The building of the mansion was started in 1926 and was completed in 1928. The land was given to Edward Laurence Doheny Jr (Ned) by his father as a gift. It was to be home for Ned, his wife Lucy, and their 4 sons and 1 daughter. The cost of the mansion was nearly $4 million and was the most expensive home built in California at that point. Ned would not live there for very long as he died in 1929 in a murder - suicide with his secretary Hugh Plunkett in his bedroon, whilst it was Ned's gun that was used and he has not been buried in the family plot at the Catholic Church, the official telling of the story puts Plunkett as the murderer. Lucy remarried in 1932 and continued to live at the mansion with her new husband, in 1954 she sold part of the property known as 'The Ranch' to developer Paul Trousdale who developed Trousdale Estate there. Befor her death in 1955 Lucy sold Greystone to Industrialist Henry Crown who rented the estate to a movie studio. In 1964 the City of Beverly Hills wanted to purchase the estate for a city park and to use the site as a reservoir, they purchased it in 1965. Many repairs was needed as the property had been left vacant for some time, they then rented it to America Film Instutite for a $1.00 a year in return for them keeping up the repair work. They leased Greystone from 1969 till 1982. In 1971 the City of Beverly Hills officially dedicated Greystone as a city park. Today it is a place for a varied activities and public events and is also a place for weddings.

Greystone Mansion is thought to be very haunted there have been quite a few ghosts reported as well as the sound of footseps, the sudden smell of perfume, objects going missing and then being found easily in obvious places and strange noises.