Pickfair, Relic of Golden Age of Hollywood, Razed

"Pickfair, which grew from a $3,000 stable in 1911 to become a rambling, green-gabled melange of American Colonial styles, was said at one time to be the nation's second-most famous residence--after the White House."

"All that remains of the Beverly Hills estate is a guest wing built in the 1930s and the remnants of Pickfair's living room, which once housed distinguished guests from the world over: Albert Einstein, Charlie Chaplin, the king of Spain and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor."

"I regret it very much. I wonder, if they were going to demolish it, why they bought it in the first place. - Douglas Fairbanks Jr."

Pickfair, the legendary Beverly Hills estate of early film stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, has been demolished to make way for a Renaissance-style Venetian palazzo owned by entertainer Pia Zadora and her multimillionaire husband Meshulam Riklis. Once considered the nation's second-most famous residence after the White House, Pickfair evolved from a $3,000 stable in 1911 into a sprawling American Colonial-style mansion that hosted distinguished guests including Albert Einstein, Charlie Chaplin, and European royalty. Only a 1930s guest wing and remnants of the living room remain. Contractors attributed the demolition to structural deterioration from termites and dry rot. The loss prompted nostalgia among those connected to the estate's storied past, including Douglas Fairbanks Jr., who expressed regret about the demolition.

Read at Los Angeles Times