It’s time to make like a 1950s Hollywood starlet and head to Palm Springs for Modernism Week – a twice annual celebration of all things mid-century. Each February and October, more than 40,000 fans of desert architecture, mid-century design and modernism culture flock to the sunny Coachella Valley for eleven days of cocktail parties, exhibitions, lectures, films, expos, and home tours.
“Notable for its use of glass, clean lines, natural and manufactured resources and indoor/outdoor spaces, Desert Modernism evoked a lifestyle of simple elegance and informality. Influenced by the dictates of desert living and the intense climate, the style grew out of the architects and designer’s adaptive use of inventive materials, modern construction techniques, new (post-war) technologies…and served an enthusiastic and willing clientele. ”
Some of Modernism Week’s events include exclusive home tours, double decker bus tours of the neighborhoods, lectures on Modernist topics and architects, vintage car and trailer shows, and lots of festivities at Palm Spring’s landmark mid-century restaurants, cocktail bars, hotel pools, and night clubs. If you can’t make it to Modernism Week, allow us to custom-design an exclusive, guided boutique tour focused on Palm Springs architecture and culture.
With the country’s largest concentration of mid-century architecture, it’s no wonder the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) named Palm Springs, California to its list of America’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations, a national list of only 12 cultural tourism destinations for architecture.
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