Day 152/365 Believe Me....

if I started murdering people… there'd be none of you left... Charles Manson, 1972

This is the back door to 10050 Cielo Drive, Los Angeles, California. It was left unlocked on the night of August 8th,1969, something that would seem extremely unwise in retrospect. After the horrible events of that evening, the door was scrubbed clean, and remained on its hinges.

10050 Cielo Drive was originally built in 1944 for French actress, Michele Morgan. Over the years residents included Cary Grant, Dyan Cannon, Henry Fonda, Mark Lindsay (of Paul Revere and the Raiders), Doris Day's son Terry Melcher, and Candace Bergen.

In February 1969, Roman Polanski rented the home and brought his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate presumably seeing the three acre estate as the perfect place to start their family.

After the murders in August 1969, the house stood empty for a time, then ran through a succession of renters, the last of which was the guitarist for Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor.

Reznor insisted he had no idea it was the Tate house when he rented it, and enjoyed living and recording there, until he met Sharon Tate's sister, who asked if he was trying to capitalize on her sister's death by living there. Reznor said the reality of the murders hit him like a slap in the face. The owner had tried unsuccessfully to sell the house for years and decided to demolish it instead. Reznor was the last tenant, and when he left in 1994, he took the door with him, installing it as the front door of his recording studio in New Orleans.

Back on Ceilo Drive, the demolition was complete.

A sprawling Italianate mansion known as Villa Bella, was built in its place, with a new address of 10066 Ceilo Drive. After standing empty for a time, and going through several price reductions, it finally sold to a Hollywood producer.

The only remaining witness to the events of August 8, 1969 is the huge tree with the large spreading branches, the one they found Abby Folger under.

And of course, the front door to Nothing Studio in New Orleans.