Actor Chris Pratt and his wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger, face backlash after tearing down a historic Los Angeles home to build a new house for their growing family. The couple purchased the landmark Zimmerman House for $12.5 million early last year.
According to the Robb Report, Pratt and Schwarzenegger submitted a proposal to tear down the Zimmerman House and rebuild it shortly after purchasing the property. Their plans included a complete overhaul of the original structure, which caused outrage from architecture enthusiasts and conservationists. The new home will be designed by Ken Ungar, an LA-based architect known for his farmhouse style. It will feature two stories, a backyard swimming pool, and a pool house.
The original Zimmerman House is a one-story mid-century building that spans nearly 3,000 square feet. Emiel Becksy designed it while working in Craig Ellwood’s office, and it was initially constructed in 1950. After learning about Pratt and Schwarzenegger’s plans, the Los Angeles Conservancy called it a “noteworthy example of Modernist design from this era” in an Instagram post. Others also took to social media to express their disappointment with the couple’s decision to demolish the house.
“Unbelievable the notoriously onerous City of LA [that] doesn’t allow anyone to do anything that makes actual sense,” realtor Julie Chang wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), “allowed this mid-century modern house to be TORN DOWN.”
Designer David Hill also commented on X, writing, “It’s sad to see icons of modernism needlessly destroyed by insensitive McMansion seekers.”
While this is the first time Pratt and Schwarzenegger have been in hot water for their real estate decisions, it is not the first time the couple has caused controversy. Pratt, best known for his roles in Parks and Recreation and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, went through a highly public and somewhat criticized divorce with ex-wife Anna Faris in 2017 after eight years of marriage. The couple shares an eleven-year-old son, Jack. Pratt and Schwarzenegger’s relationship began in 2018, and the couple announced their engagement in 2019. They share two children, three-year-old Lyla Marie, and one-year-old Eloise Christina. Pratt is known for speaking about his strong religious views.
Katherine Schwarzenegger is the oldest child of famed actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger and journalist Maria Shriver. She published her first book, Rock What You’ve Got: Secrets to Loving Your Inner and Outer Beauty from Someone Who’s Been There and Back, about body image in 2010. As someone who grew up in the public eye, Schwarzenegger felt that her journey with body image issues could help guide other young women with similar problems. Her second book, I Just Graduated . . . Now What?, a survival guide for recent grads based on Schwarzenegger’s experiences at the University of Southern California, was published in 2014.
Since Schwarzenegger has branched out into children’s literature, Maverick and Me tells how Schwarzenegger adopted her dog, Maverick. Her latest work, The Gift of Forgiveness: Inspiring Stories from Those Who Have Overcome the Unforgivable, is a compilation of stories from twenty-two people, including Elizabeth Smart and Tanya Brown, sister of Nicole Brown Simpson.
