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Double-decker bus tour at Modernism
Week is a good overview. |
Palm Springs is on a roll! Whereas a decade ago, its main drag - Palm Canyon Drive - was full of underperforming store fronts, now it is brimming with pedestrians and pride. A key factor in this rebirth is the impressive work of its architectural preservationists, particularly those who love mid-century modern. I was blown away by how many beautiful historic neighborhoods have been preserved, but I'm still making up my mind how much I like 50s era interiors.
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| Albert Frey's iconic City Hall |
My Hoffy Tours trip to Modernism Week from Feb. 13-15 far exceeded my expectations. I never realized how many beautiful and distinct mid-century neighborhoods there are in Palm Springs. The fact that city has so few gated communities (hooray!) means that you can explore these beautiful areas by car, bike or on foot. And when you add the rugged backdrop of the those incredible San Jacinto mountains to the luscious palm trees and desert landscaping, it's one of the most beautiful areas I've ever seen, and certainly one of the most unique.
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"Swiss Miss" design with San
Jacinto Mts. as backdrop |
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| Neutra's classic Kaufmann House (1946) |
But first, a little background. Palm Springs has one of the world's greatest concentration of mid-century modern architecture for a number of reasons. Since it is located only two hours from Los Angeles, Palm Springs has been able to support an innovative, wealthy resort and movie star crowd. It attracted renown architects (Neutra, Cody, Wexler, Krisel, Frey, Williams) and developers (the Alexander Construction Company) who experimented with new materials, construction techniques and designs. The results were much more than the landmark Kaufmann or Edris Homes; they built over 2000 modern homes during the 1950s to the early 1960s - modest homes of 1600 square feet with innovative floor plans and distinctive rooflines on modest lots of 1600 square foot homes. And the beauty is that entire neighborhoods of these landmark homes have been lovingly preserved for our viewing.
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Wexler's all-steel homes proved
too costly. |
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The logo of the Palm Springs
Preservation Foundation. |
The Palm Springs Preservation Foundation saving and enhancing the best of desert modernism. I particularly like the historic districts and neighborhoods. Preserving an entire chunk of a city to me is even more interesting that saving a landmark building (see my earlier blogpost - Historic Districts are Cool). It takes a concerted effort but the result is a city which has distinct places to visits rather than a homogeneous blob of franchises. The process goes something like this: the City Council passes a historic preservation ordinance, citizens nominate an area for designation, a survey is conducted, and the Council votes to approve or deny the application. Once approved, a district's zoning doesn't change but external improvements to homes or commercial buildings must be approved.
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Palm Springs places distinctive
neighborhood signs above street signs. |
Palm Springs currently has officially designated 88 buildings and three districts as Class I Historic Sites. This is wonderful but what I like is the way the city has already named its many neighborhoods with special signs mounted above the official street signs. Here is a very incomplete list of some of the beautiful neighborhoods to explore:
- Twin Palms - beautiful Alexander Homes many by Krisel; many with the distinctive butterfly roof
- Vista Las Palmas - gorgeous neighborhood with butterfly and "Swiss Miss" rooflines
- Old Las Palmas - great homes but very big hedges!
- Tennis Club Estates - some iconic homes and hotels right on or near the mountains
- DeepWell Estates - some beautiful homes; some remodeled beyond historic status
- Movie Colony District - its name speaks for itself
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Beautiful home in the Twin
Palms neighborhood. |
If you like architecture, a good time to visit is
Modernism Week - a celebration of tours, exhibits, parties and lectures. This February celebration has over 180 events and tickets released the previous October are largely gone by Christmas! It's a bit of a mob scene, but when would you have the opportunity to hang out in some of the most iconic modernist homes in the world with other admirers? The 2-hour double decker bus tour is a good overview, but a bit long. What I really liked were the home and walking tours. They open up some incredibly beautiful homes for cocktail parties, live bands, and views of the desert. Here's a link to the Modernism Week website:
Modernism Week.
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| The infamous butterfly roof! |
I have a few concerns of course. With the popularity of mid-century modern comes higher prices and a certain amount of elitism. Also, the "cool" factor kinda bugs me, especially with the interiors. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable in a minimalist white living room with abstract lamps. But these gripes are minor. Palm Springs is so much more fun to explore now and so much more accessible than the many gated communities in neighboring cities.
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Dig that crazy lamp! Interior
design was on display. |
High on the fun factor for Palm Springs are the many small hotels near downtown. Many are historic landmarks themselves, beautifully appointed and within walking distance of the main drag. We stayed at the William Cody's Del Marcos Hotel (1947) with every room named after a movie star or famous architect.
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Just one of the many beautiful
small hotels within walking distance of
downtown. |
Palm Springs is another example of a city that is preserving and enhancing its sense of place and incredible legacy. As if it wasn't beautiful enough! Hoffy Tours will organize two tours a year to Palm Springs to show you the latest in modernist preservation. We'll do walking, bike and van tours, and have time for a nice cool drink by the pool! Whether or not you like modernism, you'll definitely appreciate it in new ways.
