About the Venue

Perched high on the hill in the iconic Hollywood neighborhood of Whitley Heights, Yamashiro Mountain Palace has become a symbol of Los Angeles fantasy architecture. Built in 1914 by Charles and Adolph Bernheimer to replicate a Japanese pagoda in Kyoto, Japan, the residence became an architecturally grand home for the loot that the brothers amassed during their travels to Asia.

With 10 bedrooms, an inner courtyard garden, pools, fish ponds, and exotic landscaping, the mansion became an exclusive social retreat for the Hollywood elite. Of course as soon as the Depression hit, Hollywood was equally effected and the Bernheimer mansion opened their doors to the general public, selling tours of the gardens and access to the unparalleled views of Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean. Once the owners died, most of the treasures were sold at auction.

In the ’40s, anti-Japanese sentiment found its way to the Bernheimer mansion and it became a victim of rampant vandalism.  Angelenos thought it was a signal tower for the Japanese and wanted it destroyed. Instead, the architecture and details were covered, painted, and converted to a short-lived boy’s military school.  As soon as WWII was over, a developer bought the mansion and converted it further to an apartment building. By the late ’40s, another developer bought the mansion and, upon preparation to demolish and rebuild a new hotel, discovered the hidden architectural details of ornately carved woodwork and silk-lined walls.

Viewed through the lens of today’s standards, Yamashiro Mountain Palace is seen by some as an example of cultural appropriation. We view it slightly different, and encapsulates what Los Angeles has come to symbolize for us: A place free from the boundaries of normal conventions where make-believe, the dramatic, the fantastic, and the magical can exist.