"The start of a beautiful friendship." Councilmember Craig Corman used that phrase in June about the city's arrangement with Fleurs de Villes, the floral-installation company now filling Greystone Mansion with flowers. The Beverly Hills Courier reported that he said it in the same discussion where he questioned how much money the city would actually make. Both halves of that sentiment are now on view on the hill above Sunset. Fleurs de Villes THE GILDED AGE opened Wednesday, Oct. 28, and runs through Nov. 4. For those eight days, a city park whose grounds are open every day is also hosting a ticketed exhibition.
The flowers are the draw. The deal behind them explains the show's shape: why it is small, why there are two after-dark parties, and why getting there starts at a garage on Crescent Drive.
What the City Accepted in Place of a Fee
At the June council discussion, Fleurs de Villes and the Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau asked to be the exclusive partner for the exhibition. They also asked for permit waivers, which the Courier put at $213,981. The official transcript of the June 9 meeting lists the figure as $212,641. In return, the staff report proposed that the city receive 20% of net ticket sales.
Here is how the staff projections from June compare with the waiver:
| June 2026 staff projection | City's share of net ticket sales | Compared with the waiver of about $213,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative attendance | About $67,200 | Roughly a third |
| Sellout, 2,500 guests over eight days | About $112,000 | Roughly half |
Even a full sellout returns less in ticket revenue than the city waived in fees. The rest of the value has to come from somewhere else. The Courier reported that Corman pointed to "earned media" from HBO and Fleurs de Villes as "where the rubber meets the road." He added that the council had been told it was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, but that he did not know the actual figure. The exhibition is presented with HBO Max and based on the HBO series The Gilded Age. Greystone is the fourth stop on a six-estate national tour, and the Courier described it as the tour's only Southern California stop. Put simply, the city is accepting exposure for Greystone in place of most of the rent.
Council members also raised conditions about what the city should get back. Councilmember Lester Friedman proposed requiring Fleurs de Villes to hire Beverly Hills businesses for the floral design. Corman argued for keeping Greystone accessible to the public during the exhibition and for running shuttle buses. The city's August announcement describes every mannequin as the work of "Beverly Hills' leading floral designers," and a free shuttle is part of the visitor plan. Both points line up with what was asked for at the dais.
A Capped Show
The staff report's ceiling of 2,500 guests across eight days averages to a little over 300 people a day on an estate of 18.5 acres.
The Fever listing counts more than 15 floral mannequins. The city says each one is made entirely of fresh flowers and interprets a character from the series, including Bertha Russell's bold gowns, Agnes van Rhijn's refinement, Marian Brook's understated elegance and Peggy Scott's modern outlook. Visitors vote for a favorite mannequin and can watch live demonstrations by local floral designers. The organizer's FAQ says the installations are indoors and that a typical visit takes 45 to 60 minutes. Indoor installations matter here. Greystone's interior is usually open only for special events and monthly self-guided tours, so this exhibition is also an unusual chance to walk through a 46,000-square-foot, 55-room house completed for the Doheny family in 1928.
The FAQ also says no dates will be added. As Beverly Press reported, residents had first access to tickets through a presale that opened Sept. 1 with the code 90210, two days before general sales began. With a fixed cap and no extensions, the slots still unsold at this point are all that remain.
Getting Up the Hill
Greystone has no event parking for the exhibition, so the visit starts in the flats.
- Buy a timed ticket. Tickets are sold on Fever: $34 for adults, $31 reduced, $26 for ages 4 to 12, with infants and companions free. Paid tickets carry a $2.50 booking fee. The organizer recommends buying in advance. A box office at the venue is planned, but only if tickets remain.
- Check the hours on your ticket. The city calendar lists 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fever lists 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with last entry at 5. Go by the time slot printed on your ticket.
- Park at 450 N. Crescent Drive. A free shuttle runs continuously from there to the estate. The organizer also suggests the garages at 333 N. Crescent and 9333 W. 3rd Street, and rideshare drop-off is allowed. The Love Beverly Hills listing also says the shuttle from the Crescent Drive garage is included.
- Plan about an hour. The organizer's FAQ estimates 45 to 60 minutes for a typical visit.
The full organizer details are at fleursdevilles.com/beverly-hills.
After Dark, Priced Separately
Two evenings during the run are for guests 21 and over, each with its own ticket. "The Gilded Age at Sunset" on Friday, Oct. 30, costs $110. "A Gilded Age Halloween Affair" on Saturday, Oct. 31, costs $290. The staff report mentioned these "separate ticketed evening events" along with $33 daytime tickets when it projected the city's share. So the evening events are part of the revenue plan. They are how a show capped at a few hundred guests a day can make enough money to work for the organizer. For neighbors who would rather see the mannequins in golden-hour light than on a weekday morning, Friday is the less expensive of the two evenings.
The Same Estate, on Ordinary Terms
When the flowers come down after Nov. 4, Greystone goes back to its usual rules. The city bought the estate in 1965 and dedicated it as a public park in 1971. Its grounds are open daily, and the mansion opens for special events and monthly self-guided tours. Ticketed nights on the terraces were already happening before Fleurs de Villes arrived. In September, Mixed eMotion Theatrix brought back "Gatsby Redux," a site-specific dance-theater piece in which the audience follows the performers across the terraced grounds. The company has staged it at Greystone every year since 2022, as Beverly Press reported.
What sets the October exhibition apart is scale and partnership. A national touring brand, a streaming series and a revenue share are running eight straight days on a public estate. The council's discussion showed some members questioning whether the city's share was large enough. It also showed Corman hoping the event would be the first of more.
December Is Already Set
Greystone's next ticketed program is close behind. The city's Holidays at Greystone page lists Dec. 5 and 6 and Dec. 12 and 13. A regional family-events listing describes a winter-wonderland setup with multicultural decorations and children's activities, and says a second weekend was added this year. The same listing gives hours of 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., tickets at $12 and $15, and an on-sale time of 9 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 26. Those figures come from that listing rather than the city, so check pricing on the city's page. For comparison, the city listed 2025 tickets at $10 for residents and $12 for nonresidents.
Last December was the event's seventh year. Beverly Press covered it: Santa and Mrs. Claus, carolers, the Bob Baker Marionettes, crafts and storytime. That was the 2025 program, so this year's lineup may be different. Adding a second weekend shows the city is giving more of the season to Greystone's ticketed events.
Greystone shows how a house and its grounds can be presented, lit and timed so that people will pay to see them. That is the same work behind a well-made listing. If you're curious what your own home could fetch with that kind of attention, Andrea Alberts can give you a private, discreet valuation. Get My Valuation.