Lucky for us non-retired folk, we have friends who recently retired and decided to spend two months in Palm Springs, Cal-i-forn-i-ay (and they invited us to visit.) Wheee! Fortuitously, it also happened to be Modernism Week while we were there. I've always wanted to go to Modernism Week (and Palm Springs in general) - it's been a bucket list place to go, and I can finally say I've been and it was FANTASTIC!
This is going to be less of a written blog and more of a photos-to-ogle blog, but I don't think anyone will complain. Who wants to read my yammering when they can be slack-jawed drooling at some of the loveliest architecture around?
So I'll stop typing for the moment and get those photos up. I promise I'll only pop in a little with pertinent details, but you can mostly just enjoy. Let's GO!
Modernism Week is all about various events and tours. We were a little late to the party, so all of the fancy soirées were sold out, but our friends managed to snag tickets to three events - two neighborhood home tours and an amazing double-decker city architecture tour. (Thanks, Terry!)
Our first tour was of the Sunrise Park neighborhood. Such a beauty! Here are some pics to prove it:
The second neighborhood was a neighbor of the first neighborhood. (Get it?) This one is Sunmor. I love how Sunmor is a smaller neighborhood and feels cozier. I also love that many of the streets in the neighborhood are a play on the neighborhood name. There's Easmore, Livmore, Morsun, and Plaimor. No less spectaculor than Sunrise Park!
Both house tours featured historic cars as well. They are BEAUTIFUL - just as stunning as the homes.
The last Modernism-Week-sanctioned event we did was the double-decker bus tour, where we toured through many of the various historic neighborhoods. Let it be known that I did not alter these photos for the blue of the sky - it was really that amazing. Actually, before we left for Palm Springs, it was supposed to rain most of the week. Instead, it looked like this! (We did have some rain, but it was mostly in the evenings or when we weren't on a tour). It was so fantastic to see blue skies and sunshine after the winter we'd had (more about that later in the post).
This is the Dinah Shore home. (Raise your hand if you know who Dinah Shore was without looking it up!) It's now a high-end rental, and the word on the street is that Leonardo DiCaprio is the current resident. We didn't see him, though, so it could be all rumor and speculation.
Want to live like a movie star? You, too, can rent this house for a cool $3,750 per night (and up). (There are six bedrooms, so if you split it up, it's not THAT bad?!?)
Last, just a few photos while out and about.
Thanks for coming along on this virtual trip with me. Imagine that we were rolling around town in a classic car with the top down, just stopping and taking in the sights together. It was a blast!
Image Credits:
Sunrise Park road sign photograph from the Sunrise Park Neighborhood Organization webpage. Fair use for education.
Overall neighborhood map of Palm Springs and the neighborhood blade signs image from the One PS Guide to Palm Springs Neighborhoods. Copyright 2019 ONE-PS. Fair use for education.
All other photography by Susan Halla of Make it Mid-Century. All rights reserved.