Happy 2024 from your Preservation Mirage Board of Directors! |
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We are all looking forward to a great season in the desert as we continue to celebrate the 50th birthday of our special city in the valley. As we wrapped up 2023, the restoration of the Rancho Super Car Wash Pink Elephant neon sign was completed and now shines bright again with its original color and lights. To continue to celebrate and raise money for the Pink Elephant Restoration Fund, we are partnering with the City of Rancho Mirage for a special Pink Elephant-themed event at the Rancho Mirage amphitheater on February 3rd. It will be a night to remember! Modernism Week 2024 follows quickly after, and we are excited to return to Tamarisk Country Club again this year. Our walking tour has been such a success, that this year we are going inside four extraordinary homes on the fairways. We will also be releasing our second annual architectural tray in February. Thank you again for all your ongoing support. Preservation Mirage continues to advocate for the preservation of significant architecture here in Rancho Mirage and look for new ways to raise awareness of our city’s rich architectural history. |
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Dan Allen President, Board of Directors |
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YOU’RE INVITED TO PARTY WITH THE PINK ELEPHANT To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Rancho Mirage and the recent historic designation and full restoration of the city’s only neon sign, Preservation Mirage in partnership with the City of Rancho Mirage, invites you to ‘Party with the Pink Elephant’ — an evening of special entertainment! Join us on Saturday, February 3rd for a special performance by the Rancho Mirage High School Band, learn about the unique history of the Pink Elephant, buckle up as Desert Theatricals takes us on a journey down the star-studded streets of Rancho Mirage, then dance the night away with the infamous DJ ModGirl. Willie's Bistro has designed a custom food & beverage menu, including a full bar, available for purchase. Tickets are $20 each, this event is complimentary for Preservation Mirage PRESERVATIONIST-level members who will automatically receive a 100% discount on up to two tickets at checkout. All ticketed Preservation Mirage members will receive complimentary access to the VIP Members Lounge featuring comfortable seating and dedicated waitstaff. ADVOCATE & INDIVIDUAL-level members get 1 wristband each, 2 for HOUSEHOLD, and 4 for our PRESERVATIONISTs. |
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MODERNISM WEEK | FOUR FAIRWAY HOMES AT TAMARISK COUNTRY CLUB |
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On Friday, February 16th we present a special tour of four mid-century homes at Tamarisk Country Club, demonstrating several decades of significant architecture and thoughtful preservation. Tickets are $150 each and are nearly sold out, Preservation Mirage members will receive a special gift when they check in. | | |
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Don't miss these other Modernism Week events in Rancho Mirage with only a few tickets still available: |
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ADVOCACY UPDATE | THE TOMPKINS RESIDENCE, THUNDERBIRD HEIGHTS The Tompkins Residence in Thunderbird Heights, by Thornton Ladd & Associates / Ladd & Kelsey Architects, is one of the most important midcentury modern homes in Rancho Mirage. Melissa Riche, founder of Preservation Mirage, wrote the historic nomination on behalf of the owners. The home’s designation was unanimously approved by the City of Rancho Mirage Historic Preservation Commission in December, and by the city council on January 18th. The property was not included in the 2003 City of Rancho Mirage Historic Resources Survey. The Tompkins Residence comprises a main house and a guest house in an overtly Japanese style. The two buildings are timber-framed and feature pagoda-like flared rooflines in cedar shake, and sliding Japanese-style screens, in a post and beam construction. During research, early photos of the home by Ezra Stoller were found in his archive, clarifying the integrity of the property including the unusual lotus-shaped pool. Architectural drawings from 1959 drawings bore ‘Thornton Ladd & Associates’ title block, while later drawings bore the Ladd & Kelsey title. Thornton Ladd was one of the leading modernist architects on the West Coast. Before he had even graduated from USC School of Architecture, he was designing homes and receiving awards. Later, with John Kelsey, they became known for the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena (1969) as well as the CalArts Campus for Disney (1971). It is one of only two known properties designed by Thornton Ladd in the greater Palm Springs area and is in excellent, restored condition. The other is the Steele Residence at Smoke Tree Ranch, designed in 1953 (condition unknown). |
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ALBERT FREY: INVENTIVE MODERNIST |
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In celebration of Albert Frey (1903-1998), Palm Springs Art Museum is proud to announce the development of a comprehensive exhibition on the architect’s life and work. This large-scale retrospective, curated and designed by Brad Dunning, will present rare and many previously unexhibited architectural models, drawings, films, photographs, and furniture. The exhibition runs January 13, 2024 – June 3, 2024 at the Architecture and Design Center, Edwards Harris Pavilion. | | |
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FREE DESERT MODERNISM 101 LECTURES |
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Join our friends at the Palm Springs Modern Committee as they present an informative and entertaining look at the principles of design that rocked the world of design in post-war America. The philosophy of modernism encompasses architecture, interior design, art, and fashion. This free program has been developed by PS ModCom’s Education Committee leaders Joan Gand and Mimi Fisher both avid architecture preservationists from the Midwest. Following the lectures guests will have the opportunity to meet the speakers. | | |
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RANCHO MIRAGE LIBRARY & OBSERVATORY LECTURE SERIES |
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FROM SMALL SUBDIVISION TO COUNTRY CLUB CITY: HOW RANCHO MIRAGE GREW PRESENTED BY THE RANCHO MIRAGE CULTURAL COMMISSION Join our founder and president emeritus Melissa Riche for a free talk at the Rancho Mirage Library on Thursday, February 8th from 2 - 3 PM. Learn how Rancho Mirage transformed from a small 1930s subdivision (‘A Distinctive Desert Development for Discriminating People') to the successful resort city it is today. The City of Rancho Mirage was incorporated in 1973; soon after, The Desert Sun named it, 'Country Club City, with thousands of homes in country club settings nearing completion or under construction, from Mission Hills to the Springs. Melissa Riche will explore the city's growth: the successes and occasional failures along the way, from the early days to the 1970s and beyond. |
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SUNNYLANDS SERIES | VARIATIONS TO A THEME: WILLIAM HAINES AT SUNNYLANDS On Tuesday, February 13th from 2 - 3 PM join this free lecture about William “Billy” Haines, who was one of the silver screen’s leading men in the 1930s. He quit showbiz and reinvented himself as an interior designer, becoming one of the most sought-after decorators in Hollywood. In the 1960s, Walter and Leonore Annenberg brought Haines to Rancho Mirage to oversee the creation of their new winter home, Sunnylands. Haines found the couple an architect, the award-winning A. Quincy Jones, and created more than 450 pieces of furniture for the estate. Now, an exhibition of Haines’ remarkable furnishings is on view at Sunnylands Center & Gardens. The designer’s life and legacy are explored in this presentation by exhibition curators and Sunnylands staff members, Anne Rowe, Director of Heritage, and Frank Lopez, Archivist and Librarian; and interior designer Patrick Dragonette. |
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PRESERVATION MIRAGE BOARD & COMMITTEE UPDATE The Board of Directors is meeting this February to discuss restructuring our committees based on the evolving needs of the organization, including the need for additional board members. If you would like to play a more active role on our board, please email dan@preservationmirage.org.
We are actively looking for a Marketing & Merchandise committee chair to join the Board of Directors. Nathan Jacroux has chaired the committee since its inception, but he assumed the role of Treasurer in 2023 and we are now looking to backfill a replacement. Please email marketing@preservationmirage.org if you are interested in learning more about this role.
Additionally, if you are interested in volunteering as a docent please send an email to info@preservationmirage.org and we will update our database.
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PRESERVATIONIST MEMBERS We would like to thank our PRESERVATIONIST members for their generosity and support: Dan Allen and Jory Edmunds, Joseph Bartush, Mike Boone, Susan and Tom Corson, Annette Cumming, Suzanne Fromkin, Scott and Ella Goldstein, Lyn Goldstein, Lori Goldstein, Jeff Kohl, Jay Hart and David Mazer, Scot and Lance Karp, Stephen and Margie Kulp, John A. MacMahon, Philip Monaghan, Ken and Ann Moyle, Leo Parrella and Steven Strickland, Perry and Kim Shwachman, Kurt and Kelly Walecki. |
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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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