Update: Roger Corman's The Trip "Mystery House"

I've spent years trying to gather information about the two houses used in the 1967 Roger Corman film, The Trip.

The first house shown in the movie (where Peter Fonda and Bruce Dern meet Dennis Hopper) was located at 1039 S. Ardmore Ave. in Los Angeles. The circular main room with the checkerboard floor was also used as "the gallery" in the 1968 film, Psych-Out. Rudolph Valentino lived for a short time in the Ardmore Mansion followed by a spiritualist group who renamed it The San Souci Culture Temple. At some point it was converting into an apartment building, The Ardmore Arms, before falling into disrepair in the early '60s. A motorcycle gang, The Barons, moved into 1039 S. Ardmore in 1965 and it became the "Psychedelic Temple." The "temple" was party-central for a few years attracting musicians, artists, bikers and other hippie-types (Jimi Hendrix shot some footage there in 1968) before being torn down in 1970.





Here's what 1039 S. Ardmore Ave. looks like today (just another LA parking lot):



The ultra-cool psychedelic pad where Peter Fonda takes his trip was at the time the home of Arthur Lee from Love. Woolworth heiress, Barbara Hutton, had this house built (in the shape of an "L") as a 21st birthday present for her son, Lance Reventlow - not bad, huh?





The indoor/outdoor pool was also featured in the 1958 film, Macabre. In the 1970's the house was bought by actor Michael Caine, who removed the pool for fear of easy entry. I would love to know where this house is, who owns it and what it looks like today!

 

You probably would have loved this film, but it never got made. About Roger Corman's first and only experience with LSD and the making of "The Trip".

http://www.timeout.com/film/news/1707/dante-dons-kaleidoscope-eyes.html

Tim Robbins flirted with playing Roger, but Tim is too old now.

Jeff

 

http://rochesterathome.com/dct/54/id/1316/mid/373/Home-of-the-Stars.aspx

 

Very interesting - from Arthur Lee to Ricky Martin! They got the swimming pool part backwards - Michael Caine removed the indoor/outdoor pool!


Now I just need to find some pictures...

 

I found the address (1309 Davies Drive, Beverly Hills) and more info here:

http://www.bergproperties.com/blog/mansion-in-beverly-hills-ca-that-ricky-martin-once-owned-is-back-on-the-market-for-26-9m/

Unfortunately, the original "Lance Reventlow" house was demolished and replaced in the early '00s with the Mediterranean-style villa shown here:



Here is an aerial view of the property:



In the 60s the house was owned by inventor William M. Miller (never heard of him), so apparently Arthur Lee rented or leased it from him.

Here is the list of owners:

1956 - 1963: Barbara Hutton/Lance Reventlow
1963 - 1975: William Miller
1976 - 1987: Michael Caine
1988 - 1995: Rupert Murdoch
1995 - 2004: Scott Sassa
2004 - Present: Ricky Martin

Vincent Price was also said to have lived here at some point in the 1960s!

 

I love reading stuff like this - thanks for posting!

 

It looks like this was right down the street from where the Manson murders took place!

 

SAN SOUCI ARDMORE PSYCHEDELIC “the TRIP” MANSION – 1970

I have a little more info about the "Mansion": http://00individual.wordpress.com/2012/06/30/413/
I was there for the Eviction Party - includes L.A. Free Press Ad.

 

Hi. New member here. I found this forum when I was doing a search for Lance Reventlows Beverly Hills Home. If there is anyone on here who would like to know more
about the original house at 1309 Davies Drive in Beverly Hills, please ask. I know quite a lot about that house. I am the grandson of the second owner, William W. Miller.
My mother is William Millers' daughter and my two brothers and I used to play at that house when we went to visit. I will never forget how wonderful that house was!

 

Hi, I googled San Souci Temple, because I lived there for some months in early 1968. Must have been around when The Trip came out, because the local theatre showing it used to let us see it for free. You know the phrase "if you were really in the 60's, you don't remember it" or something like that? Yeah, I don't remember everything, but it was a great time to be there. I was 17, quit high school to live with my older boyfriend there. We broke up and I went to college in the fall. We lived in a downstairs room, right off the "ballroom". Great house, the glass skylight over the whole open center was there when I moved in, but it had been broken and I think became dangerous and boarded up at least in part. Bikers used to bring their choppers into the ballroom, painted like a dartboard, and do doughnuts. Boy was that loud. Lotsa fun drugs and trips all the time, people living everywhere, even in the dirt basement (guy named Dormouse). We started out in a big closet upstairs, then moved into an actual whole room downstairs. Well, I could go on. If anybody was there then, it would be fun to hear from you. My nickname was "Littlebit", and my boyfriend was Jay. I guess he was either in the Barons or a hanger on. Now I am an old matron, with a fun past, though life now is great, too, for me.

 

I was SO hoping the Reventlow house was still standing. I have Interior pictures of it circa 1957 in a copy of Architectural Digest. FABULOUS. Several pictures of the interior/exterior pool. There is a pic on ebay right now of Jill St. John (Lance Reventlow's first wife) at the pool, too!

 

I have pictures of it! In a copy of Architectural Digest, circa 1957 when it was owned by Lance. The pool & Lanai room attached is FABULOUS!

 

Anyone here recall Rudy Zamora who lived at the house around 1970? I was working with green power at the time

 

It would have to have been after 1975. No one other than my grand parents lived there from 1963 to 1975.

 

Unfortunately, it's gone. All that remains is memories. I have a lot of pictures of the original house. I also have some of Lance Reventlows' personal items. When my grand parents bought his house, they got some of his items. I inherited them when my grand parents died. It's so sad because it was a fantastic house! Way ahead of it's time.

 

Here is a period silkscreen poster that I have which I know little about but LOVE. Vibrant colors, minimal fading, historically intriguing to say the least. Enjoy!

 

Great news! The Trip House is not the one at 1309 Davies Drive! Thanks to research done by Bob Fischer and Anne Raso, the Trip House with its pool is still in existence at 1885 Blue Heights Drive. Go to the current discussion at the Facebook Group ‘Love Revisited’ - if you are not a member, make a request to join

 

I guess I was totally wrong about the 1309 Davies Drive address. I came across this information towards the end of my research when an article popped up describing how Ricky Martin bought the 1957 Barbara Hutton/Lance Reventlow house in the early '90s and subsequently bulldozed it to build a large Mediterranean villa. Up until that point every article I had come across always stated that this house (the Arthur Lee/Trip House) was located at the top of Kirkwood Drive (which by the way is literally one street over from Blue Heights Drive). However in a post above from the grandson of William Miller (the second owner after the Hutton's and the one who leased it to Arthur Lee) nothing remains of the original house. In 1976 William Miller sold the house to actor Michael Caine who removed the indoor/outdoor for privacy/security reasons

Now I don't recall ever seeing any mention of 1885 Blue Heights Drive in reference to this house, especially in the contemporary articles I found that covered the LA hippie/underground scene circa 1966-1968. While the actual address here may be in question there is no doubt that the house shown in the 1967 Roger Corman film, The Trip, is most definitely the 1957 Barbara Hutton/Lance Reventlow house. I made a point of tracking down the 1958 William Castle horror film, Macabre, and the scenes showing the interior of the house with the indoor/outdoor pool (with a bridge crossing inside) left me with no doubt that it was exactly the same house (minus the psychedelic decor). You can also see the house in the 1968 promotional film for Love's "Your Mind And We Belong Together" (watch for the girl crossing the bridge over the pool inside the house).

So since this thread was bumped I would love to hear some more updates/info regarding this iconic house and I especially would love to see some pictures!

express79 - if you have any pictures from the time that your grandfather owned the house I would love to see them!

Celiene - would it be possible to post some of the pictures from that 1957 Architectural Digest showing the house when it was brand new?

 

I watched Macabre and although it has the indoor/outdoor pool, the outdoors does not match the Trip’s - Macabre’s external space is too large. Btw, did u have a look at the Love Revisited Facebook page? There are aerial photos of the Blue Heights drive property as it is today. What tipped off the person looking into this, is this 2007 article (paragraph 10) here.

 

Hi there, as I'm looking for info about the house appearing on the back cover photo of "Forever Changes" I wonder if someone can confirms "1885 Blue Heights Dr" as the place where Ronnie Haran took the photograph. Checking the film "Your Mind And We Belong Together" via youtube the view from the balcony seems the same from 1885 Blue Heights Dr" using google maps.

 

I will get some pictures together. Regarding the indoor/outdoor pool. There was no bridge over the pool on the inside, at least not when we used to go there. Just the pool inside and you swam outside by going under the glass window. I have a copy of the movie and didn't see any bridge. I have the lamp from the scene at the desk and the horse lamp seen in the dining room.

 

Could someone tell me how to post pictures here? It looks like the only way is to link to a URL. Thanks in advance.

 

That is correct. You need to have the image hosted somewhere and then post a link.

 

I just watched the “pool” clip (at 33:40) from Macabre again and it is clear that the edge of the pool inside the house is rounded with no footbridge although there is a partition that goes from inside to outside.
However the foot bridge shown in The Trip (at 22:30) and in the Love video “You’re Mind And We Belong Together” (at 1:29) are clearly the same.
So apparently it was not the Reventlow house but which house and whose and is it still standing?

 

I still feel the prime contender is 1885 Blue Heights Drive. See earlier posts for links.