In 1921, McDermott purchased a plot of land “so high above the valley; the address was listed as ‘Cloud 6, Hollywood.’”
The house soon became “a monument to the whimsy and ingenuity of the man who built it entirely by hand from stage props used in lavish productions of the silent screen era.” The odd structure established itself as a nonsensical collection of various architectural styles and eras, incorporating elements from films including The Mark of Zorro, Robin Hood, The Thief of Bagdad, Omar the Tentmaker, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. As the house neared completion, a curious architect visited McDermott and asked what period he would call the home. McDermott replied, “no period at all. It’s an exclamation point.”
