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Mid-century/desert modern buildings Vacation rentals abound in the Coachella Valley and condos are a great option if you’re planning to stay for more than a week at a time. Plus, if you’re looking for a spot that boasts a little more architectural significance (and what self-respecting modernist isn’t?), Palm Springs does not disappoint. Vacation rental condos at the following half dozen Read more...
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Mid-century inspired art Using vintage metal as his canvas, artist Michael Weems combines iconic mid-century imagery with recycled automobile parts to create what he cleverly calls, “Autoerotica.” The same cheeky verbiage emblazoned on his gallery window will no doubt draw you in, where more unique works of art by Weems are on display, such as tableware, glassware, jewelry and sculpture. All Read more...
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Vintage lounges & bars When name-dropping the likes of Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Elizabeth Taylor or Liza Minnelli, you’re bound to raise a few eyebrows, but for local hotelier Mel Haber it’s all in a days work. For over 40 years Haber has welcomed guests to his Palm Springs landmark hotel, the Ingleside Inn, which dates back to the 1920s, Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern houses Located in the rocky northwest corner of Palm Springs, just south of Chino Canyon on the edge of the Little Tuscany neighborhood, sit half a dozen or so architecturally significant private homes built between the mid 1940s and the late 1960s. Although some of the houses are not as visible from the street as most modernists would Read more...
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Mid-century & vintage antiques Here’s an antique store your grandmother might feel at home in that’s brimming with reasonably priced second hand items such as home furnishings, accessories, jewelry, art, collectibles and various other knick-knacks. Mostly consignment items here, they also have a lot of non-mid-century merchandise so you might have to spend some time sifting through things to find Read more...
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Mid-century accommodations Situated on over 2 and a half manicured acres in South Palm Springs, L’Horizon Hotel was designed by noted modernist architect William F. Cody in 1952 as a getaway retreat for a big time television producer and his Hollywood friends. Beautifully updated in 2015, yet retaining all its mid-century modern amazingness, this 22 room, high end “hotel” has Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern houses Named for Pittsburgh department store magnate Edgar J. Kaufmann, this “machine in the desert” as it’s been called, was designed by famed modernist architect Richard Neutra as a winter retreat for the Kaufmann family, and completed in 1946. It’s been said that no house at the time had done as much to advance the modernist movement as this one, Read more...
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Mid-century inspired design/books Whatever was fabulous about the 1950s, 60s and 70s, this busy boutique store has it in spades; architectural books, design books, Hollywood glam books, Tiki culture books. Did we mention they sell books? In addition, Just Fabulous has a great selection of retro-inspired greeting cards, gift ware and home accessories, with the odd piece of Jonathan Adler Read more...
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Mid-century accommodations The former “Golden Palm Villa,” a 1958 mid-century modern Inn, reinvented itself in the 90s as Palm Springs’ leading clothing optional hotel for gay men. INNdulge has since become one of the places to stay in the Warm Sands area for gay modernists. The hotel has 24 updated rooms and suites (some with kitchens), an original kidney shaped Read more...
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Modernism photography At photographer Gary Dorothy’s Imageville Gallery you’ll find hundreds of striking desert wilderness images sharing space with his architectural photography. Combining nature and mid-century modern has been Dorothy’s gift since opening Imageville in 2000, and as his many repeat clients will surely attest, Dorothy’s unique limited edition large-format canvases and smaller glossy prints are eye candy for the Read more...
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Mid-century fashions & housewares Located around the corner from the Bootlegger Tiki bar and next to Ernest Coffee, this unique vintage shop offers a varied assortment of apparel, housewares and select furniture for those yearning to live the perfect, atomic-age lifestyle. From dinnerware, ceramics and Tiki mugs to Aloha wear, rat pack-era skirts, blouses, suits & ties, to groovy furniture and other wonderful knick-knacks you Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern buildings Although not located in Palm Springs proper, we have to give a shout out to the Hotel Lautner; a mid-century modern enthusiast’s dream accommodation situated in the middle of the desert. Desert Hot Springs to be exact. Designed by renowned modernist architect John Lautner (the Elrod House, the Bob Hope House) in 1947 as part of a Read more...
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Mid-century accommodations Designed by Herbert Burns and built in 1951 (to which Burns later added a second floor at the behest of the owner), The Holiday House was recently reimagined as a designer boutique hotel and boasts 28 rooms, a restaurant & bar, and lush landscaping surrounding a common pool area. Located in the Historic Tennis Club neighborhood, mere steps Read more...
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Modern & Retro Inspired Furniture CLOSED IN 2025 – Visit their store in Palm Desert. 74180 Highway 111, Palm Desert, CA 92260 If you’re looking to renovate, redesign or redecorate your mid-century modern or retro inspired home, this is the place to come. Howard Hawkes and Kevin Kemper (the H&K in H3K) specialize in upscale design consultation and project management, Read more...
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Mid-century/googie buildings The wacky architectural stylings of Googie can be defined by its Atomic Age-inspired geometric shapes, exaggerated rooflines and generous use of glass. Or you can just think The Jetsons meets modernist coffee shop. In fact, the word “Googie” comes from the original 1949 John Launter designed West Hollywood coffee shop, “Googie’s.” Unfortunately, that establishment was torn down years ago. In Palm Springs you’d Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern houses Designed in 1947 by noted modernist architect E. Stewart Williams, The Frank Sinatra House set the bar in Palm Springs for sophisticated yet cool & casual modern living. Sinatra’s weekend desert retreat, however, was originally to have been a Georgian-style mansion if he’d had his way. Fortunately Williams’ concept for using non-traditional building materials with clean lines and open Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern houses Prolific architect Albert Frey lived and worked in Palm Springs for over 60 years, producing more than two-hundred home and building designs and pioneering what would later be termed “desert modernism.” His first home (1210 N. Via Donna), built on the flat lands near the El Mirador Resort in 1940, was a sleek and simple exercise in minimalism and Read more...
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Vintage & contemporary decor This shop offers high end, select, mid-century modern furniture, home accessories, vintage jewelry and Scandinavian glassware, but it’s the original art that may be the first thing to catch your eye as you walk into this gallery-like space. Flow Modern exhibits revolving collections by photographers, painters and sculptors to help put a contemporary finishing touch on Read more...
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Mid-century bank buildings Dotting south Palm Canyon Drive between Baristo and Camino Parocela stand a handful of elegant mid-century buildings that, in their day, represented the majesty of finance and inspired post-war optimism and consumer confidence. Some still serve the residents of the Coachella Valley as banks, while others have been restored and repurposed. All still inspire… corresponding photos are Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern houses Located northeast of the Palm Springs International Airport, the El Rancho Vista Estates was the first tract of homes developed by noted modernist architect Donald Wexler and is a really nice example of your typical late 1950s mid-century modern neighborhood. Wexler and his partner Rick Harrison used inventive desert-modern finishes on the homes which included decorative concrete block walls, clerestory Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern houses Designed for singer, actress and television personality Dinah Shore by noted modernist architect Donald Wexler in 1964, this Old Las Palmas home may not reveal much from the street, but behind its discrete facade the 1.3 acre property defines timeless mid-century modern design, even today (especially today!). Walls of expansive floor to ceiling glass embrace its environment Read more...
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Modernism gift shop In addition to the usual “gift shop” branded apparel, Destination PSP offers modernists their choice of official Modernism Week souvenirs along with mid-century inspired glassware, ceramics and artwork. Palm Springs Film Festival and Desert AIDs Project items are also available, as are large-scale reproductions of vintage Palm Springs Life magazine covers, which are very nice! Destination PSP is Read more...
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Mid-century accommodations Designed by Herbert Burns in 1955 and nestled at the base of Mt. San Jacinto, this classic apartment-style hotel boasts 14 rooms (many with small kitchens) surrounding a common pool & spa area that is great for short or longer-term rentals. In fact, the hotel’s founding owners lived and raised their family on the property for many years. Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern buildings Designed by noted desert modernist architect William F. Cody in 1947, for which he received the American Institute of Architects Design award, the Del Marcos Hotel was lovingly restored in 2012 and has since received Historic Landmark status. The 17 room mid-century property is a dream come true for adult-only guests who want to get away from Read more...
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Mid-century & vintage collectibles This is the same legendary Dazzles that occupied space on Palm Canyon Drive for 20 years, relocated to Rancho Mirage. It’s jammed with the kind of retro stuff you might find at a really great yard sale or in your grandmothers attic; Cyclomatic blenders, Bakelite cookware, skinny 60s ties, vintage Chanel … the list goes on, Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern houses Once home to an apricot orchard and a dude ranch, this area was subdivided in 1952 to make way for the Deepwell Estates, a new subdivision that would be comprised of large ranch and mid-century modern-style homes custom designed by noted ‘starchitects’ such as Howard Lapham and Barry Berkus. The stylish neighborhood with its lushly landscaped grounds and Read more...
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Mid-century accommodations Vintage themed rooms with a touch of kitsch and the original kidney shaped swimming pool will transport guests back to the 1950s when this pink shrine to mid-century design began. Currently owned and operated by renowned collector Ruby Montana, whose retro treasures are displayed in each of the six guest suites, the intimate Coral Sands mixes Western Desert Read more...
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Desert modernist buildings Located in the Coachella Valley‘s central community of Palm Desert, the College of the Desert is well worth the 30 minute (or less) drive from Palm Springs for a chance to see desert modernism at its best. Designed in the late 1950s by noted architect John Carl Warnecke (the Hawaii State Capital building) in a unique collaboration Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern buildings It could be said that Palm Springs was ground zero for the rapid emergence of mid-century modern civic architecture in the post-war years. In few places was the inventive manner in which new building materials and construction techniques put to such extensive use, and by such an accomplished group of architects, as it was on the Palm Read more...
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Mid-century/vintage furniture If you’re a discriminating modernist in the market for high-end mid-century collectibles, this is the place to be. You’ll find a curated collection of vintage eye candy in their spacious Palm Canyon Drive showroom, including home furnishings, original artwork and loads of accessories by designers like Frankl, Paulin, Castiglioni and more. Christopher Anthony Ltd. also offers their own Read more...
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Tiki culture accommodations If Tiki Culture is your thing then the Caliente Tropics hotel is the place for you. Built in the mid 1960s when Polynesian-themed A-Frames were popping up everywhere, this hip yet unpretentious large-scale, renovated, affordable motor Inn boasts one of the biggest swimming pools in Palm Springs as well as a great southern location with endless mountain, palm Read more...
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Midcentury Modern Furniture An institution in San Diego since 1985, Boomerang for Modern relocated to their current 1,100 square foot showroom on North Palm Canyon Drive in 2020. This cozy space boasts a personally curated selection of top quality, vintage furnishings, lighting and accessories while also offering brand new classics from Herman Miller, Modernica, Flensted Mobiles and more. Boomerang for Read more...
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Mid-century & vintage collectibles Located in the historic Kocher-Samson building which was designed by modernist architects Albert Frey and A. Lawrence Kocher, in 1934, Bon Vivant is a boutique shop true to the building’s vintage, offering up lots of mid-century decorative accessories for the modern home. From colorful (and collectible!) vintage glassware and pottery, to retro lighting and select period Read more...
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Mid-century architecture museums One of our favorite buildings, The Palm Springs Art Museum‘s Architecture and Design Center, Edwards Harris Pavilion, started off as a bank in 1961; the Santa Fe Federal Savings & Loan to be exact, designed by noted modernist architect E. Stewart Williams. After years of disuse, The Palm Springs Art Museum purchased the vacant property in 2011 and mounted a Read more...
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Mid-century & vintage furniture In the Sunny Dunes Antique District there are a pair of large Antique Malls that shouldn’t be missed. Each boast multiple vendors offering a varied selection of mid-century and vintage fare including home furnishings, accessories, art, jewelry, collectibles and more. The Sunny Dunes Antique Mall is located at 507 East Sunny Dunes Rd. and is jammed with some Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern buildings The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway was called the “eighth wonder of the world” when it opened in 1963, a major feat of engineering which took nearly 15 years from design to completion and later was designated an historical civil engineering landmark. Preeminent modernist architects Albert Frey & Robson C. Chambers and John Porter Clark were enlisted to Read more...
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Mid-century accommodations Originally built in the 1950s as a retreat for the production crew of the classic film “A Place in the Sun,” starring Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift, this lush one acre property boasts sixteen mid-century bungalows (rustically furnished, with kitchens, for long term and short term stays) which form an inviting enclave around a pristine pool and spa. Read more...
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Mid-century & vintage furniture Upon entering a La MOD you’ll discover an array of eclectic mid-century modern & contemporary furnishings as well as lighting, accessories and more, all at varying price points. Located in the Uptown Design District. Read more...