"The corner of Sunset Blvd. and Alpine Drive became a traffic nightmare. Tour buses made it a stop. Tourists and locals alike milled about, gawked and took pictures. The neighbors were incensed. The "renovation" performed by Sheik Mohammed al Fassi, then 28, and his wife made them the talk of the town."
""We just wanted to make them more beautiful," the then 24-year-old Sheikha Dena said of her nudes. But fame was fleeting. The house burned in an arson fire in 1980. The Sheik and Sheikha got divorced, and subsequent news stories about them focused on their financial squabbles."
In 1978, a young Saudi Arabian sheik and his wife purchased a 38-room mansion at 9561 Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills and undertook a controversial renovation. They painted the exterior green, made the chimney blue, and covered the roof with copper. Most notably, they modified four classical plaster nude statues on the front veranda by highlighting their genitalia with bright colors against flesh-toned bodies. This sparked massive public attention, drawing tour buses, tourists, and locals to gawk and photograph the property. The neighbors were outraged by the display. The couple became instant celebrities, hiring security and giving interviews. However, their fame proved short-lived. The mansion burned in an arson fire in 1980, the couple divorced, and subsequent news focused on their financial disputes. The property was eventually demolished in 1985.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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