The Garden of Allah was the Sunset and Crescent Heights estate of Russian actress Alla Nazimova, probably built sometime in the teens, expanded into a complex, and eventually turned into a bungalow hotel, then torn down to make way for a strip mall. Its swimming pool was supposed to be shaped like the Black Sea. Right before its demolition in 1959, an article in Time magazine said "tourists will find it hard to believe that there was once a Garden of Allah," and it's rumored that the bulldozing inspired Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi." For years, according to Hollywood Lost and Found, a model of the estate was kept under a glass dome at the strip mall's bank (now a Chase). That model was being auctioned on eBay, with a starting bid of 99 cents, but the auction ended this afternoon with no bidders. Watch for a relist.
· The historical original model of The Garden of Allah [eBay]
· Video: A Bit of Hollywood History Up for Auction [LAist]
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