North Palm Beach Life

A Mecca for Hollywood Stars and Mid-Century Modern Architecture

By GERRY BARKER
North Palm Beach Life
January 17, 2019

PALM SPRINGS, Calif._This is a town long known for its rich and famous; a desert oasis where Hollywood's elite lived and played, and still do today.

It's also well known as having the best examples of mid-century architecture in the world. How better to see it all than go full-on tourist and take a tour? So Pam and I signed up for The Best of the Best "Rich and Famous Tour."

The tour promised we would "travel through the beautiful city of Palm Springs, California, and learn history and facts about the playground of the stars. . . Your guide will add fun and spice with stories and vignettes...and maybe a secret or two along the way. Why did Hedy Lamarr, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, George Reeves and Dorothy Lamour all live on the same street?"

Along with 30 or so fellow tourists, we boarded a mini-bus (it was noted full-size buses are prohibited from many of the residential streets) and were on the way.

Our tour guide was entertaining, and very knowledgeable. We learned about the history of the city ("iIncorporated in 1938, Palm Springs has a rich and colorful history. Once a tent city serving as a sanatorium...Did you know Palm Springs had at least two other names before it was finally dubbed Palm Springs?") But of course seeing the homes and the homes of the stars was the main event.

And see them we did. Dozens and dozens -- Frank Sinatra (Old Blue Eyes is also buried here), Bob Hope, Elvis, Lucille Ball,, and many more that called Palm Springs home. Who could blame anyone from loving this place? Set against the backdrop of the San Jacinto Mountains and endless palm trees, it's like a postcard everywhere you look. Of course, in the summer the temps reach into the 120s, so there's that.

But we fell in love with it, too. In fact, only two things are stopping us from moving here: We aren't "rich" or "famous." Sigh. But we can dream, right?

Photos by North Palm Beach Life

Behind these gates is the
one-time home of Bob Hope

These crazy outdoor sculptures are the work of artist Kenny Irwin Jr. Pretty amazing!

Can you guess? 'Clark Gable'

Liberace called this home

Elvis and Priscilla's honeymoon hideaway

This was the home of famed movie director Howard Hawks -- Casa de Plata (House of Silver)

Palm Springs Is Home to the Best
Mid-Century Architecture in the Country --

After the Tour, We Headed to Melvyn's for Lunch ...

Melvyn's is an institution in Palm Springs. First built in the 1920s for the
widow of the Pierce-Arrow Automobile president, it was a magnet for Hollywood
celebrities under the later ownership of Ruth Hardy. New Yorker Melvyn Haber
acquired it in 1975 and restored it to its former glory.