One day while horseback riding, actors Charlie Farrell and Ralph Bellamy spotted a sign advertising 53 acres of windblown land for $3,500. Figuring that it might be worth something someday, they bought it. That someday came sooner than expected when Marlene Dietrich complained to El Mirador management about the pair monopolizing the tennis courts. Determined to play when and for as long as they liked, they built two courts on their newly purchased lot, invited their friends (who paid $1 a day), and on Christmas Day 1933, The Racquet Club was born. In time, it grew to 12 courts, a swimming pool, locker rooms, bungalows, and the Bamboo Bar, which claimed to invent everyone’s favorite hangover cure, the Bloody Mary.

Similar to today’s Oscar swag events, the place attracted celebrities like butterflies to milkweed.