Judy Garland Lived Here

Judy’s life was an odyssey and like most of us, her place of residence changed frequently. I thought it would be interesting to post current-day photos of as many of her former homes as possible, preferably using Google Maps. There was only one slight hitch (and being a Californian I should have remembered this): Mansions in the Los Angeles area, particularly those that were lived in by famous people, tend to either be surrounded by very tall, thick hedges or high, smooth walls, making them impossible to see from the street. Plus, there’s always a gate across the driveway, usually of the spiky or slippery variety. Oops. Since staring at a lot of gates surrounded by impenetrable barriers is kind of monotonous and not much fun, I decided to take what I could get. After plenty of scratching around, I was happy to find there’s quite a bit out there about where Judy lived.

Disclaimer #1: This list isn’t comprehensive, although I wish it was. The recently erstwhile Judy Garland Database had a terrific gallery of Judy homes, but there’s nothing similar on any other site. I know–I’ve looked. It would be nice to have a new resource for fans or those doing research, so if anyone has provable addresses of Judy homes not seen here, please send them to me and I’ll try my best to add them. (Many “Thank You’s!” to Gwin DeMatteo for kindly tipping me off to a whopping five of these locations. Her excellent video of two Judy houses can be found here.)

Disclaimer #2: With one exception I’ve made a point to stick to houses instead of apartments or hotel rooms, just because they’re easier to verify. 

Disclaimer #3: Except for Judy’s first home, these are private residences, and we all know what that means–if anyone decides to visit, please do not disturb the occupants.

All righty, the Judy House Tour will now commence. Follow me, please…

2727 S. Pokegama Ave, Grand Rapids, Minnesota 55744

Judy Garland Museum

Judy’s first home, and her happiest one, this pretty Grand Rapids dwelling has been relocated twice and is now part of the Judy Garland Museum. Judy lived here from 1922 until 1926, and remembered this house being full of fun and music, with she and her sisters making snow angels in the wintertime. The house was restored by New York interior designer, Michael Charbonnet and reflects the mid-twenties period, when the Gumms would have known it.

Judy, Suzy, and Jimmy used these stairs as a stage while their mother accompanied them at the piano. (Good Housekeeping)

3150 Glenmanor Place, Los Angeles, California 90039

Google Maps

According to Gwin DeMatteo, the Gumm family lived here from November of 1926 to April of 1927, which means this is likely one of their first homes in California. It’s a petite 936 square feet with two bedrooms and one bathroom, and was first built in 1926. The house has an estimated value of $827,942, but its owner history is unknown.

44665 Cedar Avenue, Lancaster, California, 93534

Keller Williams

When the Gumm family moved to California from Grand Rapids, they started out in the desert town of Lancaster, where Frank Gumm purchased a theater. The third and last of the Gumms’ three homes in the town, the family lived here until 1933, when Ethel began to aggressively pursue stardom for her three daughters. Since then, the house has changed hands several times, been gutted by fire, repossessed by the bank, and was a homeless shelter before reverting to a private, single family residence. Currently, it’s listed for sale by Keller Williams for $550,000, and its being a Judy home is one of its main selling points. That, and its eight bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, and basement, a rarity in California.

The living room in the Lancaster house, where original moldings and windows are still visible. (realtor.com)

2605 Ivanhoe Drive, Los Angeles, California 90039

Google Maps

Built in 1926, Judy, her mother and her sisters lived here from 1933 until 1934. Judy’s sister, Jimmy, called this a “wild house.” It has three stories and a three-way view of the Los Angeles area. According to the blog, Judy Garland – Letter From Home, Frank Gumm chose this house for his wife and girls to live in. The site also claims a section was added to the house since the Gumms resided there. Zillow says the house has four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and is 2,900 square feet. It was last sold in 1996 for the now unheard-of price of $330,000 and seems to have had very few renovations in its ninety-plus years.

How cool is the back part of this house? (Judy Garland – Letter From Home)

2671 Lake View Terrace E., Los Angeles, California 90039

Google Maps

A block away from the Ivanhoe house, the Gumm family moved here in early 1934. It was built in 1928, and Redfin says the house was last sold in 1976 for the astronomically low price of $83,500 and is now estimated to have a value of $1.78M. Wow. It’s got three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and has 2,770 square feet. The Gumm family didn’t live here long, and moved in early 1935 to a house at 842 North Mariposa Lane in Los Angeles, which has since been replaced by an apartment building.

180 S. McCadden Place, Los Angeles, California 90004

Google Maps

Judy lived in this house from late 1935 until early 1939. It’s in a neighborhood which was considered to be a respectable waystation for actors and actresses who hadn’t quite made it or were on the verge of making it. Zillow says that the house has five bedrooms, three bathrooms, and was last sold in 1988 for $825,000, which, nowadays, would be a steal for this area.

1231 Stone Canyon Road, Bel Air, California 90077

Google Maps

Judy and her mother had this house custom-designed after it became clear that Judy was going to be a star, and Judy called it home from 1939 to 1941. I like this one and the McCadden house best of all of Judy’s addresses, because they’re cozy and not ostentatiously huge. This house has five bedrooms, six bathrooms, and an expansive backyard with a swimming pool and writer’s cabin. It’s been well-cared for over the decades, and about five years ago heiress Stephanie Booth Murray flipped the house after giving it a major spruce. Apparently, Quincy Jones and Marvin Gaye have both rented the house as well, but there’s no confirmation of that.

Once upon a time, Judy walked down these stairs (except that in her day, the railing was white). (Curbed LA)

4020 Longridge Drive, Sherman Oaks, California 91423

Thank You For Being Sophisticated

Judy very briefly lived in this house following her marriage to her first husband, David Rose in 1941. David was a quiet sort and a train aficionado, even running a scaled-down version at home, affectionately called the Gar-Rose Railroad. Unfortunately, the commute to M-G-M was too long to be practical, so the couple bought a house in Bel Air close by Judy’s former Stone Canyon home. Rose held on to this property, however, and lived here until his death in 1990. The house has four bedrooms, five-and-a-half baths and recently sold for $5.3M. Rose’s train track still follows the border of the lot.

10693 Chalon Road, Bel Air, California 90077

Zillow

Judy lived here from 1941 to 1943 with David Rose. She loved hosting dinner parties here, usually serving something informal like spaghetti and wine. In the words of Marcella Rabwin, “David was lovely and Judy was a charming hostess.” According to Coldwell Banker, the house has five bedrooms and five bathrooms, with an estimated retail value of three million dollars and can be rented for the low, low price of $35,000 per month.

Architectural Digest

8850 Evanview Drive, Hollywood Hills, California 90069

Nourmand & Associates

Built in 1944, Judy and second husband, Vincent Minnelli, were the first owners. The house has five bedrooms, seven-and-a-half bathrooms, and an open, comfortable Moderne floorplan. As of 2015, the house hasn’t changed much, at least in terms of layout and trimmings. The dressing room from Judy’s time is still in its original state, and Locale Magazine says it includes a panic room. The house was later owned by Sammy Davis, Jr. and was the scene of countless Rat Pack parties. It’s now on the market for $3.8 million, so if anyone has really deep pockets and is looking to own a big piece of Judy history, well…

One of the seven-and-a-half bathrooms. (Jill Epstein Real Estate)

19236 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA 90265

Rodeo Realty

While Judy was married to Vincente Minnelli, they also owned this Malibu beach house. They bought it in August of 1947 when the house was newly built, and like all beachfront property it’s gone up in value, selling in 2016 for $3.3M. It’s 1,780 square feet and currently has two bedrooms, three bathrooms and a loft, as well as a spacious deck and direct beach access. Who knows how much time Judy spent there when she owned the house, but if it were me, I’d be there constantly, because it’s cute as a button. The house is available as a rental for $12,000 a month, so one can dream, right? (Update: Scratch the rental part–as of December of 2017, the house is on sale again for approximately $3.7M.)

Get a load of this deck. And this view. Oh. My. Word. (Johnny Malibu Real Estate)

144 S. Mapleton Drive, Holmby Hills, California 90024

Pinterest

This is the house where Judy lived from 1952 to roughly 1960 while married to Sid Luft. She also shared it with daughters Liza, Lorna, and son, Joey. Lorna later remembered that her early childhood at this house was idyllic, with her Grandmother Luft constantly in attendance. I tried to find current-day photos of the house but it’s impossible. My guess is that 144 has not only been torn down and replaced, but the lot it sat on may have been combined with the one next to it. The driveway is the right shape, though. Also, the street numbers seem to have been changed. Then again, Google is very confusing about this lot–zoom in on the other end of the driveway and Google labels it 126 S. Mapleton Drive, even though the number shown on the gatepost is 130. In fact, very few of Google’s numbers attributed to houses on this street match the curbside ones. This may be due to residents wanting to discourage stalkers, or they may mark approximate locations of houses that used to be on the street. If anyone would like to shed some light on this mystery, it would be much appreciated.

(Update: The lot was bought by Eula Mosher in 1961, who contracted Mead House Wrecking Company to tear the house down. The current home is built on the remains of 144 and its adjoining lot. It has since been lived in by casino heiress Verna Harrah. Thanks very much to Jennifer Cannon for the information.)

Is this where Judy’s house was? (Google Maps)

213 Kings Road, London, Chelsea, London, SW3 5EH

The blue plaque, alas, doesn’t mention Judy. (Wikipedia)

At the end of the fifties, Judy and Sid couldn’t afford to keep up the Mapleton house. With all it took to staff and maintain it, they were falling deeper into debt, so they decided to sell it and move to London, where everything was cheaper. For about a year, starting in 1960, the family rented the house of Sir Carol Reed, with an eye to relocating to England permanently. Unfortunately, the plan fell through, and they all had to return to the United States (Thank you, A Krenwinkle, for reminding me to include this house.).

The Dakota, 1 72nd Street West, New York City, 10023

WTTW

After returning from England, Judy, Lorna, Joe, and Liza moved into the Dakota, where they lived briefly in early 1961. The unit has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, and was put on the market in 2016 for $16.75 million. (Thanks to A Krenwinkle for the clarification of Judy’s stay at the Dakota.)

Architectural Digest

1 Cornell Street, Scarsdale, New York, 10583

Google Maps

Judy, Liza, Lorna, and Joe moved into this home next, with Sid following later. Both Lorna and Joe have fond memories of their time in Scarsdale, which included a class trip to the zoo and trick-or-treating with their mother dressed as a clown. Liza was enrolled at Scarsdale High School, where she starred in their drama club’s production of The Diary of Anne Frank. The play was so successful that they took the production on a tour of Israel, Athens, and Rome. Judy and her family lived in Scarsdale from June until December of 1961, when Judy signed on to make A Child Is Waiting. (Thanks to Cori Roth and A Krenwinkle for the help!)

129 S. Rockingham Ave., Brentwood, California 90049

Curbed LA

After Judy and Sid Luft were separated and later divorced, Judy, Lorna, and Joe moved into this house, where they lived from 1963 to 1967. While residing here, Judy was busy with her TV show and various concert tours, as well as her very brief marriage to Mark Herron. Sadly, it was during this period that Lorna became a caretaker for her mother, checking her during the night and diluting her pills with sugar, among other things no teenager should ever have to do. The house was recently sold at a sheriff’s auction and looks to be nicely maintained, with eight bedrooms, eight baths, and a swimming pool.

The dining room at Rockingham Avenue. (Curbed LA)

50 Central Park South, New York City, New York, 10019

Pinterest

Judy’s later New York residences are harder to pin down. She, Lorna and Joe first rented Dr. Murray Banks’s brownstone on 62nd Street, but the place was so hideous that they moved into the Hotel St. Moritz. By this point in her life, Judy’s health and career were in dire straits, as was her family. Her daughter, Lorna, suffered a nervous breakdown while living in New York, and her son, Joey, went to live with his father. The Hotel St. Moritz closed in 1999 and reopened in 2002 as the Ritz-Carlton New York. Judy wouldn’t recognize it if she saw it today, as the place has been completely gutted and remodeled, with the top twelve floors converted into eleven pricey condos.

4 Cadogan Lane, SW1 9EB, Chelsea, London, England

Pinterest

Judy’s last house, shared with husband Mickey Deans, was a tiny rented mews cottage at 4 Cadogan Lane in the Belgravia area of Chelsea, London. The pair married on March 15, 1969, and Judy only lived in the house for about four months. She died in the bathroom in the early morning of June 22, 1969, and Deans reportedly found her sitting on the toilet. Judy fans have treated the cottage like a shrine–for a long time there was a campaign to have a blue commemorative plaque placed at the site, which turned out to be fruitless. Unfortunately, the house fell into disrepair, and in the spring of 2016 it was razed. No word yet on what will replace the cottage, but I’m sure Judy fans will still stop by.

4 Cadogan Lane demolished. (Google Maps)

That concludes our Judy House Tour–thanks for coming. Please exit to the left, and don’t forget to sign the guest book. 😉

That concludes my Day Three as well, and as usual there’s more Judy for you at In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood. Thanks, Crystal and Jarrahn for hosting this and to everyone who showed Judy love these past three days. Get well soon, Crystal! Let’s do this again next year (and here’s hoping everyone will be in good health). 🙂

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Works Consulted:

A LOT of Google searches.

Clarke, Gerald. Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland. New York: Random House Publishing, Inc., 2000

Fricke, John. Judy Garland: A Portrait In Art and Anecdote. Boston, New York, London: Bulfinch Press, 2003

Luft, Lorna. Me And My Shadows: A Family Memoir. New York: Pocket Books, Simon and Schuster, 1998