A quick tour of Palm Springs Modernism

This weekend my wife and I took a weekend trip in conjunction with her former college, the University of Texas. For some reason Catherine seems to think she dragged me out there, which couldn’t be further from the truth. We are both fans of the “Modern” probably me more than her – so go figure. Please consider this a quick overview.

The Modern Aesthetic in Palm Springs really grows from a number of sources; the Post World War II boom in prosperity, A desire to “bring the outside in” (merging the home with the environment), and a profound belief or optimism in the future. To top this off, the Hollywood studio system usually forbid anyone from being more than 100 miles away from the studio – Palm Springs fit just inside that limit. Armed with these ideals – and the desire to produce new “serious buildings” the architects of Palm Springs along with european transplants somehow found themselves in a place where the modern was exactly what home owners were looking for. International architects, Richard Neutra, Albert Frey, and local architects William Cody, Donald Wexler, and E. Stewart Williams carved impressive careers – but more importantly created an architectural treasury that we are able to see and still be influenced by 60 – 70 years later.

One last note: this architectural legacy would never had quite the impact had it not been for the amazing talent of Julius Schulman, THE photographer of mid-century design – and still working at age 90 today.

Frey House II
So named because it was the second home that he built for himself. This is more a mountain retreat, minimal and tightly compressed. Tiny by anyone’s standards, the house is low maintenance and literally perched on the side of the mountain – its floor ending at a glass wall makes you feel like your almost floating. It’s location plays a key role in the house as well – a large boulder that was unable to be moved serves as a room divider further bringing the outside in.

The Kaufmann House
This is the grand jewel of Palm Springs mid-century homes. Built in 1946-47 designed by Richard Neutra for the same family that commisiond Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. In fact, FLW had already designed a building for the location (The Boulders) and was shocked to learn of the commission going to Neutra that he would trash talk him (Neutra) whenever the mood struck.

Sadly we were unable to tour the Kaufmann House, it is about to be auctioned by Sotheby’s as a work of art rather than a building. Quite a compliment.

Kaufmann house, Richard Neutra, 1946. Photo: 1947
Copyright J. Paul Getty Trust. Used with permission.
Julius Shulman Photography Archive
Research Library at the Getty Research Institute

Donald Wexler and the great experiment
Donald Wexler was influenced by the international style of the Bauhaus and it shows in his buildings, they still carry a modernist approach however they show the roots of its beginning a little bit more. For example, The Dinah Shore residence (above) is clearly modernist, but with a slight hint of his roots in the international style. This is further exemplified by his experiment in 1961 – 1962 of developing a “Home System” using steel fabrication in a planned or modular way. Although only 7 of these buildings were able to be produced before a steel embargo killed the project in early 1963, Wexler had opened a door that is only starting to take place again with the new modular construction or prefab movement of today.

My photo of the Steel house (below) is intended to show the international flavor of these homes. Please remember that these are smaller homes – 2 bedrooms at most and are designed for lower incomes than many of the houses that we know as masterworks.

A few photos of some interesting homes

The Abernathy House
Also known as the “Pavillion House” designed by Willian F. Cody

The Bougain Villa House
Designed by William Burgess

Madras Oasis
Designed by William Krisel