Quote:
Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire
 LAPL
Pickfair, post-Phillips, pre-final Wallace Neff makeover.
One item that caught my eye in my pokings around was that attorney Lee Phillips of #4 (lots 28, 29, 30) was the original builder of Pickfair, eventually selling it to Doug and Mary. According to his great-granddaughter, it was not a hunting lodge, as is widely written. (So if Mr. Phillips lived on Berkeley Square and this wasn't a hunting lodge...what exactly was Mr. Phillips up to in the Hills of Beverly while the Mrs. had all her parties, including her annual doll auction for Children's Hospital?) Anyway, Doug and Mary remodeled the house several times, including at least once employing the great Wallace Neff, and it took the very talented and tasteful Miss Pia Zadora to destroy it. Thank you, Pia. |
Dayum! if i don't keep going back in time on this thread and responding to posts eons later
aerial looking north at pickfair 1143 Summit Drive 1926 and now
Fairbanks and Pickford were divorced in January 1936, and Pickford resided in the mansion with her third husband, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, until her death in 1979. A recluse in her later years, Pickford received few visitors and would only speak to them over an intercom while secluded in her bedroom. The only one who was allowed to enter her room was the butler, and that was to bring her a fresh fifth of whiskey every day!
It stood empty for several years after Pickford's death and was sold to Los Angeles Lakers owner, Dr. Jerry Buss, before being purchased by actress Pia Zadora and her husband Meshulam Riklis. They announced they were planning renovations to the famous building but revealed in 1989 that the house had in fact been demolished and a new larger mansion constructed in its place.
Faced with criticism from the public, Zadora defended her family's actions, stating that the house was in a poor state of repair, and was infested by termites.
The only remaining artifacts from the original Pickfair are the gates to the estate with their prominent P motif (visible in both photos above the main house), and the swimming pool, which as i recall reading somewhere, was the very 1st for a residence in town, so something historic does indeed remain!