Chris Pratt-Katherine Schwarzenegger could have given the Ellwood teardown 'some honor,' designer's daughter says

LOS ANGELES — Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger demolished a famed midcentury home designed by late architect Craig Ellwood to make room for a new, modern mansion.

That's not how Erin Ellwood, Craig Ellwood's daughter, said she would have gone about it.

"I think it would have been really cool to keep it and do something ... add to it in a really interesting, innovative way," Ellwood told The Times on Monday. "But you know, maybe this just isn't their style. I mean, it clearly isn't if they're building a farmhouse."

Ellwood, an Ojai-based interior designer, spoke to The Times about her father's late '40s Brentwood commission, known among locals as the Zimmerman House after original owners Martin and Eva Zimmerman. The property, which she described as a "time capsule" because of its midcentury modern aesthetic, was purchased last year and set for demolition seemingly without reason. In recent weeks, several reports revealed that the Marvel star and Schwarzenegger purchased the lot for $12.5 million and that their new mansion — to be designed by Ken Ungar — was the reason for the teardown.

On X (formerly Twitter), the celebrity couple quickly faced ire from architecture enthusiasts and other critics. "Wow," wrote one user who shared an Architectural Digest article. "Wow as in, this is really bad."

"Chris Pratt bought a BEAUTIFUL 1950s mid century modern house designed by THE Craig Ellwood and demolished it to build a s— McMansion," one X user wrote on Friday. "My mid century modernist heart is shattered."

"Imagine tearing this historic house down to build a 'modern farmhouse' McMansion," a second user wrote on Saturday.

As more reports about the Ellwood razing surfaced, handfuls of social media users also revived "Worst Chris," a dig that stemmed from a viral tweet about the Hollywood Chrises (Chris Hemsworth, Pratt, Chris Pine and Chris Evans).

Representatives for Pratt and Schwarzenegger did not immediately respond to The Times' request for comment on Monday.

Like Pratt's online critics, Erin Ellwood said she only learned about the reason for the demolition earlier this month. But she told The Times that she understands "it comes with the territory."

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