at the house prior to the premier of Wuthering Heights with Norma Shearer and Merle Oberon. Howard created a croquet pitch at the house for Goldwyn's birthday in 1956 and he became an enthusiastic player, often inviting Mike Romanoff and others for games at the house. Goldwyn was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Richard Nixon at the house in March 1971. As Nixon leaned in to put the medal around Goldwyn's neck, Goldwyn pulled Nixon's lapel and said to him that "You'll have to do better than that if you want to carry California" in reference to the forthcoming presidential election. Goldwyn died at the house in 1974 aged 94. Goldwyn's son, Samuel Goldwyn Jr., moved into the house in 1976 and lived there until his death in 2015. Taylor Swift Having been up for sale at various periods since 2008; the house was put up for sale for $39 million in 2015 following the death of Samuel Goldwyn Jr. in January of that year. The house was sold in September 2015 for $25 million to the singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Since her purchase of the house, Swift has worked to restore it to its original condition under the architect Monique Schenk, who said they had preserved and maintained the original fabric of the house and replicated deteriorated elements. Works undertaken by Swift include the restoration of windows, the reconstruction of columns at the swimming pool's cabana, the preservation of the Wisteria foliage that partially adorns the house's facade, and wooden decorative elements such as lattice panels and wooden finials. Swift has sought its recognition as a local landmark by the Beverly Hills Cultural Heritage Commission and the Beverly Hills City Council. Noah Furie, the vice chair of the Beverly Hills Cultural Heritage Commission said in a meeting that the house was "one of the great estates in this city" and that it was "very important to the history of the city". Furie said that they were "thrilled" that the present owner would "keep this house and spend the money to restore it because it's no small thing to do". Mayor of Beverly Hills, Lili Bosse, said “I think this is a true community gem and really so thrilled that this will be landmarked and preserved.” In 2017, the house was made a National Historic Landmark, a status granted to buildings of historical significance in the US.