Whatever Happened To Sharon Tate's House?
10066 Cielo Drive (formerly known as 10050 Cielo Drive) started out as an idyllic Californian retreat. However, the events of one night would lead to it eventually being demolished and a new property being built on the land where Tate's former residence once sat. As of 2023, the house is on the market for just under $50 million, but the property's varied history began long before this. First built in 1941, the gorgeous farmhouse-style home had a private, tucked-away feel that made it a perfect choice for aspiring film star Sharon Tate and her husband, filmmaker Roman Polanski.
On the night of the Manson murders, August 8, 1969, Tate, then eight months pregnant, was having a night in with her friends — heiress Abigail Folger and her boyfriend, screenwriter Voytek Frykowski, and celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring. Tragically, the night would end with everyone staying at the house including Tate and her unborn baby – along with a friend of the groundskeeper who just happened to stop by — being murdered by Charles Manson's fanatic followers. From this night onward, 10050 Cielo Drive would be forever marred by being the crime scene for such a brutal event and has had an interesting run of occupants ever since.
The house never quite managed to shake its reputation
Following the murders, the owner of the property Rudi Altobelli moved into 10050 Cielo Drive himself, according to House Beautiful. However, matters weren't quite as simple as they seemed. Soon after the night of August 8, Roman Polanski was featured in an article by Life Magazine. The article included pictures of the director next to the blood-stained front door and in the areas where Sharon Tate and her friends were murdered. Altobelli wasn't happy with this article and sued both Polanski and Life Magazine for $650,000 as well as suing Polanski separately for an extra $198,000.
He also filed a lawsuit against Tate's estate for "embarrassment, humiliation, emotional, and mental distress," for which he was awarded a paltry $4,350. Still, he eventually managed to sell the home almost 20 years later in 1988 to an investor named Alan Prell, who sold it once again in 1991 to investor Alvin Weintraub. Under Weintraub's ownership, 10050 Cielo Drive was rented to Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, who recorded the EP "Broken" and the album "The Downward Spiral" during his time there. Disturbingly, Reznor named the studio "Pig," a reference to Charles Manson's followers writing the word on the aforementioned front door in Tate's blood (via Billboard).
It was used for recording purposes in the early 1990s
Trent Reznor stayed at the house until December 1993. When asked why he decided to leave in a 1997 Rolling Stone interview, Reznor said it took bumping into Sharon Tate's sister to realize that he was contributing to the sensationalism of the house and what happened there. He also shared that he was ashamed to be seen potentially glorifying Charles Manson's actions. However, per another Rolling Stone interview, this time in 1999, Reznor did take the front door of the house with him before it was demolished. He installed the door at his new music-making premises in New Orleans, this time called "Nothing Studios."
Another famous face who frequented the property in the early 1990s was Marilyn Manson, who, as reported by Billboard, recorded his debut album "Portrait of an American Family" at 10066 Cielo Drive in 1993. This was a particularly apt situation due to the fact Manson (real name Brian Warner) got his stage name by combining murderer Charles Manson's name with the stage name of Hollywood starlet Marilyn Monroe.
The property looks completely different to how it once did
Per House Beautiful, Alvin Weintraub found it difficult to sell the house after Trent Reznor left, and its fate was sealed by demolition in 1994. Upon rebuilding the new property, an Andalusian-style mansion nicknamed "Villa Bella," Weintraub changed the address to 10066 Cielo Drive to start afresh. Even with this new beginning, the house remained unsold for several years until it was snapped up by "Full House" creator Jeff Franklin in 2000.
Over a period of 20 years, architects Todd Riley and Richard Landry completely redesigned the nine-bedroom, 18-bath mansion, and Franklin first listed "Villa Bella" for a staggering $85 million in January 2022 (via Zillow). The price was subsequently dropped to $70 million in April 2022, $60 million in September 2022, and $49,500,00 in October 2023. These continuous price drops indicate that Franklin may have been struggling to sell the property despite its immense amenities, which included a gym, a screening room with a bar, and a tropical pool, among many others. The property sitting at 10066 Cielo Drive may have been completely rebuilt and renamed, but it seems it cannot fully escape its tragic past.