Andy, Keith and Robert, name-checked by the Countess, are Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Robert Mapplethorpe, three artists from the New York City art scene who died prematurely (Warhol from complications following surgery and Haring and Mapplethorpe from AIDS-related illness).
James March (Evan Peters) mentions architect Julia Morgan as his first choice for designing his hotel. Julia Morgan is best known for her long collaboration with William Randolph Hearst building the Hearst Castle at San Simeon, California. She is also noted for several buildings erected in San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. Among these is the Fairmont Hotel, still operational today.
Sally (Sarah Paulson) calls Liz Taylor (Denis O'Hare) "Cleopatra" when she's at the bar. Elizabeth Taylor played Cleopatra in Cleopatra (1963).
The episode won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Costumes for a Contemporary Series, Limited Series or Movie.
The longest episode of the whole series