Golden Age mansion: tour the home of 1920s Hollywood royalty

Uncover the secrets of this legendary estate

1143 Summit Drive – or 'Pickfair' – in Beverly Hills was the celebrated home of two of the biggest movie stars of the early 20th century. The stunning mansion hosted many of the illustrious names of its age, including Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein. A house with multiple lives, it went on to new owners who blamed termites and 'unwanted spirits' for its eventual fate.

Read on to look back through the history of one of Hollywood’s greatest houses.

The original golden couple

Silent movie stars Mary Pickford and her husband, Douglas Fairbanks, were the golden couple of Hollywood in the 1920s and 30s. Canadian-born Pickford, with her blonde hair and wholesome image, was dubbed “America’s Sweetheart” and was one of the few stars to make the transition from the silent movies to the 'talkies', earning an Oscar for her first spoken role in Coquette in 1929. Meanwhile, Fairbanks was known for his swashbuckling roles in The Mark of Zorro, The Iron Mask and Robin Hood.

A wedding gift fit for a star

The couple were married to other people when they first met but eventually tied the knot in March 1920. Pickfair, the 18-acre (7.3ha) estate in Beverly Hills, was the groom’s ultimate wedding gift to his new bride.

Originally a hunting lodge designed by Horatio Cogswell, it was purchased by Fairbanks in 1919 and became one of the most famous houses in the world, with Life Magazine describing it as “a gathering place only slightly less important than the White House… and much more fun”.

Pickfair receives a total revamp

With the help of celebrated architect Wallace Neff, the couple transformed the property – which was nicknamed Pickfair to combine the names of the two stars – into an elegant English-style home with leaded-glass windows, parquet flooring, ceiling frescoes, two new wings, an L-shaped veranda and a copper roof supported by heavy wrought iron.

Los Angeles' first swimming pool

As well as stables, servants’ quarters, tennis courts, a large guest wing, garages, a Western-style saloon – plus an underground running track where Fairbanks reportedly liked to jog around without clothes on – the property is believed to have had the first known in-ground swimming pool in the Los Angeles area. This is where Mary Pickford consented to be photographed in a swimsuit for the first time in 1922.

Picture perfect

The couple would love to be outside, making the most of the California sunshine and having fun on the grounds. This picture shows them canoeing, fully dressed in their pool. It was later colourised and used for a souvenir postcard in a series called the Homes of Movie Stars in California, which was published in 1927.

Fabulous interiors

The couple – seated here next to the fireplace in the living room – adorned Pickfair's interiors with decorative arts and antiques, including English and French period furniture from the early 18th century.

Notable items in the collection are thought to have included gilded neo-classical and Rococo antiques, and Louis XVI furniture from the Countess Rodezno and Lord Leverhulme collections.

Oriental treasures

Mary Pickford is seen here curled up on a Chinese damask silk divan. The four-storey, 22-room mansion featured many Chinese objets d’art, collected by the couple on their many visits to Asia. These included a pair of fine Chinese carved rhinoceros tusks and a Thai damascene silver lotus form covered urn, which was a gift to Pickford from the King of Siam. These were later sold at the Pickfair Estate auction in 2008 for $2,688 (£2k) and $5,000 (£3.8k) respectively.

Celebrated designers

The interiors of Pickfair were decorated and updated throughout the years by some of the world’s most celebrated designers, including Elsie de Wolfe, often recognised as America’s first decorator; whose clients included Cole Porter, and the Duchess of Windsor.

Tony Duquette, who was admired for his lavish interiors meanwhile, was also a close friend and celebrated his marriage to artist Elizabeth Johnstone at Pickfair in 1949. Mary was the maid of honour.

Art collection

The Pickfair art collection included paintings by Guillaume Seignac, George Romney and Philippe Mercier. The latter's portrait of a lady is seen here above an original Adam cabinet (designed by the Adam brothers) and Abission chairs in the living room, which was decorated by Elsie de Wolfe. The innovative decorator was known for the way she placed furniture, using lighter materials and veering away from heavy, clunky pieces.

Light-filled space

Mary Pickford became personally involved with the regular revamps to Pickfair’s interiors and was keen to create a more light-filled property, which she achieved by installing larger windows where possible.

An example of a light-filled space is seen here in the formal dining room, which was located on the lower level of the house.

Decorative touches

The actress made frequent trips to New York's luxury stores in her quest to renovate rooms at Pickfair. She came up with the novel idea of covering the fireplace with a decorative sliding mirror in the formal dining room, as seen here.

Lavish parties

The 'King and Queen of Tinsel Town', the couple were known for their lavish parties and dinners, which attracted everyone from silent movie actors Harold Lloyd and his wife Mildred – seen here – to President Franklin D Roosevelt and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

Lord and Lady Mountbatten even included a stay at Pickfair on their honeymoon trip to America in 1922. Mountbatten likened the house to Buckingham Palace in London, reportedly telling film historian Kevin Brownlow: "It was the house that everyone wanted to go to”.

Ultimate wedding venue

Pickfair was also the venue of countless charity events and family gatherings, including the wedding of Mary’s brother, Jack Pickford, also an actor, who celebrated his marriage to Marilyn Miller here in 1922.

Mary Pickford is seen third from the left, while their mother, Charlotte, is third from the right. Father Neal Dodd is pictured in the centre marrying the couple.

Working with Charlie Chaplin

Despite Mary’s initial success in the talkies, the couple’s movie careers declined in the early 30s. Mary Pickford made her last film Secrets in 1933, after which she focused her attention on producing, having founded United Artists in 1919.

Mary is pictured alongside her husband Douglas Fairbanks, seen here on her right, and Charlie Chaplin and director D W Griffith.

End of an era

As their movie careers declined, so too did their marriage and the couple divorced in 1936 but remained at Pickfair – living in opposite wings of the house – until Fairbanks died in 1939.

Some reportedly blamed the house itself for causing the split, suggesting Fairbanks wanted to sell the estate and travel, while Pickford wanted to stay put in the home she had lovingly created.

Haunted house

In the 1930s, Pickford admitted to experiencing some supernatural events at the house whereby she would hear loud banging in the attic. According to Cinema Scholars, she told a reporter in 1935: “I sat up in bed and addressed myself to the ghost, ‘I wouldn’t treat you this way’, I said. ‘It isn’t ladylike. I don’t expect to be treated in this manner'. The noises ceased".

Supernatural goings on

Pickford wasn’t the only one who had experienced strange goings on. The actress also tells of the day her cook, "a practical Swedish woman", ran from the house in terror, declaring she was being pursued by a strange, dark woman who she had seen in the kitchen.

Her late husband, Douglas Fairbanks, was less convinced: “I don’t believe in ghosts,” he said. “I don’t believe Pickfair is haunted, though Mary is sure of it".

Mary’s third marriage

Despite her misgivings about the house, Pickford remained there when, in June 1937, she married her third husband and former co-star Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, who was 12 years her junior.

The couple, who adopted two children, Roxanne and Ronald, continued to entertain; while Pickford remained active as vice-president of United Artists, as well as running the Mary Pickford Cosmetics Company.

Living as a recluse

Mary Pickford lived at Pickfair with Rogers until her death in 1979, becoming increasingly reclusive and reportedly struggling with addiction issues. According to local legend, she only spoke to her big-name ‘visitors’ via telephone from her bedroom, while Rogers took them on a tour of the estate.

Fans were given a brief glimpse of the actress and her home, however, when she recorded a message of thanks on receiving an Academy Honorary Award in 1976.

Death of a legend

Mary Pickford died on 29 May 1979 aged 86 at Santa Monica Hospital and was interred in the Garden of Memory of Forest Lawn Memorial Park cemetery in Glendale, California. After her death, Rogers decided to sell Pickfair, building himself a new house on a portion of the property, which he called Pickfair Lodge.

Lakers takeover

Los Angeles Lakers owner, Jerry Buss bought Pickfair at a probate sale in 1980 for around $5.4 million (£4.1m). According to the Los Angeles Times, he spent an estimated $3 million (£2.3m) renovating the 42-room house, restoring it to its former glory, before putting it on the market in 1986.

Buss is photographed here in front of the mansion with his 26-year-old girlfriend, Karen Demel. He converted a room where Pickford had housed her gowns into a trophy room but tried to stay true to the style of the period.

Tearing down the house

Buss sold Pickfair to actress Pia Zadora and her husband, multi-millionaire businessman Meshulum Riklis, in 1988 for $6.7 million (£5.1m); but the couple caused outrage when they announced they had demolished the original house, retaining only the separate guest house, the servants’ quarters and the old house’s living room.

A Venetian palazzo

The couple embarked on a two-year remodelling project to transform the house into a Renaissance-style Venetian palazzo with tile roofs, leaded windows, balconies and verandas, claiming the original building had been infested with termites and they had no choice but to tear it down.

When asked, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. told the Los Angeles Times: “I wonder, if they were going to demolish it, why they bought it in the first place".

Pia Zadora’s ghost stories

The actress changed her story in 2012, however, during an interview with the Biography Channel, she revealed that the real reason she demolished the house was because she thought it was haunted. She said a tall laughing woman in white had appeared to her and her children several times. “I would never have torn down this old home,” she said. “You can deal with termites, and you can deal with plumbing issues, but you can’t deal with the supernatural".

Company headquarters

Technology giant UNICOM Global, which is owned by Korean businessman Corry S Hong, purchased the estate for $17.6 million (£13.3m) in 2005 for use as the company’s executive meeting centre.

As such, it features an indoor spa, a theatre and a gym, as well as sweeping views of Beverly Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains.

A hefty price tag

The property hit the market again in 2008 with a price tag of $60 million (£45m), according to realtor Hilton & Hyland, boasting 25,243 square feet (2,345sqm), 17 bedrooms and 30 bathrooms. However, the listing was removed in 2010 and it remains one of the US headquarters of UNICOM Global.

Modern makeover

The newer property bears little resemblance to how it would have been when Hollywood’s first power couple were residents here. The interiors were designed in the late 2000s to accommodate the needs of its modern-day visitors, who tend to stay here for conferences and high-profile meetings.

Future for Pickfair

Yet, despite its most recent price tag and modern comforts, including a glass-domed spa, a ballroom and a disco, it would require further restoration should it change hands again, according to real estate agents.

Though transformed significantly from those golden early days of Hollywood, you can still imagine Mary Pickford appearing at the bespoke guilded gates in a stunning gown.