Fueling Stations

Palm Springs has been home to a number of architecturally significant Fueling Stations...you can't really call them service stations anymore since there is no service. But I digress....

The best known of our architecturally significant stations is the original Esso Station designed by Albert Frey (first image) that has now been designated a Class i Historic Site and currently serves as the Visitor center. Others tend to favor Bill Cody's Union 76 Station (2nd image) for its elegant "floating" roof canopy. Sadly, Don Wexlers' elegant structural expressionist Station on Palm Canyon has already been demolished. Lately, I've fallen under the spell of the last Station in the set...Located on Indian Canyon, it has an anthropomorphic quality that reminds me of a friendly puppy.

Casa Palmeras

This is a fascinating photograph of the Casa Palmeras because it bears the information “Palmair Apartments, 1930, Paul R. Williams.” Information on this building is a bit sketchy, but the attribution to Williams is a definite possibility. Although much information on his projects was lost during the LA riots, he was known to be working in Palm Springs as early as 1927 when he created the W. P. Anderson Residence, and he was definitely skilled in the Spanish Colonial style that was extremely popular at the time. When built, the building was on the outskirts of town, as evidenced by that lack of sidewalks or paved streets. The building is faintly visible through the window in a 1934 photo of the Kocher-Samson Building. The Pacific Building (a Class 1 Historic site) adjoins both properties and it was built in 1936. All three of these buildings are located in the Old Las Palmas Commercial Historic District. In 2007 there was a $2.82 Million Dollar loan on the assembled three properties with a ten-year term. Today they are on the market for $4,925,000.

Howard Lapham

Well, I got myself side-tracked, what with Wexler Weekend in January and Modernism Week in February, and a couple of lectures on Bill Cody and Hugh Kaptur, and preparing a National Register Nomination on the O’Donnell Residence...but it took running into a couple of friends who actually noticed that I hadn’t been posting on my Palm Springs Architecture Blog to shame me into getting back to it, so....

Turns out, these friends live the total “Palm Springs Lifestyle” in a charming Mid-century hotel designed by Howard Lapham. Together, the inhabitants of the Desert Star Hotel (now condos) have created a life that many would envy. When they’re in residence, its like being on holiday...every day! How cool is that?

Happily, they had begun to research Lapham, and I was able to fill in a few of the blanks about his career. His Wikipedia listing offers the following: In 1954 at age 40, Howard Lapham arrived in the Coachella Valley from Stamford Connecticut. Although he was a registered designer, Lapham intended on becoming a builder in his new desert home. Within a year, however, he was designing residences for wealthy and influential members of the Thunderbird Country Club along the Club’s fairways and up the slopes of what became known as Thunderbird Heights. A number of Lapham’s buildings appeared in "Architectural Digest", including the Hyatt von Dehn Residence (1960, Thunderbird Heights), the Kiewit Residence (1960, Thunderbird Country Club), the Clarke Swanson Residence (1961, Thunderbird Country Club), the Morrow Residence (1961, Silver Spur Ranch, Palm Desert), and the 1961 remodel of the Thunderbird Country Club clubhouse. He remodeled the famous Chi Chi nightclub in 1959, giving it an ultra-modern new façade. Lapham also designed Lord Fletcher’s English Pub in 1966 on what became known as ‘restaurant row’ on Highway 111 in Rancho Mirage. One of Lapham’s largest residential projects was the Mayan-themed Cook House, known as Ichpa Mayapan, built atop Thunderbird Heights in 1970. Lapham also drew the initial plans for the Eisenhower Medical Center, although Edward D. Stone obtained the commission. Lapham officially retired in the 1980s, although he continued to maintain an office in Palm Springs until his death at age 92 in 2008. Illustrated here is the recently restored Rackstrom-Reid Building on North Palm Canyon Drive. I’ll try and track down images of more Lapham buildings soon.....

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.....