Currently pulling double duty as a visitors center and the gateway through which guests can enter the Neon Museum’s vintage sign boneyard, the Visitors Center started out in 1961 as the LaConcha Motel’s lobby building.
This October, Palm Springs takes center stage as Modernism Week returns for a four-day celebration of design and desert style. From exclusive home tours and architectural bus rides to retro-chic parties and free community events, Modernism Week – October (Oct. 16–19) is your chance to experience midcentury modern living at its most vibrant.
This summer step inside some of the West Coast’s most iconic spaces and experience a weeklong celebration of architecture, design and community. West Coast Modern Week returns from July 8 – 13, 2025
Diane Dempsey shares with us her take on the holiday nostalgia craze and how she turned her own Yuletide memories and love of Midcentury Modern into a thriving seasonal business.
Las Vegas is famous for reinventing itself. It’s also a city whose midcentury iconography is everywhere (but disappearing) and could easily take days to explore. If you’ve only got a couple of nights in town, though, here’s a quick and dirty Modtraveler guide to the marvelous modernist excess built on the hopes and dreams of those who helped shape Sin City in the Post-War years.
Annual West Vancouver event to celebrate architect Arthur Erickson By Ken MacIntyre (May 10, 2024) – During the post-war years, design innovation gave rise to a variety of unique mid-century architectural styles including the likes of Desert Modernism, Brutalism, New Formalism, Googie and more. In the Pacific Northwest, the region’s stand-out style was dubbed…
Photographer Martin Knowles pays tribute to View-Master By Ken MacIntyre (January 30, 2024) – For architectural photographer Martin Knowles, there’s nothing quite like viewing a photograph through the nostalgic lens of a View-Master. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Knowles, 45, is an accomplished photographer who, over the course of his 16 year career, has photographed…
Our Recommendations for a Modernism Week to Remember By Ken MacIntyre January 15, 2024 – Every year when Modernism Week rolls around, newbies to the annual celebration of all things MCM invariably ask me to recommend “the best” events. I usually rattle off my personal favorites; classic events and tours I’ve returned to time and…
A Sneak Peek at Palm Springs Modernism Week, February 15-25 By Ken MacIntyre (December 1, 2023) As anticipation builds for Modernism Week’s 19th annual gathering in the desert this coming February, the event is gearing up to showcase an array of unique modernist homes. In addition to the eagerly awaited Modernism Show, neighborhood tours, design…
Lisa Rathbone’s Love Affair with the Past By Ken MacIntyre (October 1, 2023) In a world smitten by the allure of shiny new things, there are those of us who find solace in the timeless elegance of the midcentury aesthetic. There are also those who can take it to a whole other level. Meet Lisa…
Holiday book ideas for your favorite Modernista! By Ken MacIntyre November 13, 2021 – ‘Tis the Season, as they say, so what better way to show your favorite modernism enthusiast you care than by not going green this Christmas. Forget those shiny smart phone apps and futuristic virtual downloads. What your Midcentury Modernista really craves –…
Hands down, my favorite Palm Springs Modernism Week event every year – in addition to the countless Midcentury Home and Neighborhood Tours, the Cocktail Parties and the Annual Show & Sale – is the Charles Phoenix Retro Slide Show.