CRUISE TO THESE MIDCENTURY CLASSICS
PALM SPRINGS’ MODERNIST COOL INFUSES AN ARCHITECTURAL SELF-DRIVING TOUR
IT ’SA GRAND TIME to visit the Palm Springs area, when temperatures are mild and a cloudless blue sky contrasts with the towering mountain ranges nearby. The region also is the Midcentury Modern capital of the U.S., with numerous homes and businesses reflecting the sleek lines of this retro architectural style. Local modernism fans schedule events here each year to showcase the region’s midcentury architecture and designs.
The nonprofit Modernism Week organization offers 12 home and garden tours and eight events through April 18, including a vintage car show, dinners, a fashion show and entertainment. You can channel your inner Modernist at one of those events or take a drive with us on our do-it-yourself architectural tour, which hits some of the highlights.
We’ve skipped famous homes behind high walls; our nine-stop itinerary includes only homes and buildings easily seen from your vehicle.
Begin your tour on California 111. You can access it from Interstate 10 if you’re approaching from the Los Angeles area. We won’t get too far from Highway 111B at any point on our tour, although it’s called North Palm Canyon, East Palm Canyon and South Palm Canyon in different parts of the city.
PALM SPRINGS VISITORS CENTER
> Looking for more ideas about what to do? You’ll find them on the way into town at the soaring Palm Springs Visitors Center (2901 N. Palm Canyon Drive), formerly the Tramway Gas Station. Yes, it seems weird to start an architectural tour at an old Enco service station, but it’s the gateway to Palm Springs and is outta sight, as they would have said in the ’60s. It’s also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Built in 1965 by architects Albert Frey and Robson Chambers, its huge wing-shaped roof dips in the middle and rises on either side to offer shade from the desert sun. Frey, considered the founder of the Palm Springs Modern movement, worked in Paris for architects Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret before moving to the U.S. When you’re done here, jump back on Highway 111B (North Palm Canyon Drive) and head toward town. Turn right on Hermosa Place.
FORMER DINAH SHORE ESTATE
> If you’re planning an over-thetop party, you can rent singer Dinah Shore’s over-the-top estate (432 W. Hermosa Place), now known as actor Leonardo DiCaprio’s estate, for $3,750 per night. Expensive, but it has six bedrooms, 7½ baths, a tennis court and a guesthouse that overlooks the pool. Designed by architect Donald Wexler in 1964, the Midcentury Modern masterpiece has floor-to-ceiling windows, a sunken living room and is set on 1.3 landscaped acres.
The home, which DiCaprio occasionally uses himself, is in the Old Las Palmas neighborhood, one of Palm Springs’ most popular areas. There are several other homes nearby you’ll want to see; it’s probably easiest to set your GPS.
ELVIS HONEYMOON HIDEAWAY
> About three blocks away, you’ll find Elvis’ Honeymoon Hideaway (1350 Ladera Circle), where he and his wife, Priscilla, honeymooned and lived in 1966 and 1967. Also called the House of Tomorrow, the home was considered ahead of its time because of innovations such as vacuum ports for cleaning and wallmounted radios.
It was built by prolific Palm Springs developer Robert Alexander for his family and is three stories, designed with four concentric circles. None of its rooms is square. You can’t miss it; there’s a life-size cardboard Elvis in the front window.
KAUFMANN DESERT HOUSE
> Lucky you. This stunner is for sale — and for just $19.75 million. Designed by architect Richard Neutra, the Kaufmann Desert House (470 W. Vista Chino) is impressive, carefully restored and beautifully landscaped. Built in 1946, the home was commissioned by retail tycoon Edgar J. Kaufmann, who also commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to build Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, one of the most famous houses in the world.
The Desert House, with five bedrooms and six bathrooms, is laid out like a pinwheel, with wings radiating from the central living and dining room. It has been for sale since last fall; if it sells at full price, it will be the most expensive home sold here, easily eclipsing the sale of Bob and Dolores Hope’s estate in 2016 for $13 million.
EDRIS HOUSE
> Our last house (1030 W. Cielo Drive) in this luxe neighborhood sits on a hill with breathtaking views of the mountains and across Palm Springs into the Coachella Valley. Designed by E. Stewart Williams in 1954 for his friends William and Marjorie Edris, the three-bedroom, threebath home is surrounded by boulders, palms and cactus. Williams is said to have designed it to look as if it grew out of the ground rather than falling from the sky. Indeed, one side of the house is set into a hillside. Other Williams designs can be found throughout Palm Springs, including the Twin Palms estate once owned by Frank Sinatra.
Now head back to North Palm Canyon Drive.
EIGHT4NINE RESTAURANT
> Do you want to stop for lunch, dinner or at least a “Mad Men”era Stinger, Rusty Nail or martini, the it-drink of midcentury imbibing?
Eight4Nine, which makes itself easy to find by capitalizing on its address (849 N. Palm Canyon Drive) is in a renovated 1950s post office in the Uptown Design District, a treasure trove of shops and boutiques that specialize in Modernist and other vintage Palm Springs looks. Choose from retro dishes such as salmon Niçoise salad or a smoked turkey Monte Cristo.
Who knows? You may even run into a star; Miley Cyrus was there last month. Check out the nearby shops before moving on.
PARK IMPERIAL SOUTH
> Let’s ramble south on Palm Canyon Drive and take a look at some other residential areas. If architectural excellence is important to you but you don’t care much about individuality, you’ll like Park Imperial South (17501844 S. Araby Drive, off East Palm Canyon Drive), 30 identical units designed in 1960 by architect Barry Berkus.
This community is on a 3½acre lot; each unit has a 1,426square-foot, single-story floor plan — three bedrooms (or two bedrooms and a den) and two baths. The development is known for its iconic folded-plate roofs, poured terrazzo floors and use of concrete block.
THE SAGUARO
> Palm Springs abounds with Midcentury Modern hotels that have orange lounge chairs, Sputnik light fixtures and a groovy vibe. One of the most colorful and quirky is the Saguaro (1800 E. Palm Canyon Drive), a renovated ’70s-era motel that has had several lives, including as a Holiday Inn. Saguaro is fun — not luxe or lavish — and a good place to stay and party by the pool.
And it’s an excellent spot to shoot Insta-worthy photos: The 245-room hotel is painted a rainbow of wildflower colors — red, blue, purple, orange, yellow, etc. — found in the Coachella Valley. The bright colors are a stark contrast to the sharp whites and clean, straight lines of the building.
CANYON VIEW ESTATES
> To check out another cool development, drive through Canyon View Estates (East Canyon Vista Drive, off South Palm Canyon Drive). Architect William Krisel, a Midcentury Modern master, designed the community for developer Roy Fey in 1962. Each group of homes — with common elements such as carports, floorto-ceiling windows and patterned white cinderblock — clusters around a common pool, spa and greenway.
It’s fun to drive around the neighborhood; check out the cul-de-sacs at 400 Alto and 400 Azul circles. Each fall the Modernism Week organization holds a Cul-de-Sac Experience at Canyon View Estates, complete with vintage cars, go-go dancers and other fun things straight out of 1964.