El Fureidis
Encyclopedia
El Fureidis is a 10000 square feet (929 m²) historic estate built in 1906 on 10 acres in Montecito, California
. Originally called the James Waldron Gillespie Estate or Gillespie Palace after its original owner, the Roman, Persian, Arabic, and Spanish-styled architecture is one of only five houses designed by the American architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue.
The estate appeared in numerous hand-colored picture post cards from Santa Barbara during the 1900s–1950s highlighting Montecito’s estates, the classical Persian gardens
and Goodhue’s unique architecture.
El Fureidis is most famous for being the source of rare palm trees now found in Disneyland's Adventureland and Jungle Cruise
ride. It was also used in the main outside location shots for Tony Montana’s
Coral Gables mansion in the 1983 film Scarface
.
The El Fureidis estate was most recently purchased by Russian billionaire Sergey Grishin
in September 2009.
Montecito, California
Montecito is an unincorporated community in Santa Barbara County, California. As a census-designated place, it had a population of 8,965 in 2010. This does not include areas such as Coast Village Road, that, while usually considered part of Montecito, are actually within the city limits of Santa...
. Originally called the James Waldron Gillespie Estate or Gillespie Palace after its original owner, the Roman, Persian, Arabic, and Spanish-styled architecture is one of only five houses designed by the American architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue.
The estate appeared in numerous hand-colored picture post cards from Santa Barbara during the 1900s–1950s highlighting Montecito’s estates, the classical Persian gardens
Persian Gardens
The tradition and style in the garden design of Persian gardens has influenced the design of gardens from Andalusia to India and beyond. The gardens of the Alhambra show the influence of Persian Garden philosophy and style in a Moorish Palace scale from the era of Al-Andalus in Spain...
and Goodhue’s unique architecture.
El Fureidis is most famous for being the source of rare palm trees now found in Disneyland's Adventureland and Jungle Cruise
Jungle Cruise
The Jungle Cruise is an attraction located in Adventureland at many Disney Parks, including Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland. At Hong Kong Disneyland, the attraction is named Jungle River Cruise...
ride. It was also used in the main outside location shots for Tony Montana’s
Tony Montana
Antonio Raimundo "Tony" Montana is a fictional character from the 1983 film Scarface. He is portrayed by Al Pacino in the movie, and is voiced by André Sogliuzzo in the 2006 video game Scarface: The World Is Yours. Tony Montana has become a cultural icon and is one of the most famous movie...
Coral Gables mansion in the 1983 film Scarface
Scarface (1983 film)
Scarface is a 1983 American epic crime drama movie directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone, produced by Martin Bregman and starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana...
.
The El Fureidis estate was most recently purchased by Russian billionaire Sergey Grishin
Sergey Grishin
Sergey Grishin is an engineer, president, chairman of RosEvro Group and owner of US-based SG Acquisitions. Born in Russia, Grishin became a permanent resident of the United States in May 2008....
in September 2009.