A Swinging’ Affair on December 11, a benefit for the Alzheimer’s Association, celebrates Frank Sinatra’s birthday and promises gala-goers a taste of Sinatra’s swingin’ lifestyle at two of his favorite Mid-Century  hangouts.

From a cocktail party at Sinatra’s former Twin Palms estate to a grand gala at the Riviera Resort and Spa and late-night after party in the Riviera’s Starlite Lounge, guests experience the Rat Pack lifestyle for an evening .

Frank Sinatra's former Twin Palms estate, designed by E. Stewart Williams, is now a popular venue for many Modernism events

At the Riviera, glitzy talent includes Frank Sinatra, Jr. with his 20 piece orchestra, singer Lainie Kazan with Matt Dusk and Daniel Joseph Baker from America’s Got Talent.  Actress Pamela Anderson is host of the Grand Gala.

The evening offers a rare opportunity to hang out and enjoy cocktails at listen to the live music of Buddy Greco Jr. Trio with Matt Dusk crooning at Sinatra’s former home, a modernism landmark  by noted architect E. Stewart Williams.

Sinatra’s Twin Palms estate was William’s first custom home commission.  Apparently one afternoon in May, 1947, Sinatra sauntered into Williams’ architectural firm slurping an ice cream.  His movie career at a zenith, Sinatra wanted Williams to design and build a big Georgian style home by Christmas.

www.psmodcom.org

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Stewart_Williams

Williams presented Sinatra with two sets of drawings, one for the Georgian-style home and another for a long, low four-bedroom house in which every room has a view of a large swimming pool shaped like a piano.  Fortunately, Sinatra chose the innovative modernist house, which put Williams’ design firm on the map.

Sinatra vacationed there with his first wife Nancy Barbato and three children, and later with his second wife, actress Ava Gardner.  Twin Palms became a popular destination for Sinatra’s famous friends — such as  JFK, his brother in law Peter Lawford and Sinatra’s neighbor Marilyn Monroe.  Sinatra’s landmark estate and the lifestyle he lived there helped fuel the wave of modernism which today defines Palm Springs.

www.sinatrahouse.com

Williams subsequently designed a number of custom Mid Century Modern homes as well public landmarks including the Oasis Office Building, Coachella Savings and Loan, Crafton Hills College (in Yucaipa), Santa Fe Savings Bank and the Upper Mountain Station of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

www.pstramway.com

After a recent multi-million dollar renovation, The Riviera Resort and Spa reflect its glamorous Mid-Century Modern heritage.  The hotel was another famous hot spot Sinatra and his Rat Pack frequented in its circa 1959 heyday.

www.psriviera.com

At the Swingin’ Affair’s Grand Gala, guests will enjoy a three course gourmet dinner while reliving the era as Frank Sinatra Jr. pays tribute to his famous father in songs and anecdotes.  Lainie Kazan, Dusk and Baker share the spotlight with Sinatra.

After the gala, the party keeps on going into the wee hours with music and cocktails in the Riviera’s Starlite Lounge.

For tickets and more information, visit www.aswingingaffair.com

The revival of modernism has  generated great interest in both custom and tract Mid Century Modern homes in the Palm Springs area.  In fact, these homes continue to increase even as housing values decline in other markets.

For a personal tour of Mid Century Modern homes and estates for sale, many located in historic districts and significant neighborhoods, contact Ralph Haverkate at: Ralph@RHaverkate.com. or visit www.HaverkateRealEstate.com.

– Pamela Bieri

A monumental Mid-Century landmark, the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway continues to play an important part in the Coachella Valley’s tourism industry as major attraction and a visible beacon from the mountain signaling seasonal events to residents below.

The official Palm Springs Aerial Tramway’s Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will be on Sunday, December 4.

Actor and comedian Ronnie Schell will be the Celebrity Tree Lighter and  festivities begin at the Mountain Station at 5:30pm with the Palm Springs High School Choir singing a selection of holiday songs.

When the tree is lit, it can be seen throughout the Coachella Valley. Both the Valley Station and Mountain Station will be festively decorated.

For Tram admission tickets and more information, visit www.pstramway.com.

One of Palm Springs most famous attractions, Tramway is a compelling demonstration of form and function, proving Modernism’s relevance today.

Modernism is not only beautiful and dramatic, it is highly functional.  “Form follows function” is the  mantra underlying the Mid-Century aesthetic.

Both of the Tramway stations were built by two of Modernism’s most notable architects: Swiss-born Albert Frey designed the Tramway Valley station, constructed between 1949 and 1963; and E. Stewart Williams designed the Mountain Station, built in 1961.

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Frey

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Stewart_Williams

Frey also designed the iconic “flying wedge” canopy of the Tramway Gas Station at the foot of the entrance to the tramway, now locale of the Palm Springs Visitor Center.

www.psmodcom.org

Back in 1935, the idea of a cable car reaching from the hot desert floor to the cool pines some 8500 feet above was not only a daring vision, but visionary Francis Crocker, an electrical engineer, was deemed a bit foolish. His dream was dubbed “Crocker’s Folly” by the local newspaper.

It took three decades, two wars, surmounting funding problems and resistance from county and local government before “Crocker’s folly” became a reality.  Work on the tram began in 1949 and was formally dedicated in September,1963 with state, local dignitaries, and Crocker himself in attendance.

Frey’s Valley Station forms a bridge that allows water runoff from the mountain to pass underneath, and through large steel framed windows, offers close up views of the mountain and the steep cable that ascends from an elevation of 2,643 feet to the Mountain Station, 8,516-feet above at Mt San Jacinto State Park and Wilderness.

The Palm Springs Tram has the steepest vertical cable rise in the U.S. and the second steepest in the world.

From the 360-degree rotating cable cars, a thrilling vertical ascent gives you views of the Chino Canyon and the San Jacinto Mountains, slowly turning to show the vast Palm Springs area desert splayed out below. Passengers move from one ecological zone to another: The heated desert floor through mountain canyons and chimneys to an arctic-alpine forest with giant Ponderosa pines.

At the Mountain Station, you step from the tram car into the large, three-story facility which has a cocktail lounge, dining facilities, gift shop and dramatic observation decks. E. Stewart Williams’ glass, steel and concrete building is anchored to the mountain on one side while its north edge juts over the steep canyon precipice below.

The Tramway project seems to summarize the philosophy and daring of the Modernism movement: That technology (and optimism) can overcome any challenge.

The Tramway was one of the first projects in the world to use helicopters in construction. It was labeled the “eighth wonder of the world” because of their ingenious use in erecting four of the five supporting towers.

Helicopters flew some 23,000 missions during the 26 months of construction, hauling men and materials to erect the towers and the 35,000 sq. ft. Mountain Station.  The first tower at the Valley Station is the only one that can be reached by road.

The Tramway was designated an historical civil engineering landmark.

After your Palm Springs Aerial Tramway adventure, satisfy your passion for Modernism and take a tour of Mid Century Modern homes and estates for sale in the Palm Springs area.  Many are located in historic districts and significant neighborhoods, some even in the foothills of the majestic San Jacinto Mountain.

Contact Ralph Haverkate at: Ralph@RHaverkate.com. or visit www.HaverkateRealEstate.com.

– Pamela Bieri

Welcome to Team Haverkate Real Estate, specializing in Mid Century Modern Homes.

California Modernism is alive and well, with numerous major exhibitions throughout Southern California starting in October that celebrate and explore architecture, design, furnishings, art and those who created California’s unique lifestyle.

The Pacific Standard Time initiative is a collaboration of more than 60 cultural institutions across Southern California coming together to tell the story of the birth of the L.A. art scene.  An initiative of The Getty Foundation, this comprehensive scope intends to highlight the work of Los Angeles artists during the dynamic period following World War II.  Concurrent Pacific Standard Time exhibitions will run from Fall 2011 to Spring 2012 throughout the Los Angeles area and from Santa Barbara to San Diego and Palm Springs.

www.getty.edu/news/press/center/pacific_standard_time_2010.html.

The first major study of California’s influence on Mid Century Modern design, California Design, 1930-1965: , debuts October 1 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art with more than 300 objects – furniture, ceramics, metal work, fashions and textiles, and industrial and graphic design.

The exhibition examines California’s role in shaping the material culture just before and after World War II, and the roots of California Modernism.  Through its four thematic areas, the exhibition hopes to  elucidate that California design “is not a superimposed style, but an answer to present conditions…it has developed out of our own preferences for living in a modern way,” from a statement made back in 1951 by émigré designer Greta Magnusson Grossman.

www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/californiadesign

According to Collectors Weekly, the exhibition begins in the 1930s with the development of a distinctive California Modernism, primarily through the contributions of iconic architects Kern Weber, Paul Frankl, R.M. Schindler and Richard Neutra, all émigrés from Europe where the Bauhaus and International style movements began.

The exhibit also explores design innovations that arose from technology invented during World War III such as fiberglass, plywood and steel.  In particular, Charles and Ray Eames’ work for the US Navy that resulted in their famous molded fiberglass and plywood chairs after the war.

The largest section of the show focuses on the modern California home characterized by open floor plans and seamless indoor/outdoor living, inspired as much by California’s temperate climate and casual living as post war optimism and prosperity.

www.collectorsweekly.com/events

“The economic and demographic changes that followed World War II profoundly affected California,” wrote Eudora Moore, director of California Design. “The population expanded as people emigrated west lured by the promise of employment, warm climate, optimistic outlook and growing prosperity.

As the state emerged from the postwar years, its artistic community flourished.  Freed from the constraints of Europe and New York, California became the preeminent and influential center for design.”

www.ackermanmodern.com/modernism.html

Created for a casual lifestyle, new types of furnishing were often produced by designers whose work, still largely unknown, will be seen for the first time by museum audiences, according to the LACMA  website.

The exhibition’s last section demonstrates through other exhibitions, magazines, shops and film how “The California Look” was disseminated throughout America and the world.

One of the most influential vehicles for promotion of California Modernism was the series of California Design exhibitions held from 1954 through 1976.  Eudora Moore became executive director in 1962 expanding the size of the shows and instituted juried awards.  Most were held at the Pasadena Art Museum; The final show took place at the Pacific Design Center.

California Design 1930-1965: Living in a Modern Way will be in the Resnick Exhibition Pavilion at the Los Angeles County Museum, 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, October 1, 2011 – March 28, 2012.

www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/californiadesign

Another exhibit, Eames Design: The Guest Host Relationship, also debuting October 1 at the Architecture and Design Museum in Los Angeles,  focuses on the words and designs of Charles and Ray Eames.

“The role of the designer is that of a very good, thoughtful host, all of whose energy goes into trying to anticipate the needs of his guests,” said Charles Eames.

This theme will be explored through a display of Eames’ quotes shown typographically and on film alongside key related objects – from tumbleweed, to bread, to a keg of nails and vintage furniture.  It will examine the relationship between these objects and the ideas that flow from them, according to the A+D website.

A+D is located in the Bradbury Building, one of downtown Los Angeles’ premier landmark buildings located on LA’s Museum Row.

www.aplusd.org

San Diego’s Craft Revolution, October 16, 2011 – April 15, 2012, at the Mingei International Museum in San Diego is also part of the Pacific Standard Time initiative.

The exhibition will reveal the important contributions of San Diego Craftsmen to the post-war Southern California art scene as it progresses from sleek modernism to unconventional handmade objects of use such as furniture, doors, jewelry and ceramics.

The more than 50 artists include Toza and Ruth Radakovich, Rhoda Lopez, Jack Hopkins, Arline Fisch, Ellamarie and Jackson Wooley, Larry Hunter, Kay Whitecomb and James Hubbell.

Many of the these San Diego-based artists received national attention and participated in major Los Angeles exhibitions, including the California Design series held in Pasadena and Los Angeles.

www.mingei.org/exhibitions

Starting December 11, 20121 through April 1, 2012, the Palm Springs Art Museum participates in the Pacific Standard Time initiative with Backyard Oasis: The Swimming Pool in Southern California Photography, 1945-1980.

This exhibit “examines the Southern California swimming pool as depicted in photographs.  The backyard pool as a private setting, became a space to participate in various sub-cultural rituals and to enact clandestine desires.  As a medium, photography became the primary vehicle for the circulation of post- WWII imagery.  The exhibition will trace the integrated history of photography and the iconography of the swimming pool, bringing to light many aspects of this rich interaction,” according to the Getty Museum website.

www.getty.edu/news/press/center/pacific_standard_time_2010.html

Palm Springs is the heart of California’s Desert Modernism, creating a vernacular all its own.  From containing one of the largest collections of Mid Century Modern homes and architecture in the county to dozens of important design stores in its Uptown Design District, explore Palm Springs and environs  for an inspiring, in-depth education.

Now that you are ready to own your own Mid Century Modern home in the desert, contact Ralph Haverkate for a personal tour of notable Desert Modern homes currently for sale designed by some of the world’s most respected architects:  Ralph@RHaverkate.com. or visit www.HaverkateRealEstate.com

– Pamela Bieri