Palm Springs Area Information

Palm Springs' last heyday started in the silent-movie era of the '20s, when stars drove the 100 or so miles from Los Angeles for weekend tennis getaways. By the 1980s, though, the wealth had moved to such areas as Palm Desert, down the Coachella Valley.

So why is Palm Springs suddenly such a hip place again?

One reason is its Mid-Century architecture.

Some observers equate what's happening in Palm Springs today to the '70s revival of Miami Beach's Art Deco hotels.

"I think people really love the fact that, from the '20s to the '70s, (Palm Springs) was considered a Hollywood playground," said Jim Moore, a part-time Palm Springs resident who lives in New York and is design director for GQ magazine.

A few years ago, he was among the first in Palm Springs to buy and renovate a Mid-Century home, a 1962 experimental steel-frame.

"People had all these great architects build them homes," Moore said. "It was a resort, great weather, lots of glass, very open. There are lots of architecturally significant properties. That's my love of the desert; the vibe of the Rat Pack."

Palm Springs was actually preserved by its 1970's tailspin, he said. It was frozen in time, instead of taking on the '80s and '90s minimal look. "That's why it's so beautiful now."

The strong economy and Palm Springs' variety of subcultures have contributed heavily to the city's new mystique.

"It really is a gay capital," said Modernist go-to guy Tony Merchell, an amateur architectural historian who gives sold-out Palm Springs Modernism tours for UCLA in the spring.

Real estate agents tell Merchell that Modernist homes are being snapped up by gay couples for weekend homes. With more direct flights to the newly enlarged airport, Palm Springs is drawing moneyed dot-com Northwesterners, too.

The mix of subcultures adds to the popularity. For example, Palm Springs is a nearby getaway for Phoenix residents who prefer clothing-optional lodgings. Family-friendly hotels and small inns abound, too.

Hip money in Modernism

"Modernism has now become a very popular, fashionable style," said architect Leo Marmol of Marmol and Radziner, a Santa Monica, Calif., firm involved in high-end Mid-Century residential restorations in Palm Springs. "There's a lot of very hip money moving into the town."

Marmol's firm restored the Edgar J. Kaufmann House, built in 1946 by architect Richard Neutra. Kaufmann also owned Fallingwater, a Pennsylvania country retreat that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935. Wright lobbied for, but failed to get, the commission for Kaufmann's desert house. Kaufmann wasn't impressed by Taliesen West, in Scottsdale.

The Kaufmann House and Moore's steel home are among many in Palm Springs Modern, a coffee-table book written by Adele Cygelman and published in 1999 by Rizzoli. The book is part of the media explosion over the new Palm Springs that's celebrated in Vanity Fair, Forbes, Metropolitan Home and other publications.

Tennis District

The time warp is in full effect in the Tennis District, a block off Palm Canyon at the foot of the San Jacinto Mountains that tower over the city. In the past few years, many of the area's small inns, hotels and condos have been remodeled into fun places for brief stays. Tony Merchell stays at the San Marino, designed by William Cody in 1947.

One of the largest Tennis District properties is the Orchid Tree Inn, a three-acre inn incorporating seven smaller, mom-and-pop properties, including a 1915 adobe and a 1957 building by Albert Frey, one of Palm Springs' best-known architects. His residence on the mountain was donated to the Palm Springs Desert Museum.

Nearby Casa Cody has a 1920s Cody building among several structures. When he started buying the buildings in 1986, owner Frank Tysen recalled, people would say, "Palm Springs is dying. Why are you investing in these?

"Small inns have helped revive Palm Springs. We were lucky that progress passed us by, but the challenge is not to lose the ambiance.

"What we're saving is a time warp. That's why people want to be here."