Sunnylands, one of the Palm Springs area’s special gifts, welcomes President Obama and President Xi Jinping this weekend for a casual summit.

Sunnylands panoramic view in Rancho Mirage, Ca
©TMerrigan, UMP, 2013

President Obama is the first president to visit The Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands. The estate was long a getaway for presidents during the Annenberg’s lifetime, where they created an atmosphere of relaxation, contemplation and camaraderie for their guests. Since the passing of the Annenbergs, Sunnylands has been restored and reopened as The Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands, a retreat center for leaders to meet, negotiate and make progress on the important issues of the day. Walter and Leonore Annenberg wanted the important work created in the intimacy of Sunnylands to endure and continue past their lifetimes and have given this desert gift to the American people.

A Sunnylands Field Trip

Where the Sun Shines Bright on Design even on the cloudiest of days.

Paul Kaplan Group Tour begins at the Sunnylands Center
©TMerrigan, UMP, 2013

This winter the Paul Kaplan Group and friends took a modernism field trip to Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage. Just opened this year for tours of the estate and grounds, our group had a wonderful day filled with architecture, art, history, gardens and a great lunch at the Center’s cafe.

It was a rare gray and cloudy day in our desert but Sunnylands’ mid-century design allowed the homes’ interiors to be bathed in natural light with panoramic views of the clouds hugging the mountains beyond.

Modernism at Sunnylands

Designed by architect A. Quincy Jones in the 1960′s Sunnylands was built as a vacation retreat for Ambassadors Walter and Leonore Annenberg. The home, a mid-century modern pink-roofed pavilion, hovers above the pool, golf course and landscape beyond. Its wide overhangs protect the home from direct sun and create large covered terraces for outdoor living. Long walls of glass frame the cactus and rose gardens. The home’s large open spaces, lava rock walls, high coffered ceilings, custom designed mid-century furniture, window treatments and upholstery all succeed in highlighting not only the incredible views but also the Annenberg’s art collection rather than competing with it. And what a collection it is from Impressionist and Post Impressionist paintings, to sculpture, to Chinese cloisonné, to Steuben glass and much more. This is an elegant but casual desert home.

Sunnylands’ pink-roofed pavilion, where modernism still shines on cloudy days
©TMerrigan, UMP, 2013

Visiting Sunnylands

The Paul Kaplan Group and friends on the way to the Sunnylands estate
©TMerrigan, UMP, 2013

The Sunnylands estate is open for tours of the home and its grounds. Tickets may be purchased online. The adjacent Sunnylands Center is free and open to the public Thursdays through Sundays, September through June. The Center has changing exhibits, a cafe, a beautiful 9 acre desert garden planted to resemble an Impressionist painting and is the location for the many events sponsored by the Sunnylands Center. Tickets for the home tour will go on sale again August 15. Check their website for upcoming events or like the Center’s Facebook page for more info on happenings at Sunnylands.

Come back often and we’ll share other Paul Kaplan Group field trips.

–Tracy Merrigan

For more homes by A. Quincy Jones’ in Palm Springs, see Stylish Mid-Century Palm Springs Condo, a Treasure by A. Quincy Jones and this gorgeous home too.

For more information on architectural properties in the Palm Springs area call Paul at 760-459-1396 or visit us online at PaulKaplanGroup.com

Palm Springs 75, today is the birthday celebration for our beloved city of Palm Springs. 75 years of a sun-filled and fun lifestyle that is a hallmark of our city. We love all of Palm Springs’ history but here at the Paul Kaplan Group we celebrate our mid-century past and the architecture that has made Palm Springs famous.

The Alexanders by James R. Harlan

Join us for the free city birthday party at the O’Donnell Golf Course from 3 to 9 pm today for food, fireworks and festivities. We are celebrating all the decades of our history and the Paul Kaplan Group is helping celebrate the Alexanders. Look for the Alexander banners and come by to say hello.

 

Enjoy the Palm Springs 75 celebration and don’t miss the fireworks!!

Here are a few Alexander Construction Co. homes to get you in the mood to celebrate, for more call Paul at 760-459-1396 or visit our website www.PaulKaplanGroup.com

–Tracy Merrigan

Paul Kaplan Open Houses Palm Springs, Saturday, January 5, 2013

Cathedral City and Rancho Mirage

Newly Renovated, Newly Constructed and a Mid-Century Condo to Die For.

This week’s Paul Kaplan Open Houses Palm Springs, Cathedral City and Rancho Mirage feature 2 great properties that are newly renovated in Cathedral Canyon Cove with beautiful kitchens, a brand new mid-century style home in Palm Spring’s Chino Canyon and a hip mid-century condo in Rancho Mirage with lots of original details.

The new home is an ode to Cliff May, the father of the Mid-Century ranch home and has fantastic Palm Springs’ views. The Rancho Mirage condo was designed by Val Powelson and features vaulted ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows.

It’s a great group of homes and we hope to see you there. Call Paul at 760-459-1396 for more information or additional listings.

See our post, Why is Da Vall Estates Rancho Mirage so Special?

For all the open houses Palm Springs this weekend, click here or visit www.paulkaplangroup.com (more…)

This lecture and tour by the Palm Springs Art Museum about the Mid-Century Modern Racquet Club Garden Villas is a great opportunity this coming weekend to get a peek at the villas designed by William Cody and built by Paul Trousdale. Originally part of the famous Racquet Club, the villas were intended to give guests privacy but easy access to resort activities.

A Desert Oasis at the Mid-Century Modern Racquet Club Garden Villas

Lushly landscaped by Philip A. Shipley, landscape architect to celebrities such as Walt Disney, Frank Sinatra and Steven Spielberg, the complex boasts a babbling brook, amazing views, beautiful pool and mature plantings that have created an oasis in the desert at the Mid-Century Modern Racquet Club Garden Villas.

Constructing California – The Legacy of Paul Trousdale   Saturday, January 5, 2013 10 a.m. Lecture Hall, Palm Springs Art Museum Author and historian Steven M. Price (the forthcoming “Over The Top – the Architectural History of Trousdale Estates”) takes a look at the history and accomplishments of famed builder/developer Paul Whitney Trousdale, from his post-war housing developments by the hundreds, landmark retail and commercial innovations throughout the American West, and culminating in his crowning achievement, the haven of “mid-century marvelous” known as Trousdale Estates, in Beverly Hills.   The one hour lecture will be followed by a one hour site visit to the William Cody-designed/Trousdale built Racquet Club Garden Villas, which will feature several units ranging from a museum quality studio suite to Paul Trousdale’s own two-bedroom villa with private pool.   Tickets remain but are selling fast.  Tickets are $25, including the site visit and can be purchased by contacting the Box Office at 760-325-4490.  For additional information please contact Paul Ortega, at 760-322-4818. _________________________________________________________________________

For more pictures click here, or for more information on the Racquet Club Garden Villas visit www.PaulKaplanGroup.com or call Paul at 760-459-1396.

––Tracy Merrigan

Paul Kaplan Open Houses Saturday and Sunday, December 29-30, 2012

Cathedral City & Palm Springs

Newly Renovated, Newly Constructed and an Architect’s Dream. Ready to Move-in! (more…)

Paul Kaplan Open Houses Saturday, December 22, 2012

Cathedral City & Palm Springs

Newly Renovated and Newly Constructed. Ready to Move-in! (more…)

A beautiful piece of Mid-century modern history in the Tamarisk Country Club area is Da Vall Estates Rancho Mirage designed by the Southern California architect Val Powelson in 1961. Val Powelson designed the five buildings in the 20 unit co-op in the shape of a four-pointed star.

Drama in the Details at Da Vall Estates Rancho Mirage

The star shape and A-framed roofs allow for maximum light and views into the homes. The steep A-frame roof with wide eaves allows for maximum light into the floor-to-ceiling windows but protects the home from the direct sun. Other dramatic details include the triangular chimney on the outside with a stunning angled fireplace surround on the inside and the pitched exposed beamed and tongue and grooved ceilings on the inside. The pitched open ceilings create great volume and airiness to the open-plan living and fabulous wall space to highlight wall art.

Patios on each side of the living area sliders connect the home to the outdoor and the views beyond. The compact galley kitchen has a wide pass-through to the breakfast bar, great for setting up a bar or buffet at your next party. The same dramatic open pitched ceilings in the living space continue into the airy bedrooms with floor-to-ceiling jalousied windows.

The five buildings share a pool set into the landscaped grounds with the wide mountain views beyond. This co-op was built in 1961 by the MarVal company, a partnership between Val Powelson and Robert Marx, son of one of the famed Marx brothers, Gummo. Val Powelson also designed Robert Marx’s residence, 1957, the Maranz “Gull Wing House”, 1961, in the Tamarisk Country Club area both of which was built by MarVal and LA’s Sunbow House with folded-plate roof, 1961.

For more information on the Da Vall Estates Rancho Mirage or other similar architectural properties in the Palm Springs area call Matt or Paul at 760-459-1396 or visit www.PaulKaplanGroup.com

Visit the virtual tour, Da Vall Estates Rancho Mirage

–Tracy Merrigan

In Palm Springs, we are privy to living with some amazing mid-century architecture by some ingenious period architects.  Palm Springs didn’t get the title for being the Mecca of mid-century architecture, for nothing!  My passion for these homes, is one of the reasons  I formed The Paul Kaplan Group, to specialize in architectural real estate.

However-  once in a while a house comes on the market that makes us mid-century aficionados cringe, and affirms our belief in the importance of Historic Preservation.

Below, is a home built around 1960 by the Alexander Construction Company in Racquet Club Estates, designed by the icon of mid-century architecture, William Krisel.

The house USED to look like this, from the original Alexander Construction Company brochure:

(more…)

Mid-Century Palm Springs Condo, Living in Light, A Master Architect Created a Jewel box of a Home

Do you dream of having a hip pad in Palm Springs where you can drop your bag by the door and the party has already started? Do you love bright, open spaces but value your privacy? Do you have that perfect piece of art that can carry a whole room?

This beautiful Mid-Century Palm Springs condo for sale in South Palm Springs’ Canyon Club Estates fills all those needs and more. It starts off with your private covered entry with decorative concrete block, planters and fabulous door.

The architect of this Mid-Century Palm Springs condo home is the modernist A. Quincy Jones, famous for designing the magnificent Annenberg estate Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, 1965. One of the signatures of his architecture are park-like settings like Canyon Club Estates.(1) (more…)