Guitar Legend Les Paul’s Family Left Devastated After His Historic $990K New Jersey Home Was Demolished by Developers

The former New Jersey home of music legend Les Paul has been demolished just months after it was sold to private developers for $990,000—leaving his family in an uproar amid claims that they were given no warning about its destruction.

Les, who died at age 94 in 2009, was an innovative musician who built the first solid-body electric guitar and pioneered many musical recording techniques.

His Mahwah, NJ, home served as a workshop, recording studio, and the backdrop of the 1950s series he and his wife, Mary Ford, filmed. “Les Paul and Mary Ford at Home” was widely considered to be one of the first American reality TV shows.

News of the demolition first gained traction in an Aug. 24 Facebook post from the guitarist’s oldest living son, Gene Paul, 82, who railed against the developers for destroying not only the property but also the history that it carried.

“A few days ago, I saw my father’s home—our family home—gutted. It made me sick,” Gene wrote. “That house wasn’t just where Les Paul lived. It was his workshop. It was his laboratory. It was his journey of dreams. So much happened there.”

“This was where my father experimented endlessly with his guitars and electronics,” the statement continued. “It was a place where ideas were tried, rejected, rebuilt and tried again. It was also our home.”

In a separate post, Gene shared more details about the alleged arrangement surrounding his father’s estate, noting that the Les Paul Foundation, led by executive director Michael Braunstein, was in charge of the property at the time of the sale.

According to Gene, the family has not been “invited to sit on the board of directors,” is “seldom consulted about anything” regarding the estate, and has “never been happy about this arrangement.”

Gene went on to pose questions about the proceeds from the home’s sale, asking, “What happens to that money?”

The foundation addressed the controversy in an Aug. 26 statement, assuring fans that significant efforts were taken to preserve the musical legacy before the sale of the home, and it “wasn’t an effort to just pack things up and put them away.

“It is very important to clarify that Les Paul’s legacy, personal history, and creative work has been treated with the utmost care,” the statement reads.

“Before the home was cleared, artifacts, personal belongings, historically significant materials, documents, paperwork, and other items connected to Les’s life and work were removed and preserved.”

The statement also mentioned that Les’ son Rusty, who died at 74 in 2016, was “personally involved in the cleaning of the house and the auction process” to identify and protect “meaningful artifacts.”

The foundation explained that, due to the home’s location in a residential neighborhood, the establishment of a public exhibition would not be possible, citing an inability to permit traffic and zoning.

“While the loss of the Mahwah home is deeply emotional, Les Paul’s legacy was never confined to one building. It lives in his music, inventions, recordings, instruments, archives and the countless artists and listeners he inspired,” the statement continued, before noting that attempts to contact Gene had been unsuccessful in recent weeks.

In March 2025, the foundation opened the Les Paul Recording Studio in Los Angeles. The fully functional location “features meticulously restored original equipment.”

Perry Margouleff, a guitar collector, “got a tip” the property would be razed and visited the home to document its final state in the weeks leading up to its demolition.

He shared a YouTube video with the footage, revealing the mansion had fallen to disrepair.

“I figured this place would be maintained as a site on the National Register of Historic Places,” Perry said in the video. “This was a travesty of American popular culture and history.”

Drone footage shows heaps of disarray throughout the interior of the once-sprawling home, with remnants of its original stylish decor visible through discarded hot-pink velvet barstools, checkered walls, and an interesting stone staircase in a former living area that once housed recording equipment.

Les moved to the secluded Bergen County dwelling with his then-wife and fellow musician, Mary.

The couple relocated from Hollywood, CA, to New Jersey in 1952, at the request of Listerine.

The company had offered to sponsor “Les Paul and Mary Ford at Home,” but wanted them to live closer to the brand’s headquarters in New York.

The show debuted with five episodes a week, each 5 minutes long and featuring the couple playing music or sharing their home life. In all, 170 episodes aired.

Over the years, the home was the location of countless important moments in musical history, including Les’ influential inventions, recordings, and visits from guitar legends such as Eddie Van Halen and Jimmy Page.

Les lived in the Mahwah home until his death.