It may be August, but the countdown has already begun for one of the most electrifying events of the year…Modernism Week Fall Preview.

Few events draw as much attention and people to the Palm Springs desert each year. But that’s because no other place in the United States, or the world for that matter, is as tied to the history of the Mid-Century Modernism era.

Modernism Week Fall Preview this year has over 50 activities scheduled including, popular mid-century and modernism architecture and design lectures, lavish cocktail parties at some of Palm Springs’s most iconic homes, bike, bus and walking tours of local mid-century modern architecture and buildings.

Click here for the complete 4-day schedule of events: www.ModernismWeek.com

The Post War ‘Road to Palm Springs’

Hollywood, with its close proximity to the warm desert sun of Palm Springs is intrinsically linked. A respite for movie moguls and screen stars they arrived here in droves during the mid-1950’s to the early 1960’s, the prime years for modernism design. Their optimism for the future, abundant wealth and extravagance, and a creative nod to a post atomic world of new science-fact technologies, made our desert ground zero for some of the most beautiful and innovative of Modern Architecture, Art and Décor. 

Throughout that time, some of our most famous celebrities hired brilliant and inventive architects to design them iconic modern custom homes. What’s more, these new age architects were hired to design government buildings, art museums, theaters, shops, and a new, more efficient and architecturally lean style of housing development for the working class.

Thanks to our extraordinary history, the Greater Palm Springs desert has embraced the identity and visual imagery of modernism so completely, that it is almost a culture; a way of life. 

Modern Design with a Dash of Hollywood Panache

Frank Sinatra hired renowned architect E. Stewart Williams in 1947 to build his Twin Palms Mid-Century home located in the Movie Colony.  Bob Hope’s dramatic John Lautner-designed, 23,366-square-foot Palm Springs residence, although built in 1979 rises like a giant mushroom cloud high on the horizon.

John Lautner is also famous for having built in 1968, an example of free architecture. Anyone that’s seen the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds are Forever, will remember the scenes of the living room, swimming pool and an interior room of Willard Whyte’s Mansion.


Modernism Week Fall Preview–More than 50 Activities and Events

With over 50 events and activities scheduled the hard part is choosing. Below are a few of some of the exciting and fun events to whet your appetite! For a complete schedule and to buy tickets visit www.ModernismWeekFallPreview.com.

La Vie En Rose: a 1958 renovated home that backs up to the San Jacinto mountains in the posh Vista Las Palmas neighborhood. Designer Christopher Kennedy. 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 19–Oct. 21. Cost is $30.  A sunset cocktail party is from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 20. Cost is $70.  

H3K Design’s Green Gables: Designed by Palmer-Krisel, built in 1958 by the Alexander Construction Company. A three-bedroom, two-bathroom home at the gateway to the Twin Palm development. It features walls of glass, dramatic ceilings and natural stone walls. This is the public debut of the house. 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 20, 21. Cost is $30. People can purchase tickets in person.

Cul-de-Sac Experience: At Canyon View Estates #4, the tour combines vintage automobiles artfully displayed at six homes designed by William Krisel. Access to homes will provided on tour. At 10 a.m. Oct. 21. Cost is $65. People can purchase tickets  at 501 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs.

Steel x Three Tour: Visit three of the iconic Steel Development Houses (Steel #1, #2 and #4) designed by the architectural firm of Wexler & Harrison in 1962. The homes highlight the combination of architectural imagination and factory-built components that continues to inspire today. A Palm Springs Preservation Foundation Tour. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 20. Cost is $50.

Moroccan Midcentury Modern: The recently renovated Sands Hotel & Spa in Indian Wells. The hotel was built in the 1950s but recently reimagined in 2018 by interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard. Includes a cocktail and a bite from the Pink Cabana, the hotel’s ultra-stylish new restaurant. From 2 to 4:30 p.m. Oct.19. Cost is $60.

Premier Double Decker Architectural Bus Tour:  All weekend long these 2 1/2-hour tours showcase significant buildings as well as iconic homes.  Daily tours depart from the parking lot of H3K Home, 501 S. Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs. Modernism Week will have a box office there where attendees may purchase tickets to Fall Preview events.