Whether in a large metropolis, small city or country village, neighborhoods define a quality of life, a community, and offer a sense of belonging, of pride and place.

By some historic benchmarks, Palm Springs, incorporated in 1938, is relatively young.  But its explosive growth in the Mid-Century  — particularly innovative modern tract and custom homes — set in motion communities born from a sense of new frontiers, prosperity, and optimism that characterized the American spirit post World War II.

Desert Modernism became a style all its own as renowned architects adapted the International Style to the desert’s warm climate and arid terrain, creating an elegant yet informal quality.  Desert Modern residences tend to have post-and-beam construction, open floor-plans, glass walls that connect indoors to outdoors, and are designed on a more human scale, often integrating organic shapes, bold colors, and playful designs.

During the 1950s and 60s, new neighborhoods sprang up throughout the Palm Springs area, developments that attracted vacationers, second home buyers, families, and retirees.   Today, Palm Springs arguably has the largest concentration of Mid-Century Modern architecture in the world

www.visitpalmsprings.com

A revival of appreciation for Desert Modernism has sparked forming historic districts in the City of Palm Springs and environs to preserve these distinctive neighborhoods and enclaves that are defined as much by their architectural significance as cultural reference.

Historic districts are “areas or neighborhoods in which historic buildings or residences, and their surrounding characteristics or settings, are identified by historical association or architectural quality as significant to the city’s heritage and cultural fabric,” according to the City of Palm Springs Historic District FAQ definition.

Historic districts not only preserve the inherent richness and personality in an area, but connects the past to the present and provides continuity into the future.  Property values increase and ensures that architectural standards are maintained or restored.

“Studies show that property values in protected historic districts tend to be higher than comparable neighborhoods without such standards,” according to the city’s Historic District FAQ.

“There are currently 28 defined neighborhoods in Palm Springs with more expected to be added by the end of the year,” writes Judith Salkin in her June 19, 2011 Desert Sun story, A closer look at seven historic Palm Springs neighborhoods.

www.mydesert.com/archives

A compilation of distinct Palm Springs neighborhoods — not all are historic districts — may be found online at www.palmspringsneighborhoods.com.

Pride and sense of place are now finding expression through the Palm Springs Neighborhood Initiative Committee which is encouraging homeowner association to place neighborhood name plates throughout the City.  Each individual neighborhood association designs, produces and installs their  own signs.  The first signs went up in the El Mirador and Movie Colony in 2008 as part of the pilot program.

Reflecting Palm Springs rich, layered history, most neighborhoods have a mix of architectural styles from California ranch style, Spanish revival, adobe and walled estates, to Mid Century modern, although many are predominantly Desert Modernism style.

Among them are Sunmor Estates, located on the western side of the Palm Springs International Airport, a project first started by Robert Higgins and later completed by the Alexander Construction Company when Higgins’ funding folded.  Most of the Sunmor homes were built in the 1950s and 1960s, designed by renowned modernist architects William Krisel, Donald Wexler and Charles DuBois.

www.sunmor-ps.com

The El Rancho Vista Estates, located on the east side of the airport, was a subdivision developed by Robert Fey with 70 homes designed by Wexler and Ric Harrison in the 1960s.  Most homes here still retain their original profiles.

www.elranchovistaestates.org

The Royal Hawaiian Estates, a five-acre Polynesian style complex,  also designed in the 1960s by Wexler and Harrison, became the city’s first residential historic district in 2009.  The 12 building, 40-unit complex features a “tiki apex,”  wooden tiki-style adornments affixed to unique “flying seven” buttresses or “outrigger beams,” which had been removed over the years for a variety of reasons.

www.royalhawaiianestates.org

In 2010, grants from the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation paid to replace the missing architectural elements.  Relying heavily on 1960s-era photographs and consulting Wexler on the project, o2 Architecture captured the scale and proportions of the apex to restore the original architectural design to the homes.

www.pspreservationfoundation.org/royal_hawaiian.html.

The PSPF also granted funds for a demonstration project at Park Imperial South to reconstruct part of a decorative concrete block wall.  The project was designed to motivate other homeowners to make similar investments in restoring the complex’s original look.  Park Imperial South on South Araby Drive was designed by architect Barry Berkus in 1960.

www.pspreservationfoundation.org/imperial_south.html

The historic Tennis Club Neighborhood, one of the city’s most historically significant neighborhoods, was part of land owned by John Guthrie McCallum, who initially sought to develop Palm Springs as an agricultural area.  Architecturally rich, the neighborhood contains Mediterranean style homes and estates from early settlers 1920s and 30s to the mid-century modern Palm Springs Tennis Club designed by A. Quincy Jones and Paul R. Williams.

www.htcno.org

The Indian Canyons Neighborhood, formerly known the Canyon Country Club area, was also originally built in the 1960s.  Most homes have been refurbished to reflect the modernistic roots with distinctive architecture by Stan Sackley, Wexler, Palmer and Krisel.  The area’s par-72 Indian Canyons South golf course, owned by the Agua Caliente tribe, boasts a Wexler-designed clubhouse that provides some unexpected grandeur.

www.psicno.com

Architectural tourism has become a huge draw for the Palm Springs area and historic districts are important for preserving the wealth of architecture the area has to offer.

One of these tours, The Palm Springs Modern Committee’s annual fall home tour, takes place on Saturday, October 29 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Tickets at $125 per person includes a self-driving tour followed by a cocktail reception at the last house.  Tour locations will be given with ticket purchase.  Funds benefit the Palm Springs Modern Heritage Fund, a non-profit political action committee.

www.psmodcom.org

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

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

Welcome to Team Haverkate Real Estate Specializing in Mid Century Modern Desert Homes

During Modernism Week 2011, Park Imperial South on South Araby Drive in Palm Springs celebrated its 50th birthday and invited the public to tour its 31-unit condominium community.  Created in 1960 by one of the nation’s most noted residential architects, Barry Berkus, AIA, Park Imperial South’s remarkable Mid Century Modern design still thrives and remains virtually untouched.

www.parkimperialsouthps.com www.modernismweek.com

Berkus guided the tour and presented his take on modernism’s mark on architecture in Palm Springs and across America.  A video archive of the design tour and Berkus’ discussion is posted here at Team Haverkate Real Estate.

“Being acknowledged by those who live within the architect’s dream is the highest honor one can aspire to , and the fact that residents here have kept my dream in condition is a remarkable compliment,” Berkus said.

www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/barry-berkus-aia-to-address-modernism-week

Founder and president of B3 Architects and Berkus Design Studio in Santa Barbara, Berkus has remained on the forefront of residential design in this country and abroad for over 40 years.  His name is synonymous with innovation, and his firm has won hundreds of design and planning awards from regional, national and international competitions.

www.barryberkus.com www.b3architects.com

Berkus began college with a focus on economics, but he always loved to draw.  After attending Santa Barbara City College, he transferred to USC’s  architecture program, saying “It was exciting and I knew I’d found my place.”

He pursued housing, an industry that during the 1950′s and 60s most architects thought was “beneath them” and many were convinced they couldn’t make a living at it.

“When we started, housing was looked down upon,” he recalled. “I lead a design panel at the National Association of Home Builders, but couldn’t do one at the American Institute of Architecture.”

“I had a goal to change the way housing looked,” he said.  “I wanted to give it a sculpted feeling, an innovative component to nurture people.  I strived to use volume, light and shapes in my homes.”

Berkus’ ability to produce house plans quickly also turned the odds in his favor.

“Housing as a product has to move on and off the boards quickly because it didn’t pay very well,” he said.

www.noozhawk.com/article/120309_barry_berkus

Berkus began as an intern for noted Palm Springs architect William Cody before opening his own firm and designed Park Imperial South at the age of 25.

During his talk at the tour, Berkus recalled sitting at construction sites for John Lautner projects, inspiring him to develop his  own unique design vision.  Berkus said Park Imperial South was an experiment in design and construction.  The distinctive folded-plate roofs were constructed in Oakland before being transported to Palm Springs where they were lifted into place by crane.

www.itssosunny.com/2011/02/20/palm-springs-modernism-week-home-tour-feature

“I wanted to design a space for people who could not afford an architect,” said Berkus of the project.

As his company went public, Berkus began considering modular housing.  He researched data at UCLA on every modular created up to that point and concluded that mobile homes were the only successful factory-built house that made its manufacturer money and lasted for any length of time.

“Let’s change the way housing is built,” he said when he approached national builders with the first “smart house” and various homes on wheels.

“I’ve always gone the far edge of the planet in my thinking,” Berkus admits.  “I’ve always been interested in investigating.  I’m in my 70s now and I’ve failed a bunch, in part because security never interested me.”

“Architects, by nature, are optimists,” he said.  “I’ve grown by taking risks and assumed it would work out.  Even recently, with single family homes in Santa Barbara, I’ve had to build them and then people showed up to buy them.  I knew it was right.”

www.noozhawk.com/article/120309_barry_berkus

It seems Berkus was right about his long lasting design at Park Imperial South as well.

One objective of the Modernism Week tour was to demonstrate the complex’s design longevity both interior and exterior as well as the versatile floor plan.

Nine homes in varying stages of rehabilitation and remodel were open for guests to view.  Several units had been completely redone with new kitchens and appliances, upgraded bathrooms, redesigned patios and new flooring, while other units retained original design elements such as range hoods, cabinetry and intercom entertainment systems.

For the past 10 years, Park Imperial South homeowners association has been restoring the complex with new landscaping, entrance signage, lighting and wood paneling to each home’s entrance.  The Palm Springs Preservation Foundation has granted funds to continue restoration projects, and the sold-out tour during Modernism Week benefited the development’s renovation projects.

www.itssosunny.com/2011/02/20/palm-springs-modernism-week-home-tour-feature

For Berkus, thinking outside the grid comes naturally and so does the task of reinvention.

“Everything has to fall apart so you can come up for air,” he said.  “Residential architecture is about romance, learning, fulfillment of a journey.  It should never be below you to do housing.”

www.residentialarchitect.com

Palm Springs has a proud heritage of innovative Mid Century Modern architecture in public buildings as well as custom, tract and condominium homes.  For a personal tour of Mid Century Modern properties currently for sale, contact Ralph Haverkate at ralph@RalphHaverkate.com.

– Pamela Bieri