Palm Springs’ Modernism Week is in full swing, and as architecture buffs and Desert-Modernism devotees pour in we’re turning our covetous eyes to hotels that’ve adopted the movement’s look and signature style: uptick roofs, segues from cacti-studded scenery to Mad Men-esque living rooms, pools from a Slim Aarons’ photo (literally, in the case of Richard Neutra’s Kaufman House…)
More than a little Stijhl-ish, with a glance of ‘Googie’ and a dash of The Jetsons-esque Retrofuturism, but all firmly in the Modern camp: here’s our guide to mid-century made – or honouring – hideouts from California to Chicago.
CALIFORNIA
AZURE SKY
PALM SPRINGS
Even Azure Sky’s name nods to the post-war, space-race optimism modernism embodied (as well as the celestial visions that await). And its build (attributed to lesser-known Cali architect Howard Lapham, if not confirmed) showcases classic tropes: exposed inner wood workings, pendant lights, clean forms over fussy ornamentation, and a low structure backed by gangly mesa palms and the San Jacinto Mountains.
It’s laid out for leisure time too, with an expansive fire-warmed lounge, huge pool and Jacuzzi big enough for a few ‘lovahs’ to gather in, and landscaping that invites itself indoors. And, it may not serve food (rooms have kitchenettes and there are plenty of dining options close by), but it makes a mean pre-mixed cocktail.
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The Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center
Each might be a rare architectural beauty, but Palm Springs is lousy with dream houses; get your head around them and learn how they came to be at this comprehensive museum in the – itself notable – Edwards Harris Pavilion (confusingly, designed by E. Stewart Williams).
The Arthur Elrod House
Some might recognise this iconic residence from Diamonds Are Forever, but its fame transcends this star-turn, thanks to its circular shape, cathedral-esque roof, desert ridges worked into the structure and valley views that seem to go on forever.
1350 Ladera Circle AKA the Alexander Estate AKA Elvis’s honeymoon retreat
Elvis looms large in what’s known as the House of Tomorrow for its spaceship-esque features; but, he only spent one night here (an eventful one: his honeymoon, when Lisa-Marie was allegedly conceived). It should be better known for its architect Bob Alexander, who – with his father – shaped Palm Springs as we know it today.
HOLIDAY HOUSE
PALM SPRINGS
Pop-Art-led crashpad Holiday House – with pieces by Hockney, Liechtenstein and Alex Katz hanging on the walls, and a sizzling blue-and-white colour scheme – was built by self-taught architect Herbert W Burns (dubbed the ‘charismatic chameleon’ for his many skills) in 1951. Its bones are pure mid-century modern and look like an I Dream of Jeannie set.
Designer Mike D Sikes (also behind renovating the famed Sparrows Lodge) has since added Gio Ponti-style tiling in the bar, pieces by street artist Mr Brainwash and Herb Ritts photography. And with a shuffleboard court to play on, cruiser bikes to borrow and love beads offered at check-in, it’s still full of fun.
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Frey House II
Built by architecture legend Albert Frey as his private home, this house is widely studied. For good reason – it took him five years to choose the location then one more year to measure the sun’s movement. It nods to nature throughout, from the boulder that acts as a room separator to the yellow curtains matched to local Encilla flowers.
Temple Isaiah
Designed by E Stewart Williams in 1947, this synagogue saw a whole new approach to building American places of worship – not just for the modern materials, influences from East European synagogues and glass ‘ark’ for the Torah scrolls, but also the addition of a community center.
Royal Hawaiian Estates
As exotically sweet as a piña colada, these condos with Tiki apexes, coral and turquoise colouring and Polynesian detailing branch happily off into tropical modernism in south Palm Springs. Conceived by architects Donald Wexler and Richard Harrison, they’re protected by the Palm Springs Historical Preservation Board.
AVALON BEVERLY HILLS
LOS ANGELES
Furniture designer Alvin Lustig fit much into his short life: studying with Frank Lloyd Wright and French painter Jean Charlot, starring in Maya Deren’s short films, leaving a legacy style of chair, teaching at Yale thanks to Josef Albers… And, luckily for us, designing the Avalon Beverly Hills with architect Sam Reisbord, a favourite of Marilyn Monroe, Mae West and Lucille Ball.
Kelly Wearstler and co have since refreshed their original designs, but with a light touch, leaving the shapely hourglass pool and cabanas dressed like modernist show homes and using Eames chairs (and some Lustig originals, of course), George Nelson lighting and Noguchi tables to keep its Fifties spirit.
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Casa Perfect Goldwyn House
Manhattan-based design firm the Future Perfect know that those looking to furnish their home in future-star-of-Wallpaper*-magazine style want to see their wares in situ; and so their ‘residential concept gallery’ took flight in the very notable Goldwyn House, built by Arthur S Heineman and once lived in by movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn.
The Stahl House
It’s the ultimate in LA dreamscapes: a sweeping city panorama, light filtered through haze, and a house ethereally built in glass that appears to hover over it all. Pierre Koenig’s Stahl House (AKA Case Study House #22) is legendary for good reason and can be seen on appointment.
Mak Center for Art and Architecture
Champions of preserving LA’s important buildings and nurturing new talent, Mak is spread over three buildings by Austrian-American architect RM Schindler: its Schindler House HQ, the Mackey Apartments (for exhibitions and a residency programme), and the Fitzpatrick-Leland House (for intimate shows and tours).
THE PEARL HOTEL
SAN DIEGO
Arrive at the Pearl Hotel after dark and the name on its façade – blown up in Coronet font and illuminated – cartoonish cacti and string of fairylights make it look like the offices of somewhere that’d sell you a condo on the moon. But instead, this retro hotel, built by Robert Platt in 1959, offers you a different kind of easy living – that of the Point Loma surfer.
There are breakers and sea caves to kayak to in nearby La Jolla or along Ocean Boulevard, and you might spot a migrating whale; beach cruiser bikes are there to borrow, and the motel layout – two storeys around a curvaceous pool – allows for ‘dive-in’ movie nights, projected onto a huge alfresco screen.
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Bali Hai Restaurant
Set at the tip of Shoreline Park, overlooking the Bay, this Polynesian eatery looks like the sort of thing the Thunderbirds might live in. Originally built as part of the set for Clark Gable movie The Bounty, it became renowned for its quirky ‘Tiki temple’ architecture and strong mai tais, and still runs as a restaurant today.
Carlton Hills Lutheran Church
Built by Robert Deslauriers, with some style nods to Le Corbusier’s Notre Dame du Haut, this Lutheran church looks more like a jet lifting off (one way to get to God, we guess). Its design divinity continues within, where soaring multi-coloured glass panels behind the altar add to the sense of religious awe.
Geisel Library
More Brutalist than Modern, this mothership of a library, with glass vestibules perched atop a concrete trunk and branches, is dedicated to the author of fittingly surreal children’s books Dr Seuss (AKA Theodor Geisel).
ILLINOIS
THE ROBEY
CHICAGO
As Mies Van Der Rohe’s stomping ground (with more of the architect’s buildings than any other city) and crammed with big-deal skyscrapers (the result of a boom of modernisation after the 1871 fire), Chicago is truly monumental in scale. The Robey hotel’s exterior is a slender art deco build from 1929; but within, the rooms and lounges skew more contemporary, with the sleek angular spareness and muted hues of mid-century-modern style – the work of Belgian Nicolas Schuybroek Architects and Marc Merckx Interiors.
Admire the Minecraft-esque blocks of the cityscape from rooftop bars the Up Room and the Cabana Club (from which you can see the John Hancock building); Café Robey serves up comfort food in classic diner style; and cool-as-can-be neighbourhoods Wicker Park and Bucktown are on your doorstep, offering ample exploring before you step into your Hopper painting of a suite for some shut-eye.
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Marina City
Wilco fans will recognise these curious, frilly, circular skyscrapers from the cover of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, which gave them a burst of fame long after their Sixties heyday, when they were built by Bertrand Goldberg. Although to some Chicagoans, they’re affectionately known as ‘corncobs’.
McCormick Place Lakeside Center, East Building
This impressive industrial arts space sprawls for 583,000 square feet, and comprises a theatre, ballroom and gallery spaces, and a vast terrace overlooking Lake Michigan. It’s named for the editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune, whose unrealised dream was to build a world-class events centre.
SR Crown Hall (IIT College of Architecture)
It’s fitting that the city’s architectural students learn their trade in this highly significant Mies Van Der Rohe masterpiece. A deviation from the brick and steel frame structure typical at the time, it achieved a new sense of openness with glass walls and a suspended ceiling.
TEXAS
SOUTH CONGRESS HOTEL
AUSTIN
A cool composition of white and grey planes, with breezy brickwork, three-quarter walls, subway tiling and wood and leather more polished than a Texan ranch, South Congress Hotel has kept a restrained and sophisticated look in the state that likes to go big. Positioned in the city’s hipster ‘hood, it does things a little differently, housing a bakery, concept stores and motorcycle shop.
Secure a segment of the long wiggly pink-velvet sofa in the very sociable bar or try an ‘omakase’ cocktail experience in the Japanese-themed Watertrade drinkery (after an intimate chef-selected meal at 12-seater Otoko. And see what’s on – the hotel is dedicated to supporting Austin’s art and music scenes, so runs First Thursdays gig sessions, alongside frequent music nights, dram tastings and more.
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Tiny Grocer
Keeping the charming integrity of the 1967 Hyde Park US Post Office, the Side Angle Side architecture firm created Tiny Grocer, which has a time capsule look while offering all the cool kids could need, and includes eatery Bureau de Poste, plus an alfresco dining terrace.
The Long Center for Performing Arts
This one-stop culture shop is home to the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Austin Opera and Ballet Austin. And, in an effort to be sustainable, the centre was built using materials from the original Lester E Palmer Auditorium, including its famous ‘ring’ around its terrace. It’s innovating still, with the world’s first 3D-printed stage.
Hotel San José
Established by the very cool and creative Marfa-based hotelier (and proud Texan) Liz Lambert, this converted motel has wooden box beds, Persian rugs on concrete floors, cow-hide, and vintage movie and music posters. There are typewriters to borrow for that throwback feel and cocktails are taken on the leafy pool terrace.
THE RANCH MOTEL & LEISURE CLUB
SAN ANTONIO
The deep-blue Ranch Motel & Leisure Club would have been lost to San Antonio’s forward-march, had it not been for a Sandstone hospitality group founder Jayson Seidman driving by one fateful day. He saw potential in its 1950s bones, and set about re-illuminating its neon sign, redressing its rooms simply yet stylishly, installing a mezcal bar and listening room and setting up a members’ club.
This is just the beginning of this hotel’s second act, with more renovation on the horizon, turning the next door playground into pickleball courts and adding other sporting distractions.
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Ruby City Art Centre
The scarlet hulk of this arts centre first came to founder and art collector Linda Pace in a dream; and luckily she sketched it down, so she could share it with noted architect Sir David Adjaye OBE. Unfortunately Linda died before it was finished, but we’re sure she’d be pleased with this ‘collage’ of her vision.
San Antonio Tobin Center for the Performing Arts
This two-faced building has its original 1929 Spanish Colonial façade and a 2014 addition in the form of a shimmering metallic veil – studded with coloured LED lights – which drapes down to the River Walk. A multipurpose space, its home to various theatres and a cavernous concert hall.
The Witte Museum’s Susan Naylor Centre
A museum dedicated to science and nature, this glass, steel and wood structure is both scholarly and scenic, and has halls large enough to hold the most bombastic of exhibitions, with dinosaur skeletons, megafauna and more.
And find more mod treasures around the world.