Postcard view of the hilltop Japanese estate and gardens of brothers Charles and Adolph Bernheimer, located at 1999 N. Sycamore Avenue in Hollywood. This 1914 mansion was built to house the brothers' priceless collection of Asian treasures. In order to have an authentic Japanese design, hundreds of skilled craftsmen were brought from Asia to recreate an exact replica of a palace located in the Yamashiro mountains near Kyoto, Japan. The original Bernheimer structure included a 10-room teak and cedar mansion, where carved rafters were lacquered in gold and tipped with bronze dragons. The grounds include superbly landscaped Japanese gardens and a Sacred Inner Court in the center of the home filled with sculptured plants, pools and fish. The colorful hillside terraces included 30,000 varieties of trees, shrubs, waterfalls, hundreds of goldfish, and even exotic birds and monkeys. After the death of one of the brothers in 1922, the art collections were auctioned off. A few years later, the estate served as headquarters for the exclusive Hollywood "400 Club," an organization for the elite of the motion picture industry. After WWII, the home was remodeled and converted into apartments. Soon thereafter, Thomas O. Glover purchased the property and began the ongoing restoration of what was to become the Yamashiro restaurant. Neighboring Queen Anne and other early 1900s residences, seen below the Bernmeimer property, make the neighborhood appear quite eclectic.
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