I recently stumbled onto this forlorn estate that is surrounded by numerous abandoned-looking cars of some vintage. A little research uncovered the following:
"At the depth of the depression, [Wallace] Neff’s wealthy playboy client [Singer Sewing Company heir] Arthur K Bourne acquired a fine lot in Palm Springs, one of the few towns in the region which was still booming. It was becoming popular with the film colony and with Pasadena socialites wealthy enough to be unaffected by bad times. The house the architect built on the property was an attempt to fuse the Mediterranean Revival with the modern style - to enjoy the best of both worlds.
The dwelling was disposed around three sides of a patio, with a swimming pool at the center. Most of Neff’s swimming pools up to that time had been in Beverly Hills, and they had usually been well removed from the house. But the central location was appropriate since this was a vacation retreat, but such a location was more characteristic of modern than Mediterranean Revival site planning. The modernity of the patio was diluted by making the bedroom wings identical and adding a circular ornamental fountain from which water spouted into the pool. Thus the place took on the air of an exotic North African desert oasis. Neff used almost a whole wall of sliding doors to make the living room an indoor-outdoor room in the modern manner and the simple, almost brutal, almost flat shed roofs had a modern look which was negated by the red tiles used as a covering material.
There was a separate wing for the servants rooms and kitchen on the north, while the two front doors were a reflection of the Bournes hospitality. The north door was for guests who might come and go without disturbing family members in the south wing. Neff grasped the possibilities of Palm Springs readily, as demonstrated by the inclusion of a small second story room and loggia. By climbing only one flight to this mirador, one can enjoy a view all over the valley. The house has had several owners, but has never been drastically altered."
The dwelling was disposed around three sides of a patio, with a swimming pool at the center. Most of Neff’s swimming pools up to that time had been in Beverly Hills, and they had usually been well removed from the house. But the central location was appropriate since this was a vacation retreat, but such a location was more characteristic of modern than Mediterranean Revival site planning. The modernity of the patio was diluted by making the bedroom wings identical and adding a circular ornamental fountain from which water spouted into the pool. Thus the place took on the air of an exotic North African desert oasis. Neff used almost a whole wall of sliding doors to make the living room an indoor-outdoor room in the modern manner and the simple, almost brutal, almost flat shed roofs had a modern look which was negated by the red tiles used as a covering material.
There was a separate wing for the servants rooms and kitchen on the north, while the two front doors were a reflection of the Bournes hospitality. The north door was for guests who might come and go without disturbing family members in the south wing. Neff grasped the possibilities of Palm Springs readily, as demonstrated by the inclusion of a small second story room and loggia. By climbing only one flight to this mirador, one can enjoy a view all over the valley. The house has had several owners, but has never been drastically altered."
-Alson Clark
Wallace Neff: Architect of California’s Golden Age
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