The cabin where Marilyn Monroe spent her final week living will be torn down by new owners to make room for a luxury hotel, KCRA reported Wednesday.
The McWhinney Group reportedly purchased the Cal-Neva resort — once famously owned by Frank Sinatra — from Oracle CEO Larry Ellison in April for a whopping $58 million. The group now plans to demolish the historic lakeside cabins that straddle the border of California and Nevada, according to KCRA.
A famous haunt for Sinatra and his celebrity friends, Cal-Neva housed the Kennedys, crooners such as Tony Bennett and Dean Martin, and even mobsters such as Sam Giancana, according to SFGate.
Sinatra’s son, Frank Jr., was kidnapped at gunpoint in one of the cabins in 1963 but later returned after his father paid out a $240,000 ransom, Jon Ralston of the Nevada Independent reported.
Good morning from The #WeMatter State.
On this date in 1963, Frank Sinatra, Jr was kidnapped at gunpoint from Harrah’s Lake Tahoe. Frank Sinatra paid the $240,000 ransom and his son was released, unhurt. The kidnappers were later caught and convicted.
Days until #nvleg: 61 pic.twitter.com/pRy89tLMlz
— Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) December 8, 2022
McWhinney plans to completely remove all cabins, including Monroe’s infamous Cabin No. 3, the outlet reported.
“The remaining cabins have been neglected for many years and now are structurally unsafe [and at] risk of collapsing, create a fire risk, and have environmental contamination,” McWhinney Senior Vice President of Hospitality Development Jason Newcomer said, per SFGate.
The property also features underground tunnels which, shortly after the resort’s 1926 construction, were used to run bootleg liquor during Prohibition, SFGate reported. Sinatra later allegedly used them to sneak his mobster friends around the property, according to the outlet. (RELATED: Frank Sinatra Believed Marilyn Monroe Was Murdered, His Manager Claims)
McWhinney hopes to preserve at least some of the historic underground, according to Newcomer.
“Previous to our ownership, many of the tunnels had been filled in, the remaining portions of the tunnels are under the historic lodge,” Newcomer said. “We are looking at how we can utilize the remaining tunnels as part of the programming of the hotel.”
The hotel is slated to open in 2026, 100 years after its inception, KCRA reported.