In Palm Springs, we’re fortunate to have one of the greatest collections of mid-century modern architecture in the world.  Modern architects continue to explore Palm Springs and the desert with new ideas and innovations-  thus is the case of Desert One, built by Jim Jennings, AIA.  At The Paul Kaplan Group, we specialize in Mid-Century and Modern Architectural Real Estate in Palm Springs, and share unique listings with our clients.  Listed at $725,000, this is truly one of the architectual gems of Palm Springs.  Here’s info from the listing from the Desert Area MLS:

Desert One, Jim Jennings, AIA 2005: Architectural Digest, September 2009. Rarely, dating back to ‘Case Study’ houses of the midcentury, do we find a new but timeless expression of architectural art that truly captures the essence of the era, one that is sure to be appreciated well into the next century. At first look, a sculpted monolith rising from the desert floor, perfectly sited and firmly rooted into 2/3 acres of untouched natural desert terrain. Private, protected behind tall walls, ‘Desert One’ is a 2,800 sq ft compound of seamless indoor-outdoor living and entertaining space, executed in concrete, steel and glass, constructed with exacting fit and finish. Once inside the wide front door that automatically clicks shut with precision, you’re in another world. Here, Jim Jennings created a tranquil modern sanctuary, ideally suited for one or two, that is Palm Springs: Open and Exciting!

Photography courtesy of Joe Fletcher Photography via the Desert Area MLS

Jim Jennings has been twice honored by Architectural Digest as one of the “AD 100″ [the top international architects and interior designers]. ‘Desert One’ was featured in the USA edition of Architectural Digest, September 2009, and here in an international edition in October 2009 was the cover

For more information on this stunning property, please call or text Paul at 760-285-8559.

Listed by Architecture Properties.

From one of our agents at The Paul Kaplan Group in Palm Springs, Kris Rain:

 Meet Craig and Diane, our new homeowners in Racquet Club Estates, Palm Springs- this cool mid-century home built by the  Alexander Construction Company, is their first home purchase! They did their final walk thru today and brought their dog Winston who walked right in and sat in the pool. Welcome to Palm Springs!

Coachella Valley Water District is gearing up for its annual Landscape Workshop for Home Gardeners. The workshop will feature presentations by experts on converting lawn to desert landscaping, plant selection, efficient irrigation practices There are three different times that the workshop will be offered- November 18 at 8 am or at 1PM; or November 19 at 8am. The $20 registration fee includes a landscaping book, a 3-inch potted plant, and refreshments. For more information, visit www.cvwd.org

Midcentury Modern aficionados get ready! The untouched living room of design legends Ray and Charles Eames wil soon be available for public viewing at the Los Angeles County Museum as part of an upcoming exhibition- California Design, 1930-1965: “Living in a Modern Way.” The exhibition will showcase California’s role in shaping home and interior design in the US. The show will open October 1, and will be available through April. While the living room contents are on display, a complete renovation of the home will take place under the direction of the Eames family, the first renovation since the home’s construction in 1949. More information can be found at LACMA’s website: http://lacma.wordpress.com/

Derek Lam, San-Francisco based fashion designer, showed his line at new York’s fashion week- and interestingly enough listed Palm Springs as his inspiration for the line!  He specifically listed the Kaufman house, designed by Richard Neutra as an influence in the program’s notes.  We’re glad that our great city was such an inspiration for a talented designer.

To celebrate the Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites and Neighborhoods of the Modern Movement’s (do.co,mo.mo) National Tour Day on October 8 and 9, 2011, PALM SPRINGS MODERNISM WEEK is pleased to offer its most popular event, the Modernism Double Decker Bus Architectural Tour, a fun, open-air, double decker bus tour of Palm Springs’ notable mid-century modern architecture.

The tour is conducted by a guide who is knowledgeable about the local renowned modernist architects and their striking architecture, as well as Palm Springs’ fascinating 90-year history as a glamorous destination and celebrity outpost. The three-hour bus tour focuses on the exteriors of dozens of residential homes and commercial mid-century modern buildings throughout Palm Springs. Participants will learn the history of Palm Springs’ architecture and the celebrated architects that put modernism on the map. As ground zero for mid-century modern architecture, and with the world’s largest concentration of mid-century modern architecture, participants will see why Palm Springs draws modernism aficionados from around the world.

As a bonus, participants will receive free admission to the architecturally-significant Palm Springs Art Museum, designed by the late modernist architect E. Stewart Williams, a 10% discount from the Museum’s gift shop, a complimentary booklet on Class 1 Historic Sites of Palm Springs produced by the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation, and a tour map of modern architecture in Palm Springs from the Palm Springs Modern Committee.
$75

For more tickets, go to: http://www.ticketderby.com/vendor/modernism-week-id-1809

According to the visitor’s survey, attendance for the 2011 Modernism Week in Palm Springs was actually up 56% percent- up to 25,550 guests compared to the previous event’s attendance of 16,400.  This brought more than $7.5 million dollars into the valley for the week-long event.  76% of the visitors were not from the Coachella Valley- only 24% of the visitors were locals.  We already anticipating great things for the 2012 Modernism Week, which will be February 16-26; the upcoming event will be extended to a ten-day period, as it was this past year.  For more information, go to http://www.modernismweek.com/index.htm

Mid-Century Vacation Rental Home

Palm Springs is an international vacation destination.  Mid-Century homes are very desirable for many visitors coming to town, who  rent by the weekend, week, month or longer.

Many  owners of vacation homes  in Palm Springs, rent out their homes on a part time basis. Income can be generated by renting out their Palm Springs homes when they’re not using it themselves. The rental income often supplements their mortgages, making owning a 2nd home in Palm Springs more affordable for many.

There are numerous property management companies in Palm Springs that handle all aspects of managing vacation rental properties, from advertising and marketing, checking in guests, and cleaning the homes between tenants.  The average management fee is approximately 25% of the rental amounts.

The Racquet Club Road Estates area is a popular neighborhood of mid-century vacation rental properties in Palm Springs.  The photo above is of a home located in the Racquet Club area, that is a very popular vacation rental, grossing approximately $40,000 per year.  Click here for more information.

For more information on Palm Springs Vacation Properties available for sale, please visit The Paul Kaplan Group at our website.  We specialize in vacation properties in neighborhoods throughout Palm Springs.

Exciting news for historic preservation in Palm Springs:  The  Palm Springs Art Museum has purchased the former Santa Fe Savings and Loan bank from Wessman Holdings LLC. This international style 1960 building designed by E. Stewart Williams will be the focus of the museum’s architecture and design exhibitions and programs.
(Photo credit:Santa Fe Federal Savings & Loan, 1960, Julius Shulman (1910 – 2009), photographer; E. Stewart Williams (1909-2005), architect, © J. Paul Getty Trust. Used with permission. Julius Shulman Photography Archive, Research Library at the Getty Research Institute (2004.R.10)

Here’s a copy of the press release: 

“The structure will be restored to original mid-century design and house the museum’s architecture and design collections and provide future space for exhibitions”

June 24, 2011 (Palm Springs, CA) – The Palm Springs Art Museum announced today that it has purchased the historic 1960 Santa Fe Federal Savings and Loan building in Palm Springs from Wessman Holdings LLC. The majority of the initial $2.8 million raised for the project came from the Edwards-Harris Family Trust and Trina Turk and Jonathan Skow and funded the $2.1 million purchase price.Additional amounts raised will be used to fully restore the building to its original mid-century modern design, based on the original E. Stewart Williams architectural working drawings, owned by the museum.In addition, images taken by the famous photographer Julius Shulman of the building (pictured at left) provides further documentation for a complete and accurate restoration.

Both Williams and Shulman are represented on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars on the sidewalk directly in front of this iconic building. Marmol+Radziner Architects of Los Angeles, renowned for their restoration of two of the most significant homes in Palm Springs, the Kaufmann House and the Ship of the Desert, will offer their services pro bono to produce architectural drawings and provide the expertise needed for the restoration.

The building, designed by renowned mid-century modern architect E. Stewart Williams, is located at 300 South Palm Canyon Drive and was originally designed to house the Santa Fe Federal Savings and Loan, which utilized the building until 1980. It then became the American Savings Bank and was then purchased by Sandy and John Wessman in 1997, when it briefly housed the offices of the Palm Springs International Film Festival. It later became the corporate offices of Wessman Holdings and Wessman Development and has been vacant for more than a year.  

“We are thrilled to add this architecturally significant building to the museum’s collection,” said Steven Nash, Executive Director of the Palm Springs Art Museum. “This building will be devoted to architecture and design and provide excellent exhibition, program, and archive study space.  The main museum building, also designed by E. Stewart Williams, has long needed additional space to support the growing architecture and design collections and archives.  The addition of this important building will allow the museum to significantly expand our architecture and design programming.”

The building is a classic mid-century international style structure, and a Class I Historic Site. Situated in a prominent downtown location at the southeast corner of Palm Canyon Drive and Baristo Road, it is a glass pavilion with a lower level containing a vault, meeting space, storage space, kitchen, and restrooms with a total of more than 13,000 square feet.  A prime example of mid-century modern design, the building will will also provide a space for educational programming, community projects and provide a retail merchandise area that will supplement the current museum store.

The principal Palm Springs Art Museum building, on Museum Drive, is also a Class I Historic Site and the museum includes another historic structure as a part of its collection, Frey House II, perched on the San Jacinto mountain directly above the museum.  The Santa Fe Federal Savings and Loan building joins the Frey House II as a stunning example of mid-century modern architecture in the museum’s permanent collection.

“It is an honor and a privilege to help spearhead such an important expansion of the Palm Springs Art Museum,” said Harold J. Meyerman, Chairman of the museum’s Board of Trustees. “Not only is the building a historic landmark, but its location on Palm Canyon will help raise the visibility of the museum to visitors and residents and will become one of the museum’s most important collection holdings.”

“Adding this historically important building to the museum’s collection reflects the growth of interest in architecture in our community,” said Sidney Williams, former chair of the Palm Springs Historic Site Preservation Board, Curator of Architecture and Design and the museum liaison for the Architecture and Design Council (ADC). “The building’s quality and location in Palm Springs, known worldwide as having one of the largest concentrations of modern architecture in the country, makes this an ideal site for educational programming in architecture and design.  It will also allow the museum to offer architecture and design exhibitions, showcase the numerous important gifts and loans the museum has acquired, and enable the museum to pursue additional gifts.”

The Trend Bible for the UK has predicted Palm Springs Style as being a major influence in the UK for the color palette in a range of household products from towels to disposable napkins as well as home furnishings and paint colors! As residents of snazzy Palm Springs, we already knew that we were trendsetters!

UK Style Trends 2012