Palm Springs Weekend: The Architecture and Design of a Midcentury Oasis - Hardcover

Danish, Andrew; Hess, Alan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0811828042 ISBN 13: 9780811828048

Publisher: Chronicle Books, 2001

Synopsis

This is the first book to reveal the eccentric treasure trove of commercial, civic, and domestic architecture that makes Palm Springs a true oasis of progressive design. Not merely regarded as a Hollywood playground, golf enclave, or retirement mecca, Palm Springs is also a bastion of idiosyncratic modernism that is unparalleled in the world. Creating stunning homes and an impressive array of other buildings in the middle of the desert, such masters as Albert Frey, Richard Neutra, John Lautner, R. M. Schindler, Donald Wexler, and Lloyd Wright exercised their creative potential there. Palm Springs Weekend explores everything from the grandiose, such as Neutra's Kaufmann house, to the more humble features of the city--motels, trailer homes, and the ubiquitous metal and concrete sunscreens that shade them. Filled with hundreds of archival and contemporary photographs, elevations, and vintage ephemera, Palm Springs Weekend reveals an inimitable city where modern design, Hollywood glamour, and the desolate drama of the desert coalesce.

About this title

About the Author

Andrew Danish an art director and designer, and principal of Danish Modern. He lives in Oakland, California.

Alan Hess is architecture critic of the San Jose Mercury News and the author of numerous books, including Palm Springs Weekend (0-8118-2804-2) and Rancho Deluxe (0-8118-2420-9). He divides his time between Northern California and Michigan.

Reviews

Streamlined modernist design arrived on the West Coast in the early '20s with architects weaned on the Prairie School, and spawned a new type of city. In Palm Springs Weekend: The Architecture and Design of a Midcentury Oasis, San Jose Mercury News architecture critic Alan Hess (Rancho Deluxe) and veteran magazine art director Andrew Danish document, in 260 color and b&w photos, the process by which giant sand lots in the shadow of Mt. San Jacinto became sets of private, family-sized resorts. From the giant roadside Cabezon dinosaurs to the rustic Smoke Tree Ranch (repeatedly visited by Cary Grant), the House of Tomorrow (a retreat for the newly married Elvis and Priscilla) and the slender-columned Robinson's department store, this grand (and environmentally dubious) architectural experiment continues to retain its unique character.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Blazing with sunshine and rich with fantasy, Palms Springs, CA, is a playland for Angelenos and the occasional home to many celebrities. The desert city has alternately reached peaks of chic and suffered shabby years of neglect. A high-powered revival of interest in 1950s modern style and the city's recent life as a gay destination have once again revived this resort town. This book makes no pretense of being a serious study of the way Palm Springs evolved; it is about how Palm Springs looks. Hess and Danish take a very positive view of the city, bouncing from image to image, like first-time visitors dazzled by the sleek buildings and palms lit by sun and buoyed by the promise of fun. The book's design is decidedly retro but not trapped by that clich . It treats Palm Springs with care, traveling with finesse between a breezy look at this center of desert design and a useful introduction to some of the city's best houses, offices, and hotels. The authors and photographer Robert Polidori fill its pages with enough text and color to present that particular mix of sky, light, mountains, and style that makes Palm Springs. Recommended. David Bryant, New Canaan Lib., CT
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0811828042
• ISBN 13: 9780811828048
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 180