Frank A. Garbutt, an inventor, industrialist and movie pioneer, was one of the most prominent citizens of Los Angeles in the late 19th and early 20th Century.

He played a role in the founding of Famous Players–Lasky, later Paramount Studios, Union Oil Company and the Automobile Club of Southern California.

[3] In 1923, Garbutt acquired a 37-acre (150,000 m2) hilltop site overlooking the Silver Lake reservoir with views of the Pacific Ocean, the Santa Monica and Verdugo Mountains and the downtown skyline.

[2] Due to an intense fear of fire, Garbutt even had the roof and walls built of concrete, installed steel-reinforced doors and allowed no fireplaces in the home.

[2] In 1975, Los Angeles Times architecture critic, John Pastier, noted that the estate's "arcadian acreage" was 99% undeveloped and "looks like a park.

"[4] Pastier wrote a lengthy column criticizing a plan to cover the estate with 530 condominium units requiring removal of 60% of the property's trees.

[12] Due to borrowing at least US$20 million in a failed bid to retake American Apparel in 2016, he filed for bankruptcy in 2022, and the estate is one way to pay off the debt.

Charney told the government-appointed trustee of the estate that there are multiple guests: two of whom are associates of Kanye West (one being Milo Yiannopoulos) and another two being former employees of American Apparel.