View of the miniature Japanese village on the grounds of the estate of brothers Charles and Adolph Bernheimer, located at 1999 N. Sycamore Avenue in Hollywood. Surrounding the village are canals, in which small bronze houseboats float. Below the miniature village are a small lake and a 600 year old pagoda from Japan. The 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. 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 converted into apartments and the lake into a swimming pool. Soon thereafter, Thomas O. Glover purchased the property and began the ongoing restoration of what was to become the Yamashiro restaurant. A panoramic view of Hollywood fills the background.
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