Ｍ・モンローさん最後の住居が歴史的建造物に 取り壊し計画阻止

【ロサンゼルスＡＦＰ＝時事】米ロサンゼルス市は２６日、女優マリリン・モンローさんがかつて住んでいた家を歴史的建造物に指定した。現在の所有者は取り壊しを計画していたが、指定により計画は阻止された。（写真は、英ロンドン近くのパインウッドスタジオで映画『王子と踊子』の撮影中、監督のローレンス・オリヴィエ〈右〉の演技指導を受ける米俳優のマリリン・モンロー）
　歴史的建造物に指定されたのは、モンローさんが１９６２年に違法薬物の過剰摂取で死去するまでの６か月間を過ごした家で、昨夏、高級住宅街ブレントウッドにある家を、大手不動産会社オーナーの娘とテレビプロデューサーの夫が８３５万ドル（約１３億円）で購入していた。
　夫婦は隣接する物件を所有しており、二つの敷地をつなげるためにモンローさんが住んでいた家を取り壊す計画を立てていた。
　しかし、昨年９月に取り壊しの許可が下りると、市民らから反発の声が上がり、地元議員らは家の保護に向けて直ちに動き出した。
　こうした動きを受けて、所有者夫婦は先月「違法かつ違憲」であるとして、ロサンゼルス市を相手取り訴えを起こした。
　夫婦は、モンローさんがこの家に「たった６か月間」しか滞在しておらず、その間に「時折」訪れる程度だったと指摘。また、１９６２年以降は所有者が十数回と変わり、当時の状態とは見分けがつかないほど改装されていると主張した。
　しかし市議会は２６日、家の文化財指定を承認。夫婦の主張は退けられた。
　市議会議員の一人は、世界的に有名なモンローさんの写真の一部は、この家の庭やプールの近くで撮影されたものだと話した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/06/27-18:42）

The Los Angeles home where Marilyn Monroe died was declared a historic landmark on Wednesday, thwarting plans by its current owners to demolish the property.
The house was home to the Some Like It Hot screen siren for the final six months of her life up to her death from a drug overdose in 1962.
More than half a century on, Monroe remains one of the most beloved figures in US pop culture, and fans as well as conservationists have closely followed a row over the future of the home.
Property heiress Brinah Milstein and her reality TV producer husband Roy Bank bought the Spanish Colonial-style home in the swanky Brentwood neighbourhood last summer for $8.35 million.
The couple owned the house next door and intended to combine the two properties. That construction would have involved razing the Monroe home.
But when a demolition permit was issued last September, a furore quickly followed, and local politicians moved quickly to designate the building protected status.
Last month, the owners sued the city of Los Angeles for illegal and unconstitutional conduct.
Their petition noted Monroe had occasionally lived in the home for a mere six months, and the couple claim that more than a dozen previous owners since 1962 have already changed the building beyond recognition.
Those objections were overruled Wednesday, as city councillors approved the designation of the house as a historic cultural monument.
Monroe bought the 3,000-square-foot single-story hacienda in 1962 just after her divorce from playwright Arthur Miller.
There is no other person or place in the city of Los Angeles as iconic as Marilyn Monroe and her Brentwood home, said councillor Traci Park, whose district includes the house in question.
Some of the most world-famous images ever taken of her were in that home, on those grounds and near her pool.
There is likely no woman in history or culture who captures the imagination of the public the way Marilyn Monroe did. Even all these years later, her story still resonates and inspires many of us today.
Monroe's smouldering looks and breathy delivery made her one of the most bankable movie stars of her era.
The Gentlemen Prefer Blondes star was linked during her lifetime with some of the most eligible men of her era, including president John F. Kennedy, famously singing Happy Birthday, Mr President at Madison Square Garden.