WINTER 2022 NEWSLETTER

Welcome to our Winter newsletter and to all our new members, we are now more than 600 strong! We are delighted with the progress the organization has made this year, and that’s in large part due to your interest and enthusiasm for the Preservation Mirage mission and goals. As we continue to climb out of the pandemic, we’ll be introducing more events, educational and community programs. As you know, we recently introduced four tiers of paid membership: from $50 Advocate to Preservationist level at $1,500 a year. Benefits increase as levels rise, but we welcome your contributions and commitment at any level, sign up on our website to receive early access to merchandise & event tickets. Happy holidays to you all and we’ll look forward to seeing you in person soon!

 A special thank you to those of you who joined us at our season kick-off and fundraiser at the Hurd Residence at Tamarisk Country Club on November 5th... it was surely a night to remember! It was the perfect evening for a cocktail reception, attended by 100 members, guests, and friends, including council member Steve Downs and his wife Geri, and newly elected council member Lynn Mallotto. It was our first in-person event since January 2020, and the start of a 12-month program that will include home tours, receptions, and ‘Neighborhood Nights’ presentations at communities like Tamarisk Country Club, The Springs, and Mission Hills Country Club, to spread the word about the city’s history and its architectural legacy.

Mayor Charles Townsend had to send his apologies; however, he invited board members Nathan Jacroux and Melissa Riche to his office where he very kindly presented a check for $1,000 from his city discretionary fund, a generous contribution to Preservation Mirage to thank the organization for its community contributions to our City.

AN EVENING AT THE ARTHUR ELROD CONDO IN TAMARISK WEST

Please join us at our next event at the original Arthur Elrod-designed condominium in Tamarisk West on January 5th, featured in our Spring 2022 Newsletter. This condominium is a unique and exciting time capsule of interior design, retaining intact Elrod’s original design as featured in House & Garden magazine, April 1969.

 

In addition to the special small-group tour, Adele Cygelman, author of ‘Arthur Elrod: Desert Modern Design’ will give a talk about Elrod’s work and point out particular features of the interiors that are so illustrative of his 1960s designs. She will also be signing copies of her book. Drinks and appetizers will be provided.

 

This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to find out more about Elrod in an original environment. Tickets are $50 and go on sale today at the link below!

PURCHASE TICKETS

RANCHO MIRAGE WELCOME MAILER

In 2021 we mailed the first-ever Architecture Map of Rancho Mirage to all residents. Based on the success of that program, and the influx of new movers who appreciate our city’s historic architecture, we have created a 12-page booklet that includes a message from the Mayor, a history of our city, map, and an introduction to Preservation Mirage. It’s the brainchild of board member Margaret Spaniolo who, after buying her house here two years ago, wanted to discover more about the city she had moved to. Beginning next month we will be sending this new residents guide to all Rancho Mirage residents who moved since the first map was issued, and on a bi-monthly basis moving forward.

We are extremely grateful to members of our local real estate community who have stepped up to add their support:

 

We will again offer walking tours of the Tamarisk Neighborhood during Modernism Week. These were such a success last year that we’ve added an extra day: Saturday, February 18th, and Sunday, February 19th. There are eight 2-hour tours each day, led by Preservation Mirage board members. Learn about architectural gems, from the iconic Maranz house by Val Powelson, to hidden homes by Hugh Kaptur, Donald Wexler, William Krisel, William Cody, and more. It’s not to be missed - and paid PM members will receive a special gift at check-in.

 
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Preservation Mirage founder Melissa Riche, who is also the author of ‘Mod Mirage’ will be giving a talk at Modernism Week’s CAMP headquarters on Tuesday, February 21st at 3:00 PM. The talk is entitled “Going, Going, Gone” about the architectural losses in Rancho Mirage. The 2002 demolition of Richard Neutra’s ‘Maslon House’ in Rancho Mirage caused a national outcry; Melissa Riche will explain how changing tastes in the 1980s-2000s also sealed the fate of many other important homes. Tickets are $12 and available on the Modernism Week site.

 
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There aren’t as many community or neighborhood tours this year in Rancho Mirage, but we’d highly recommend a visit to DaVaal Estates which is holding tours for the first time in several years. This is one of the most architecturally intriguing and imaginative communities in the valley. Designed by Val Powelson and built by Robert Marx in 1960, each unit forms part of an X shape. Don’t miss it!

HISTORIC HOME DESIGNATIONS

In our Summer newsletter, we spoke about the Jimmy Hines Residence having cleared its first hurdle: approval for designation by the Historic Preservation Commission. In early October, the City Council ratified that decision, and the Jimmy Hines Residence by William F. Cody has now received its historic designation!

 

Another historic William F. Cody house is next in line… we’ll be reporting on that in due course.

 

While on the topic of historic homes, we wanted to express our sincere condolences to David Schroeder, whose husband Jeffrey Lemansky very sadly passed away in October, not long after they had received confirmation of the historic designation of their home, the ‘Fine-Rizzo Residence.’ (See our Fall Newsletter). Jeffrey was passionate about the designation project and dedicated much of his time to work on its progress.

PRESERVATION SESSIONS

If you missed our November Preservation Session which focused on recent examples of unique and unusual discoveries, explanations of the historic research resources available at little or no cost, and demonstrations of how to get started on uncovering more about your home, the recording is now on our website.

 
WATCH VIDEO

RECENT DISCOVERY – THE HATTON HOUSE, BY ALBERT FREY

Architect Albert Frey was arguably the most influential architect of ‘Desert Modernism.’ Born in Zurich, Switzerland, he worked with Le Corbusier in Paris before moving to New York in 1930, where he spent the next 10 years. His reputation grew with the design of the famous ‘Aluminaire’ prototype house which came to represent the American modern movement of the era and is now owned by the Palm Springs Art Museum. He moved to Palm Springs in 1939; his work in Palm Springs is well-known, frequently visited, and meticulously documented, from Frey House II, also owned by the Art Museum, to the Loewy House, City Hall, and many more.

 

However, it’s not widely known that he also worked in Rancho Mirage. Sadly, none of his houses here exist any longer. The Cortissoz house on Sahara Road is long gone, designed in 1948 in partnership with John Porter Clark, the drawings for the house are in the Frey Archive at the Architecture & Design Center in Palm Springs. Pre-war, Clark & Frey worked together under the aegis of Pasadena architects Van Pelt & Lind. One of their homes still exists in Rancho Mirage, although severely remodeled (check out the "Going, Going, Gone" Modernism Week talk for more).

Julius Shulman, (c) the J. Paul Getty Trust, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2004.R.10)

The most stunning of all of them was the Hatton Residence. This was a solo project for Frey. The house bears many design similarities to Frey House I, his own home in Palm Springs, built in 1940. The Hatton Residence was built in 1945. In particular, common characteristics are horizontal wall planes extending into the landscape, with walls a series of planes topped by a thin, flat roof. Raymond Hatton was a well-known screen actor, mostly a character actor in Westerns, one biographer describes him thus: “With a face like a cunning and disreputable turtle, a voice like a rusty gate, and a lovely roguish screen personality, Raymond Hatton had few peers when it came to playing grizzled Western sidekicks.” He bought a 42-acre piece of desert, across from Wonder Palms Date Palm grove on what is now Frank Sinatra Drive. He had Frey design him this house and a guest house sitting in solitary splendor in the vast desert landscape. In subsequent years he added other buildings and the location became known as ‘Rancho Paradise’. Photographs were taken by the legendary Julius Shulman in the late 1940s and show the house in all its modernist glory. Frey’s desert work will be the subject of a major exhibition in 2024 for the Architecture & Design Center of the Palm Springs Art Museum.

Raymond Hatton died in 1971, just at the time that the big developments were becoming so popular in the area. The location, opposite the entrance to the Tamarisk Country Club, is now home to the Rancho Mirage Racquet Club.

PRESERVATIONIST MEMBERS

Preservation Mirage would like to thank our PRESERVATIONIST members for their generosity and support: Joseph Bartush, Mike Boone, Annette Cumming, Scott and Ella Goldstein, Lyn Goldstein, Lori Goldstein, Patrick Jordan, Scot and Lance Karp, Stephen and Margie Kulp, Ken and Ann Moyle, Perry and Kim Shwachman, Kurt and Kelly Walecki

We are a section 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 82-3717476) and your donation may qualify as a charitable deduction for federal income tax purposes, please consult your tax adviser or the IRS.

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