Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks’ estate, Pickfair

Posted on November 9, 2012 by

Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks' estate, Pickfair
Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks’ estate was called Pickfair and was located at 1143 Summit Drive, Beverly Hills. The property was a hunting lodge when purchased by Fairbanks in 1919 for his bride, Mary Pickford. The 56 acre estate in the city of Beverly Hills was coined “Pickfair” by the press, and was once one of the most celebrated homes in the world. Life Magazine described Pickfair as “a gathering place only slightly less important than the White House, and much more fun.” Where is it now? Torn down. Of course.

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One response to “Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks’ estate, Pickfair”

  1. Jean Hunter says:
    May 2, 2016 at 6:07 pm

    “Its loss was deemed unavoidable by contractors who said that, in essence, time had eaten away at the timbers of Pickfair.

    But the realities of termites and dry rot did little to soothe the wave of nostalgia some said they felt upon hearing of the structure’s demise.”

    http://articles.latimes.com/1990-04-20/news/mn-1392_1_golden-age

    Why in the world was Pickfair allowed to deteriorate to the point of…

    “Once we got into it, it was like cancer,” Myers said of the termites and rot that permeated the original woodwork. Workmen tied new lumber to the crumbling beams of the old living room earlier this week.

    “We kept cutting away at the bad stuff, trying to get at the good stuff until we got down to the foundation,” Myers said. “And the foundation didn’t have any steel in it, so we couldn’t build on that and we had to keep going.”

    For shame! This treasure should NEVER have been disrespected so much through the years that it was finally just gotten rid of.

    Jean

    Reply

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