Warm weather. Cool architecture.
Palm Springs Modernism Week: February 12 -21.
Alexander House
From the 1940s through the ’70s, a group of modernist architects including Donald Wexler, E. Stewart Williams, William F. Cody and Albert Frey designed an impressive array of buildings in the desert oasis of Palm Springs, California. Thanks to their talents, many of the city’s commercial buildings, civic buildings and custom built homes rose from the desert soil like never-before-seen flora and fauna. Churches, hotels and motels took on new forms, too, befitting an optimistic future and a trove of new ideas. Entire neighborhoods of sleek, low slung, stylish homes built by the Alexander Construction Company in the late ’50s and early ’60s ennobled suburban streets.
Lucky for us, most of these buildings survived and many have been restored to their former glory. Modernism Week celebrates this history with over 25 different events for the modernist aficionado.
Palm Springs is a blast. With its bright blue skies, dramatic mountains rimming the city and a flair for fun, it’s always a good time to visit. But if you plan a trip during Modernism Week, here’s what awaits:
Interior of Frey II House
-Â Â Â Â Â Â A coveted visit to the famed Frey II House designed by Swiss-born Albert Frey. This tiny little gem is artfully placed on a rocky mountainside with a huge boulder right inside the bedroom. Now owned by the Palm Springs Art Museum (which is spectacular in itself), it’s usually accessible only to donors and architecture students.
Palm Springs Art Museum
-      Double Decker bus tours of the city’s architectural stand outs, including the most famous houses and public buildings in town. See these homes and learn about their storied pasts and the celebrities that once lived in many of them.
Modernism Week encompasses ten days and nights filled with films, lectures, gallery openings and fascinating, fun events at some of the town’s best spots like the Orbit In hotel and Trio, the hottest table in town. Trio is hosting an after-movie party one night, but be sure to reserve a table for dinner while you’re in town. The décor is fab and the stylish comfort food couldn’t be better. If looking at so many inspiring buildings makes you long for something on a smaller scale, there’s a Vintage Car Show and a Vintage Fashion Show, too.
For a full schedule of events, tickets and travel information, go to modernismweek.com.
To learn more about visiting Palm Springs, see the Limité Guide Into 2010: Travel Palm Springs.
