Hollywood movies such as Star Trek 2, The Muppets, Spiderman III, Batman & Robin, The Body Guard, Ghostbuster II, The Witches of Eastwick and many more were filmed at the Greystone Mansion, former home of the Doheny family and built by Ned Doheny, heir to one of the nation’s great oil empires.
The estate sits on an 18-acre section of Beverly Hills, California, and includes a 55-room, 46,000-square-foot mansion that looks like a fortress with a courtyard and gardens that are the most exquisite landscaping designs in the West.
Last Sunday, the Beverly Hills City Council hosted the sixth annual Greystone Mansion Concours d’Elegance featuring over 130 of the world’s most superb examples of vintage and classic cars and 20 rare and unique motorcycles.
For the serious car enthusiast this was “heaven on earth” in a setting that rivals Pebble Beach and as an additional amenity, unlimited gourmet food, libations, expert-led lectures, estate and mansion tours, and a vendors marketplace were included with admission.
The Beverly Hills attendees dressed the part and gave the feeling of a garden party fashion show with elegant cars and the city of Los Angeles as a backdrop. The show was emceed by KABC’s auto specialist Dave Kunz and noted car expert Donald Osborne and they made the entire afternoon most enjoyable with clever wit, interesting commentary and knowledge information about the hand-selected field of automotive excellence.
Benefiting the Friends of Greystone ,the event directs all proceed to preserving the historic landmark while this worthy endeavor while providing a lovely afternoon for car aficionados and the general spectators to experience cars that are not regularly seen by the public.
From Alfas to Zagato-bodied rolling works of art, the show appeased all tastes and levels of interests.
The Mayor’s Award went of a classic 1926-7 Rolls-Royce Park Ward 20HP, the Directors Award honored a stunning 1933 Packard Series 1005, and the Spirit of Greystone went to a fine 1923 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost.
Best of Show Concours de Sport was given to a very desirable 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB while Best of Show Concours went to a statuesque 1929 Duesenberg Model J LeBaron DC Phaeton.
Photography by Howard Koby
