The Houses Joan Crawford Called Home
Photo: Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Joan Crawford’s legacy as a Tinseltown fixture has stretched long beyond her lifetime. Known for films like What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, The Women, and Humoresque, Crawford skyrocketed to stardom in the 1940s. But as the story goes for many of Hollywood’s most legendary actors, her troubled backstory and complex personal life often overshadowed her professional triumphs. Crawford’s rags-to-riches story played out over several iconic properties that became almost instantly identifiable with the actor, who died in 1977.
Although she may be gone, the actor’s own Hollywood story continues to intrigue modern audiences as her films did in her heyday. In Ryan Murphy’s 2017 series Feud: Bette and Joan, the star’s personal aesthetic was reimagined with sets that “play up the glamour of the Hollywood Regency style and reflect Crawford’s perfectionism—right down to the plastic slipcovers,” production designer Judy Becker previously told AD.
From her humble start in the heartland to peak Hollywood luxury, read on for a look at the iconic properties in the life of one of the silver screen’s most notorious stars.
Crawford’s Childhood Homes
Joan Crawford and Mother
Crawford was born Lucille Fay LeSueur in 1906. Life in her hometown of San Antonio was about scraping by, and Crawford’s father left the family shortly after she was born. Crawford, her brother, and her mother landed in Lawton, Oklahoma, before relocating to Kansas City, Missouri. All accounts say that her transient childhood wasn’t a happy one; ultimately, the family ended up staying in a laundry where Crawford’s mother worked.
“It was a deprived upbringing, and it left Crawford with an abiding hatred of dirt and disorder,” The Guardian reported in 2008. Crawford later lived at a boarding school, serving as a “working student” to pay her way through, she wrote in her 1971 memoir, My Way of Life.
Early Hollywood Days
Determined to leave her unhappy childhood behind, Crawford took off to be a chorus girl on Broadway. While in New York City, she was discovered by a talent scout from Metro-Goldwin-Mayer and moved to Hollywood in 1925. Those early days in Los Angeles were defined by cramped quarters in long-term hotels, like the Hotel Washington in Culver City. “I was happy at the Hotel Washington,” Crawford is quoted as saying in the 2008 biography Not the Girl Next Door. “I didn’t really want to go to sleep at night, and I was anxious to wake up early every morning because every new day held promise. It wasn’t until months later that I noticed that Hotel Washington was, you might say, sort of a dump. It hadn’t changed, so I guess I had.”
Crawford lived there for six months until she could put down more permanent roots. Though the property is still standing, it has undergone massive renovations in recent years and was later renamed the Hotel West End. These days, it’s known as the Palihotel Culver City, a stylishly restored urban hotel.
“El JoDo”
Joan Crawford Admiring Her Living Room
Crawford’s most notorious property was her longtime Georgian-style home in the Los Angeles enclave of Brentwood, which she purchased in 1929. Located at 426 North Bristol Avenue, the luxurious estate became synonymous with the screen star, who owned it for 26 years. She purchased the property for $57,000, and nicknamed it “El JoDo,” a whimsical portmanteau of her name and that of her husband, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Though the couple split up in 1933, Crawford kept the residence and continuously remodeled it to her liking throughout the years. She filled it with “green and gold, silks and brocades,” the actor once told AD.
Current listing info for the off-market property describes it as a 6-bedroom, 10-bathroom mansion that spans 11,558 square feet. Zillow indicates the home was built in 1931; however, several other sources say Crawford purchased it in 1928. Set back from the street and tucked away behind gates, the Spanish-style property is immortalized in souvenir postcards.
Vintage souvenir postcard, Joan Crawford's Home, Movie Star Homes series, 1936
Featuring lush tropical landscaping, guests are ushered in via a long driveway that stretches through an archway. These days, several websites note that the home has been extensively remodeled and no longer reflects Crawford’s era of ownership.
The sprawling estate boasted a combination badminton and tennis court, as well as a sparkling swimming pool. A playhouse on the property featured a Ping-Pong table and bar, while a home theater was ideal for screening her many films. Inside the main dwelling, it was from Crawford’s bedroom that she accepted her 1946 Academy Award for her role in Mildred Pierce. Tucked in bed with the flu, Crawford smiled to have her photograph taken, golden trophy in hand.
Crawford Receives Oscar In Bed
Despite the Brentwood home’s lavish outward appearance, it was also the alleged setting of many of the horrors Crawford’s daughter, Christina Crawford, says her mother subjected her to throughout her childhood. In Christina’s 1978 memoir, Mommie Dearest, which was adapted into an iconic film in 1981 (in which Joan was portrayed by Faye Dunaway), the star’s daughter details the hardships of her mother’s alcoholism and abuse.
Joan Crawford And Family Gather At Piano
New York, New York
After marrying Pepsi executive Al Steele in 1955, Crawford bid the West Coast adieu in favor of a new life in Manhattan. While the couple called several New York properties home, the top floors at 2 East 70th Street housed their most beloved abode. The duo opted to combine two apartments into one large unit, complete with stunning views of Central Park. There, Crawford again called on her longtime decorator and friend Haines to help furnish the space. Haines designed several pieces for the home and Crawford later told AD that she viewed him as a “big brother.”
Joan Crawford and Husband Alfred N. Steele Relaxing at Home
Steele died in 1959 of a heart attack. In the late 1960s, Crawford moved into the Imperial House, a high-rise apartment in Manhattan at 150 East 69th Street. She owned two different units in the building, where she cultivated her love of Asian-inspired design. She remained a resident there until her death in 1977.
Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
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