Howard Hughes, an American business magnate, aviator and Hollywood film producer, bought a 138-acre mountaintop just west of the iconic Hollywood Sign in the 1940s with plans to build an estate for actress Ginger Rogers.
Despite taking the first step toward the ambitious real estate project, his plan never came to fruition. However, the land eventually became part of one of Los Angeles’ most famous public parks.
Offering a 360-degree panoramic view of Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, the proposed estate at Cahuenga Peak was intended to serve as a compound for Hughes and Rogers, who was his girlfriend at the time.
Author Richard Hack wrote in his biography Hughes: The Private Diaries, Memos and Letters that the renowned producer was in a serious relationship with Rogers and even proposed to the actress with a five-carat, square-cut emerald Cartier engagement ring.
One of their major plans, apart from getting married, was to build a mansion where they could live together.
The American millionaire businessman, film director and aviator, Howard Hughes, enjoys a night out with the actress Ginger Rogers at a Hollywood restaurant, during the 1930’s.Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
However, as they neared marriage, Rogers rejected the idea of living there as she feared that the mansion would be her personal prison and would isolate her.
“Howard wanted to get himself a wife, build her a house and make her a prisoner in her own home while he did what he pleased,” Rogers later wrote, as cited by News.com.au. “Thank heavens I escaped that.”
The plans, including the mountaintop compound in Los Angeles, fell apart. Hughes abandoned the construction plans and eventually left the land undeveloped.
Decades after Hughes died in 1976 at the age of 70, the mountaintop property was sold to Chicago-based investment firm Fox River Financial Resources in 2002 for $1.675 million.
In 2008, Fox River Financial Resources listed the land for $22 million and planned to subdivide it into luxury estates.
However, the proposal sparked public backlash over concerns that construction would obstruct views of the iconic Hollywood Sign.
In 2010, The Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit land conservation organization, launched the Save the Peak campaign to protect Cahuenga Peak from residential development and preserve the panoramic view.
A helicopter flies over the iconic 450-foot-long Hollywood sign after activists covered it with banners during an effort to prevent the building of houses there on February 13, 2010 in Los Angeles, California.David McNew/Getty Images
As part of the effort, the Hollywood Sign was temporarily covered with a banner reading “SAVE THE PEAK” to raise awareness and encourage donations.
The campaign raised $12.5 million to purchase and preserve the property, with major support from donors, including the late Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, who donated $900,000.
In March 2012, the Cahuenga Peak, which was once owned by Hughes was formally dedicated as part of Griffith Park.
Local officials and community members also gathered for a public celebration to mark the land’s preservation and unveil the Aileen Getty Ridge Trail, a hiking path connecting Cahuenga Peak to the area around the Hollywood Sign.
Related: In 1974, Ronald Reagan paid about $527,000 for a 688-acre California ranch; the Young America’s Foundation has owned it since 1998 and still opens it only to students and supporters
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