This is 99% Invisible. I'm Roman Mars.

In 1941, the journalist and screenwriter Leo Rosten wrote,

in Hollywood as an Istanbul or Sioux Falls,

the rich hastened to express their wealth,

and betray their fitful grouping for status,

by erecting homes of unnecessary magnitude and splendor.

The man who built many of Hollywood's homes of unnecessary magnitude and splendor

was Wallace Neff.

Neff was a stark attack.

I know many people find the term stark attack a pretty

contemptible portmanto, but Neff really was both famous in his own right

and an architect to the stars.

One of his most famous projects was the renovation of Pick Fair,

the estate owned by the iconic silent film actress Mary Pickford

and her husband Douglas Fairbanks.

When the couple moved into Pick Fair, the house sat on a nameless street

in an empty neighborhood called Beverly Hills.

If you were lucky enough to be invited to dinner at Pick Fair,

you might find yourself seated next to Babe Ruth,

the king of Spain, or Albert Einstein.

Life magazine called Pick Fair only slightly less important in the White House,

and much more fun.

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