The First Steel House In Palm Springs

The Lindop Residence (1937, Architect Unknown)
1320 Tamarisk
Palm Springs

"Steel House Now Being Erected"

The first of the steel houses manufactured by General House, Inc. to come to California is now being erected in the Desert Sands tract [1320 Tamarisk - ed] by Edmund F. Lindop, owner of the tract and California distributor for the manufacturers.

The new steel house will be completed in three weeks and will then be open for public inspection. It is a large house, having three bedrooms and two baths; of the new modernistic type of architecture which originated in Europe about a year ago and now predominates in most new construction in England, France, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Italy and Belgium.

General Steel Houses are being erected by the hundreds in the fashionable areas of Eastern cities, Chicago, Cleveland, St. Louis, New York and other places.
Mr. Lindop has 50 dealers under him in various parts of the state and all are looking forward to the first house of the company to be erected in California, now being assembled in Palm Springs.

Every part of the house is made by mass production in the factory. The steel frame, bolted together and compressed asbestos panels on the outside as well as heat and cold resisting fireproof materials for the roof, form a building that is both earthquake proof and fireproof. Inside walls are of plyboard and both inside and outside walls are finished in any color desired."

-The Desert Sun, November 20, 1936


The Citywide Survey repeats an apocryaphal story that this Residence was designed for the Pullman family to resemble a Pullman railcar....I could go on and on.....

Peabody's Cafe at La Plaza Shopping Center

No two issues in Palm Springs seem to polarize the community on a regular basis more than signage and historic preservation, with the liberals being anti-signage and pro-preservation while the conservatives seem to favor the exact opposite. An interesting case that highlights this conflict is that of new signage proposed for Peabody’s Café in the historic La Plaza Shopping Center (1937, Schenck & Williams), a locally designated Class 1 Site.

A comparison of historic and contemporary photos located at the Palm Springs Historical Society helps to illustrate the changes that have occurred to this important historic property over time. The village character of the 1940s photo stands out in strong contrast to the contemporary image of the property - particularly the Peabody’s dual storefront - a tacky assemblage that is currently overwhelmed by signage ( more than 16 at last count) including several that clearly are not permitted. The guardrails, awnings and cheap plastic furniture don’t help matters much either. It is an interesting fact of life that during economic downturns there is a tendency to blame existing architecture or signage for the lack of business. Commercial tenants often feel that remodeling a building or adding signage will solve their economic problems. As it turns out, this is rarely the case, but it does seem to keep the sign companies afloat.

In the proposal recently heard before the Historic Site Preservation Board (HSPB), the operator of the café proposed replacing an existing non illuminated circular sign with a much larger “blade” type sign that both echos and competes with the historic marquee of the Palm Canyon Theatre. The HSPB which is charged with overseeing changes to Class I sites reviewed this proposal and supported it with a six to one vote, in spite of the fact that the proposal is contrary to their own guidelines that prohibit false-historicist designs for historic properties. By the café-owner’s own testimony, the new sign is derived from and will compete with the existing Palm Canyon Theatre sign from the 1930s. Imagine if all of the tenants in La Plaza were to follow suit. The only silver lining in the HSPB’s approval is the requirement that Peabody’s remove all of the existing illegal signs.

A word to the Peabody’s owners: its not about the signage ...in fact the café would be a lot more appealing without all the signs as is evidenced by the many successful food operations along Palm Canyon (Pomme Frite, Ruby’s, Kaiser Grill, etc,) that seem to be doing well, even in these recessionary times, with minimal, tasteful signage. Sadly, Peabody’s business probably won’t improve with just the addition of this unfortunate sign. In fact, they would be well-advised to think about improving the quality of the food and the decor of the café. As for the HSPB, a look at National Register Bulletin 25 regarding signage and historic properties might serve as a reminder that their job is to promote the restoration of the site to its original historic character.

Cody coming out of my ears.....

I first spotted this great house last spring when I was looking for Cody projects for my Architecture 101 lecture at PSAM. I just recently had it confirmed as a Cody by asking the staff at the Rancho Mirage Preservation office. Evidently the owner preferred to not have it listed as an historic structure on their registry. I particularly like it because it strongly resembles Cody's own Palm Springs home that has now been substantially altered. I will be repeating my lecture on William Cody on February 10 at 7:00PM at the Rancho Mirage Public Library...free.

More Grey Gardens in Palm Springs?

I have it from pretty good sources that this enormous (7,000 s.f. +/-) ranch style house is a Bill Cody design..evidently cobbled together from two or three existing buildings. Its pretty spectacular in its own way, but would love to have seen it before the many alterations took place. It was at one time the home of actor Adam West - television's campy Batman. I have been unable to verify the house's provenance through the Cody Archive's "box" list.

It is part of a larger property (see site plan) that once included the Villa Hotel. Those buildings - clearly architect-designed, but also substantially altered - are said to also have been designed by Cody for an Elizabeth Arden Spa, but relocated here in the 1960s.

The entire property was slated for replacement with a large new project before the current economic collapse. Today, the entire site appears abandoned, and the existing buildings appear doomed.....

"Lost" Cody Found...

Some friends recently purchased this "lost" gem. They were turned on to it by Realtor Alan Miller who knows where all the good (architectural) stuff is. The house, built in the 1960s was commissioned by Mr. and Mrs. W. Sieman, a La Jolla couple who only used it for a couple of month a year. The architect was Bill Cody who had a wide range of stylistic expressions. For this project he created a Miesian Pavilion on a crest in Vista Las Palmas. In this image, the quiet street facade conceals a forecourt that leads to a transparent box....looking through the house to the pool, the million-dollar view beyond is as spectacular as it is surprising. One of the new owners is an architect who is planning a sensitive restoration. My compliments to all concerned...

"Second Empire Revival" in Palm Springs

Did you know that there is no design review for single family homes in Palm Springs, unless they are proposed for a hillside site. On the other hand...there is no public hearing involved in the demolition of single family homes, unless they are located on a major thoroughfare....

Its always interesting to see a house like this in a town that is famous for its architecture....

The Importance of Context

These two photos taken about eighty years apart illustrate the importance of context. In the top image from a Gail Collection photo, the original El Mirador Hotel (1927, Walker & Eisen) is viewed from Palm Canyon Drive - originally Main Street. The tower was lost in a fire in 1989. In the lower photo, a replica of the original tower (1991, WWCOT/Chris Mills) now stands as a symbol of the Desert Regional Medical Center. Without a shred of irony, this replica tower was designated as Palm Springs' first Class 1 Historic Site....proving I guess that you don't have to be old to be historic...

The contemporary image was shot from Indian Canyon because in the intervening years an office building was built that blocks the original view. As for the context, drought-tolerant landscaping was really fashionable in the 1920s...I'm just saying...