It's the end of December, when according to tradition we make up a bunch of awards and hand them out to all the best, worst, and shitshowiest of things that happened in Los Angeles this year. These are your 2015 Curbed Awards.
This was a great year for Los Angeles party palaces (and one yacht). From the extravagant decadence of a Hollywood Hills party compound that might just be the next Playboy Mansion (at least the neighbors think so) to the star-studded parties of the most expensive house in Beverly Hills and the Swedish gaming billionaire who owns it, these party pads were high-profile and heartily documented on Instagram (thank goodness). Some houses pissed off the neighbors, others seemed to be respectfully festive. Here's a look back at the wildest party houses of the year:
↑ The Hollywood Hills compound where renters are creating the "next Playboy Mansion," according to neighbors, has a long history of hosting bikini parties and has been home to many high-traffic tenants over the years. Before these current problem renters—who occupy one of the four mansions in the party-friendly complex and are known for hosting a party where a lion was in attendance—notoriously awful neighbor Justin Bieber rented one of the mansions; a TV show for the Playboy cable channel, the 2012 cast of American Idol, and a fitness retreat have also set up shop in the multi-mansion compound. The flamboyant owner/developer of the mansions, Danny Fitzgerald, doesn't care that the neighbors hate him, hate his tenants, and have called the cops on his row of houses 96 times in the last four years. "Go ahead, all you f—ing assholes out there that complain every day: You can have [the mansions]. They make money. They're a good return. Buy my homes, and I will leave." (The pricetag is $50 million.)
↑ As 2014 closed, Markus "Notch" Persson, the Swedish billionaire creator of Minecraft, paid $70 million for a lavish spec house in Beverly Hills. The sale was the most expensive ever in the city, and involved cases of Dom Perignon as part of the deal. This year, it came to light that Persson's been working hard to turn the mansion—endowed with its own candy room, car showroom, movie theater, wine room, and 15 bathrooms—into Beverly Hills's premier party house. Starting with a rollicking housewarming party attended by some big-deal EDM DJs and Selena Gomez, the party kept going strong through the summer, when the house's infinity pool hosted masses of guests and an inflatable swan. Persson has said that the house has a big lost-and-found containing items including "swimming gear, clothes, glasses, jewelry, shoes and pride."
↑ The recognizable, long-abandoned pink mansion known to any Angeleno who's hiked Runyon Canyon, shot up about 10 levels of tacky this year when it became a marijuana party house. The estate is being rented (for $10,000 a month) by the CEO of a company called Advanced Nutrients, who uses it to "throw weekly pot parties for clients." The CEO, whose Instagram account is Marijuana Don, has documented the house in full-blown party mode, with pot leaves projected on its façade and tons of catered munchies on hand.
↑ Ok, so it's not technically a house, but this boat was definitely the scene of a precedent-setting party thrown by Khloe Kardashian for her boyfriend, NBA star James Harden. The Kardashian-laden yacht was off the shore near Marina del Rey on a Tuesday night to view a midnight firework show lasting about eight minutes. The issue here was that the firework show was totally unannounced, and lots of people, children, and pets living near the beach in MdR were awakened by eight solid minutes of explosions in the sky. On a Tuesday at midnight. Naturally, these people were NOT pleased, and took to Twitter to vent their outrage. (12 locals took it a little further, suing Kris Jenner and Khloe for "emotional distress.") Councilmember Mike Bonin got in on the action (using the hashtag #stupidrude) and was one of several officials who took steps to make sure that the technically allowed pyrotechnic show was the last of its kind to surprise locals in the wee weekday hours.
· Curbed Awards 2015 [Curbed LA]