills. Others suffered headaches and muscle pains.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said: “The department is investigating several locations associated with this conference, including the Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills. At this time, Public Health has not determined that the source of exposure is limited to a specific location. The department is working to conclusively identify the source of exposure and the likely cause of illness for this suspected outbreak.”
Life of luxury
(Image: Getty Images North America)
Hugh channelled plenty of his impressive finances into the mansion. It featured an epic wine cellar with a secret Prohibition Era door, a theatre with a built-in pipe organ, its own gym and tennis courts. The entrance hall is done in a traditional style, flaunting chandeliers, huge plants and stained glass windows.
Hefner explained of the property: “The house was built in 1927 during Prohibition, and there is a secret panel that leads to what is now the wine cellar, but it used to be where they stocked the liquor.”
(Image: Getty Images)
Hef even had his very own games room with pinball machines and various other arcade games strewn about. And as well as the magazine offices, Hef had a library and cinema room to call his own.
The 22,000 square foot property had a helping hand in its design from Hugh himself. He designed it alongside architect Ron Dirsmith, a fellow in architecture at the American Academy in Rome and in New York’s National Academy of Design.
Falling into disrepair
(Image: Getty Images for Playboy)
In her memoir, former Playmate Izabella St James claimed the palatial property was falling apart at the seams. She claimed the carpets were covered in dog poo from Archie, the mansion’s pooch, back in 2004.
She said: “Every Friday morning we had to go to Hef’s room and wait while he picked up all the dog poo off the carpet. We then asked for our allowance — a thousand dollars counted out in crisp hundred-dollar bills from a safe in one of his bookcases.”
Meanwhile, former Playboy model Carla Howe told The Sun in 2015: “[Hef] almost never leaves home and refuses to change anything in the mansion, so the whole place feels like it’s stuck in the 1980s. There is no velvet or gold and all the carpets are brown and curling.
“Because nothing has been changed in the rooms for so long, they tend to have a damp smell. Even the animals are getting old. One of the monkeys recently died aged 100.”
Private zoo
(Image: GETTY)
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In addition to its luxe interior, the mansion also boasted a huge private zoo full of exotic animals. The mansion has its own zoo license, and was stuffed full of monkeys, peacocks, parrots, pelicans and snakes.
The zoo stayed in place after Hef’s death, with new owner Daren Metropoulos keeping the animals on while merging his own property and Hef’s to create a 7.3 acre private oasis. Also on the grounds are two forests – one redwood, one tree fern – plus a citrus orchard.
However, the zoo found itself at risk during the 2023 US Open, with the Los Angeles County Club inviting golfers to its grounds for the start of the competition. At the 14th hole, the property is a very short distance away from the Playboy Mansion and its legions of animals.
Golfers worried that the noises coming from the animals could distract the athletes from the “overgrown” zoo, with birds heard chirping loudly in the background of several videos shared from the event.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
