HomeMy WebLinkAboutAppendix E Tract Development SummariesCity of Palm Desert | Historic Context Statement & Reconnaissance Survey Findings: Appendix E April 11, 2025
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Appendix E. Palm Desert Tract Development Summaries
The following summarizes the development of Palm Desert’s major residential tracts during the
historic period, in chronological order. It is not a comprehensive accounting of every residential
tract in the city. Each tract’s summary is followed by tract maps and/or brochures as available; all
are from the Historical Society of Palm Desert.
Palm Village ......................................................................................................................... 2
Palm Desert ......................................................................................................................... 8
Palm Dell Estates ............................................................................................................... 10
Deep Canyon Ranch .......................................................................................................... 12
Panorama Ranch ............................................................................................................... 18
Pines to Palms Estates ....................................................................................................... 22
Shadow Mountain Park ..................................................................................................... 23
Palm Vista .......................................................................................................................... 26
Palm Desert Estates ........................................................................................................... 30
Shadow Hills Estates .......................................................................................................... 34
Silver Spur Ranch ............................................................................................................... 38
Palm Desert Highlands ...................................................................................................... 48
Desert Garden Homesites ................................................................................................. 50
Sandpiper .......................................................................................................................... 52
Shadow Village [California Dream Homes] ........................................................................ 54
Desert Lily Estates ............................................................................................................. 60
Halecrest Country Club Village .......................................................................................... 62
Sands and Shadows ........................................................................................................... 66
Palm City [Palm Desert Country Club] ............................................................................... 68
Shadow Mountain Golf Estates ......................................................................................... 81
Desert Stars ....................................................................................................................... 83
Eldorado Highlands ........................................................................................................... 85
Highland Palms Estates ..................................................................................................... 86
Marrakesh Country Club ................................................................................................... 87
Del Safari Country Club [Avondale Golf Club].................................................................... 89
Deep Canyon Tennis Club .................................................................................................. 90
Palm Desert Tennis Club .................................................................................................... 94
Ironwood Country Club ..................................................................................................... 96
Corsican Villas .................................................................................................................... 99
Sommerset ...................................................................................................................... 100
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Name/Number Palm Village
Date 1933
Developer William A. Johnson; Mollin Investment Company; Palm Village Land Company
(I.C. Stearns and Ralph Hoffman)
Architect Charles Gibbs Adams (landscape architect); Cleo Blanchet
Boundary North of Highway 111 (near intersection with State Route 74)
Development History Considered the first residential subdivision in what is now Palm Desert, the
origins of Palm Village began when developer William A. Johnson, president of
the American Pipe & Construction Company, began acquiring land on the
former Gillette Ranch site situated near the intersection of Highway 111 and
State Route 74 in 1933.1 By 1935, Johnson had subdivided about 50 lots in what
was to be known as Palm Village.2 To design tract features such as the
subdivision’s distinct curvilinear street layout, either Johnson or the subsequent
developer hired notable Southern California landscape architect Charles Gibbs
Adams. The streets were not formally graded until 1939.3 Of Palm Village’s
initial layout, a 1949 article remembered it to be “one mile long and half a mile
wide, and looking like nothing human.”4 It appears that only a few, if any,
homes were constructed prior to 1938.5
Around 1937, the Mollin Investment Company took over management of Palm
Village from Johnson, who later sold his interest in the tract to Mollin in 1942. It
was at this time that construction of the subdivision began in earnest.6 In
November 1939, the layout of Palm Village was underway, advertised locally as
“a new and unique community for people desiring desert homes.”7 The 330-
acre tract was completed with graded streets, tree-lined parkways, and
waterlines. Local Coachella Valley architect Cleo Blanchet was chosen to design
an administration building, and at least six bungalows were constructed for use
as furnished model homes to entice interested buyers around this time.8 By
1 Historic Preservation Committee, “History and Tour;” HSPD, “Palm Desert Milestones,” 26.
2 J. Wilson McKenney, Desert Editor:…the Story of Randall Henderson and Palm Desert (Georgetown,
California: Wilmac Press, 1972), 116.
3 Fairchild Aerial Surveys, Flight C-6060, September 27, 1939 – December 7, 1939, and Flight C-5582,
January 13, 1939, available through UC Santa Barbara Library Geospatial Collection, accessed December
2024, https://www.library.ucsb.edu/geospatial/aerial-photography.
4 Olive Orbison, “Background of Palm Village Is Told By Writer,” Indio News February 17, 1949 (on file at
HSPD).
5 HSPD, “Palm Desert Milestones,” 26; “Background of Palm Village Is Told.” Newspaper articles from 1940
mention construction of the first homes in Palm Village, after the Mollin Investment Co. had taken over the
development (e.g., “New Palm Village Development Now Open,” Desert Sun January 12, 1940).
6 McKenney, Desert Editor, 116; “Palm Village Desert Homes” brochure ca. 1939 noting “established 1937,”
on file at the Historical Society of Palm Desert.
7 “Palm Village Starts Near Indio,” Palm Springs Limelight-News, November 18, 1939.
8 “Palm Village Starts Near Indio.”
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January 1940, Palm Village was officially opened for sales, and plans had been
approved for at least eight homes in the neighborhood to be constructed on
spec by contractors from Salt Lake City and Hollywood.9 The subdivision’s deeds
included racially restrictive covenants and additional covenants to restrict
architectural design, a pattern common across Southern California and the
United States at that time. 10
By the end of 1940, Mollin advertised recreational opportunities at the Palm
Village Club, “an informally organized, closely restricted club designed to offer
sports facilities to residents, members and their guests.”11 The subdivision also
featured a swimming pool for its members and residents, comprising a portion
of the old Gillette reservoir. Despite an extensive public relations campaign
launched by Mollin during the 1940s, only about a dozen modest homes were
constructed in Palm Village by 1945. These homes were constructed in
vernacular iterations of the Moderne, Modern, and Minimal Traditional styles.12
Federal Housing Authority (FHA) loans were available, indicating Palm Village
adhered to FHA guidelines, particularly through the developers’ use of
curvilinear streets, modest footprints, and conventional architectural styles.
During World War II, development of Palm Village came to a halt, and the
partially-developed subdivision became the home of a temporary military
instillation that was later dismantled in 1944. After the war, Mollin resurrected
its sales campaign, and many of Palm Village’s lots filled out with smaller,
affordable homes intended for a more year-round clientele. The push to attract
permanent residents to the desert (rather than the seasonal crowd) was
spurred by the efforts of the Palm Desert Corporation, another development
company that had by this point begun developing other lands in the area that
would soon become Palm Desert. As such, Palm Village grew to become a
diverse mixture of both small and large homes, apartment buildings,
commercial lodges, and architecturally significant homes in the postwar years.
Its homes were often constructed by individual homeowners, typically humble
iterations of the Spanish Revival, Ranch, or Minimal Traditional designs,
although Moderne and Mid-Century Modern examples were built as well.
The Mollin Investment Company liquidated in 1948, after which time Palm
Village became even more unrestricted, eventually becoming the predominant
9 “New Palm Village Development Now Open,” Palm Village display advertisement, Desert Sun January 12,
1940.
10 Luke Leuschner, personal communication regarding previous deed research, December 2024.
11 “Palm Village Season To Open,” Los Angeles Times November 10, 1940
12 “Palm Village Season To Open;” “Desert Community Properties Selling,” Los Angeles Times December 1,
1940.
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neighborhood of Palm Desert’s working class and people of color.13 Between
1946-1956, the development of Palm Village took place under I.C. Stearns and
Ralph Hoffman’s Palm Village Land Company, which purchased the remainder
of the Gillette Ranch for expansion.14 In 1951, Palm Village officially became
part of Palm Desert with an honorary declaration. By that point, Palm Desert
had replaced Palm Village as the area’s geographic identifier on regional maps.
Homes constructed in the neighborhood under the Palm Village Land Company
were even more varied and vernacular in style than in years prior, however a
few notable Modernist residences such as the Rudolph Schindler-designed
Maryon E. Toole residence (1948; CoPD Landmark #6) and the Miles C. Bates
House designed by Walter White (1954, CoPD Landmark #8) were constructed
in Palm Village during this period.15 White also designed a selection of smaller
houses in the Palm Village neighborhood, including a cluster of spec homes
developed by Charles Gibbs. One of the neighborhood’s latest developments
was the multi-family Tripalong Apartments (extensively altered), which were
developed in 1958 by prominent Palm Desert resident and actor William Boyd,
also known as Hopalong Cassidy.16
13 U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1950 Enumeration Data, accessed December 2024 at ancestry.com.
14 HSPD, “Palm Desert Milestones,” 40; Orbison, “Background of Palm Village Is Told By Writer.”
15 Esther McCoy, Five California Architects (New York: Reinhold, 1960), 190; Welter, Walter S. White, 64-65.
16 “Palm Desert’s ‘Tripalong’ Apartments Completed, Newest Project in Palm Desert,” Desert Sun,
November 1, 1958.
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Name/Number Palm Desert
Date 1946
Developer Palm Desert Corporation
Architect Tommy Tomson; Kaufmann, Lippincott, and Eggers
Boundary South of Highway 111
Development History Although it is hard to imagine given the community’s growth and expansion,
“Palm Desert” was foremost the creation of a single corporation, the Palm
Desert Corporation (PDC), which conceived of the community, laid its streets
and infrastructure, and sold the land for the hundreds of homes which were
inevitably built. The bulk of Palm Desert’s footprint south of Highway 111 dates
to the community’s inception in 1946.
Led by Clifford “Cliff” Henderson, the PDC hired the landscape architect Tommy
Tomson (also the brother-in-law of Cliff) to plan the community, which was to
be built on an empty alluvial fan south of Highway 111.17 Tomson imagined a
large subdivision consisting of multiple neighborhoods, a downtown strip, and
various civic properties. His design for the community was situated alongside
both Highway 74 and Highway 111 and featured gracefully curved streets
meant to align with the existing Palm Village subdivision. The firm Kaufmann,
Lippincott, and Eggers was hired by the PDC to design a private club (the
Shadow Mountain Club) and various PDC facilities.
The PDC began construction in the summer of 1946, beginning with water
infrastructure supplied by a trio of wells and the Shadow Mountain Lake, a
reservoir designed as a recreational “boating lake.” The PDC’s tract opened for
sales on November 16th, 1946, at which point nearly sixteen miles of streets had
been laid but, except for Cliff’s personal home, a single house had yet to be
built.18 This first portion of the tract which opened was Unit #1, which consisted
of the community immediately south of Highway 111 and included commercial
lots (including the downtown strip El Paseo) and lots for multi-family housing,
but it mostly consisted of larger estate-sized parcels known as the “Shadow
Mountain Estates.” While lots quickly sold in Unit #1, the PDC was busy
constructing Unit #3, which opened for sales in early 1947 and also consisted of
more exclusive estate lots. It was on these two units, which were located
between Highway 74 and Portola Avenue, that the community’s most
architecturally significant homes would be built by the likes of Walter S. White,
Cliff May, Henry Eggers, Albert Frey, and H. E. Weston.
17 Steven Keylon, “The Glamorous Gardens of Tommy Tomson: Part Two,” Eden 19, no. 1 (Winter 2016), 17.
18 Luke Leuschner, “Palm Desert: A Sellable Dream on Forsaken Land, Part I,” The Hourglass, Fall 2021.
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While the PDC’s branding and sales program was directed towards the
establishment of higher-end estate homes, two units of the entire consisted of
smaller lots and were intended to be more affordable. Unit #4, which was east
of Portola Avenue, and Unit #6, which was west of Highway 74, both contained
more affordable lots and catered to middle-class seasonal residents and
families alike. Unit #4 opened in early 1947, but Unit #6 did not open for
another two years, in early 1949.19
The PDC controlled all aspects of the community’s development through the
Palm Desert Community Association, which set restrictive building
requirements, reviewed architectural plans, and even policed the community’s
racial makeup (also enforced by racial covenants) to ensure the appearance of a
“high-class” community.20 To this day, Palm Desert’s racial and socioeconomic
geography can be traced to the development patterns set and policed by the
PDC.21
While the PDC sold hundreds of lots and dozens of homes were built, Palm
Desert’s growth was never as extravagant as the corporation had hoped. Other
subdivisions including Panorama Ranch, Palm Dell, and a revamped Palm Village
were also established during this time (frequently profiting off the PDC’s
marketing and infrastructure), in many cases offering similar amenities at a
more affordable buy-in.
In 1956, the PDC was liquidated to a consortium headed by real estate magnate
Howard Ahmanson, and the Palm Desert Sales Company was formed to
subdivide and sell the residual land. The PDSC was less concerned with
cultivating a high-end image of Palm Desert, and many of the larger parcels
were developed with condominiums and spec homes.
19 “Reservations Being Taken for New Palm Desert Unit,” Desert Sun, January 14, 1949.
20 Palm Desert Community Association applications, Clifford W. Henderson Collection, Historical Society of
Palm Desert.
21 Leuschner, “Palm Desert,” 2021.
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Name/Number Palm Dell Estates
Date 1946
Developer Amos and Nell Odell; Dan Dunlop
Architect
Boundary Park View Drive to the north, Fred Waring Drive to the south, Fairhaven Drive to
the west, and Monterey Avenue to the east
Development History Palm Dell Estates was a subdivision developed by Amos and Nell Odell, a couple
that owned acreage adjacent to the Palm Village area and were engaged in date
farming and other ranching activities. (The name “Palm Dell” is clearly a take on
the Odell name.) Another owner, Dan Dunlop of Long Beach, was noted in later
newspaper articles, but it is unclear what his stake was.22
Construction on the subdivision began in 1946, and streets and infrastructure
were completed in the spring of 1947. At the time, Palm Desert itself was under
construction and not as widely known, and thus Palm Dell initially associated
itself with Rancho Mirage and “Greater Palm Springs.” The prominent Palm
Springs realtor Culver Nichols was hired as the sales agent, with Rancho Mirage
pioneer Don Cameron as the on-site salesperson.
The subdivision was originally intended to be 160 acres (a quarter section),
consisting of four quadrants with a central circular park. (It was noted during
construction that the landscape architect J.A. Gooch of Armstrong Nurseries
was consulting on the park design, but it is unclear if his design was completed
or if he had any role in the subdivision layout.23) However, only the southeast
forty-acre quadrant was subdivided, and it appears that the park and
community facilities were never completed. Only three houses were built by
1953, and ultimately the residual land was sold off and empty lots were filled in
over ensuing decades.
22 Don Cameron, What Goes on In Palm Valley,” Desert Sun, March 14, 1947.
23 Don Cameron, “What Goes on In Palm Valley,” Desert Sun, April 4, 1947.
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Name/Number Deep Canyon Ranch
Date 1946 ca.
Developer Philip Boyd
Architect
Boundary Fairway Drive to the north, Mockingbird Trail to the south, Portola Avenue to
the west, and Deep Canyon Road to the east
Development History Deep Canyon Ranch was a subdivision owned and developed by Philip Boyd, a
prominent landowner in the area who originally owned the land as part of
thousands of acres of his namesake “Deep Canyon Ranch,” which later became
a wildlife preserve and research center.
In the fall of 1946, as the Palm Desert Corporation was working on the
construction of their streets, Boyd filed to create “Deep Canyon Ranch
Properties” with the clear intention of creating his own subdivision.24 It is
unclear exactly when streets were laid in his subdivision, but the first house was
built in 1951. Deep Canyon Ranch was directly connected to Palm Desert
Corporation’s Unit 4 neighborhood, which was intended as a more affordable
and family-oriented neighborhood. The subdivision was expanded twice, once
in 1955 and then again in the late 1950s.25 Boyd never tried to develop spec
houses, he simply sold lots to people who then built their own houses.
Lots in the subdivision were typically of larger size, with some estate-sized
properties at the eastern end of the development. A handful of homes were
built, typically in modern Ranch styles, including the Randall Henderson house
(John Outcault, 1962) at 74555 Old Prospector Trail and the C. Larabee house
(1956) at 74701 Old Prospector Trail, but the subdivision was not filled out until
much later.
24 [Deep Canyon Ranch Properties legal notice], Desert Sun, September 20, 1946.
25 [Article about development in Palm Desert], Desert Sun, January 10, 1956.
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Name/Number Panorama Ranch
Date 1948
Developer John Harnish
Architect Barry Frost
Boundary To the north by Highway 111, to the south by Fairway Drive, to the west by
Abronia Trail, and to the east by Deep Canyon Road
Development History Panorama Ranch was developed by John Harnish, a former Los Angeles -based
engineer and builder, in the wake of development by the Palm Desert
Corporation.26 It was located immediately east of the Palm Desert Corporation’s
Unit #4, which was intended to be the more affordable and family-oriented
portion of the development. Panorama Ranch, while having restrictions similar
to those of the Palm Desert Corporation and its own community association,
was intended to be more affordable like Unit #4.
Although planning appears to have begun as early as 1946, streets and utilities
were laid at the end of 1948 and the subdivision was filed at that time. At the
center of the subdivision, Harnish built a “Sports Corral” in 1949 with a
swimming pool, barbeque area, and recreation facilities such as a shuffleboard
court. A sales office was built on Highway 111 alongside a date shop, which was
housed in a Quonset hut and known as the Panorama Date Market.27 There
were also three model homes built as part of the development campaign, all
designed by local architect Barry Frost. The first was the Steel-Lite home, a
prefabricated structure located at the corner of Panorama Drive and
Peppergrass Street and completed in 1949. This was followed by two small
“contemporary” homes, one at 73349 Chicory Street and 45618 Panorama
Drive (both 1949).28
The subdivision, which opened in January of 1949, never saw particular success.
Around a dozen homes were built in the first years, and then in 1953 Harnish
hired builder Adrian Schwilck to design and build the “Pool-Side Homes,” a
cluster of eight small modern homes surrounding a communal pool (which was
the original Sports Corral pool). It appears that Harnish gradually sold the land
to other developers, first to a developer named James L. Russell, who
purchased the residual subdivided land and sold it under the name “Palm
Desert Heights,” which was a short-lived effort.29In 1956, a man named John
Adams purchased the residual twenty acres of land and created Palm Desert
Estates, and Panorama Ranch organically filled out in the following years as lots
26 “New Subdivision Now Under Way East of Village,” Desert Sun, January 7, 1949.
27 “Col. Ellsworth Exclusive Agent,” Desert Sun, November 24, 1950.
28 Advertisement for Steel-Lite home, Desert Sun, April 1, 1949.
29 “Russell Opens Desert Offices,” Desert Sun, November 23, 1953.
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were sold to individual buyers and spec builders.30 Monte Wenck, who
developed the adjoining Shadow Hills Estates in 1956, was particularly
instrumental in filling the former Panorama Ranch with spec homes. By the end
of the 1950s, the neighborhood was almost completely developed.
30 “Adams Buys 20 Acres, Plans New Subdivision,” Desert Sun, December 4, 1956.
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Name/Number Pines to Palms Estates
Date 1953
Developer Hal Kapp and Ted Smith
Architect
Boundary Santa Gertrudis Drive [Bel Air Road] from Highway 74 to Alamo Drive
Development History Pines to Palms Estates was a small tract that consisted only of Bel Air Road
(originally Santa Gertrudis Drive) and appears to have been developed by Ted
Smith and Hal Kapp (Desert Property Consultants). The subdivision map was
created in 1953, however nothing was developed on the land until 1957, when
the adjacent Palm Desert Highlands (1957) was subdivided by Kapp and Smith.
At this time, the street was renamed “Bel Air Road” and essentially became part
of Palm Desert Highlands.31 The tract was never advertised under its name, and
nothing was built on it until Palm Desert Highlands was developed.
31 “County Planners to Have 15 Desert Area Matter,” Desert Sun, May 11, 1959.
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Name/Number Shadow Mountain Park
Date 1954
Developer Shadow Mountain Park Inc.
Architect
Boundary The streets of Shadow Lake Drive and Mountain View Avenue
Development History In 1953, the Shadow Mountain Club was sold by the Palm Desert Corporation to
a group of its members which formed Shadow Mountain Park Inc as the new
ownership entity.32 Almost immediately, the new corporation set about an
improvement and development campaign which included the subdivision of
surplus land on the northern border of the club into a tract named Shadow
Mountain Park. The landscape architect Tommy Tomson, who had laid out Palm
Desert and the Shadow Mountain Club, designed an initial scheme which was
not realized.33
The subdivision was filed with the county in 1954, and by the beginning of 1955
the streets and utilities had been constructed, and the tract was opened for
sales, first to members of the Shadow Mountain Club.34 Homes in the
subdivision were expected to be custom-built and of higher architectural design
in character with the adjacent subdivisions previously developed by the Palm
Desert Corporation. Lot sizes ranged, with the larger estate lots flanking
Shadow Lake Drive (many of which directly faced the club grounds) and smaller
lots available on Mountain View Avenue.
One of the first homes to be built in the new subdivision was the Stanthony
Corporation’s “Hospitality House,” a modern show house designed by architect
William Bray intended to advertise the appliance company’s products. Publicity
for the home was extensive, and Shadow Mountain Park also featured the
home in many of its advertisements.35 Completed in 1956, the home was
located directly next to the gates of Shadow Mountain Club (which also doubled
as the western entrance to the subdivision) at 73745 Shadow Lake Drive.
A selection of custom-built homes was constructed shortly after Shadow
Mountain Park’s opening. These included the Jack Blair residence (1957) at
73905 Shadow Lake Drive and George Walling residence (1956) at 73911
Shadow, both designed by modern architect John P. Moyer. The developer
Eugene Roberts also built a trio of modern homes on Shadow Lake Drive, and a
few other homes were built by other owners. The most significant home built in
32 “Palm Desert Club Sold to Members,” Los Angeles Mirror, November 30, 1953.
33 Shadow Mountain Club, “Artist’s Conception of the New Shadow Mountain Park,” Sun Spots, October
1953.
34 Shadow Mountain Club, “Homesites on Club Grounds Available Soon,” Sun Spots, January 1955.
35 Shadow Mountain Club, “’Hospitality House’ to be Previewed,” Sun Spots, April 1956.
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this period was the Robert Overpeck residence (1956), a small modernist home
designed by A. Quincy Jones disciple Warren Frazier Overpeck for his brother.
Around a dozen homes were built in the subdivision in the first ten years of its
existence, and it was filled out in ensuing decades.
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Name/Number Palm Vista
Date 1955
Developer Ted Smith
Architect
Boundary Fred Waring Drive to the north, Rancho Grande Drive to the south, Monterey
Avenue to the east, and Fairhaven Drive to the west
Development History Palm Vista was a small subdivision developed by prominent Palm Desert realtor
and developer Ted Smith in 1955. There appears to have been no unified vision
or form for the neighborhood, and that lots were sold for relatively low prices,
and then built out in the mid- to late-1950s with Mid-Century Modern homes
by a variety of speculative builders.
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Name/Number Palm Desert Estates
Date 1956
Developer John Adams
Architect
Boundary El Camino to the north, Candlewood Street to the south, Deep Canyon Road to
the east, and Abronia Trail to the west (not inclusive of the triangle between
Abronia Trail, Panorama Road, and Candlewood Street)
Development History Palm Desert Estates was a small tract of a few streets developed by John Adams
on twenty acres that was formerly part of Panorama Ranch. Adams purchased
the land at the end of 1956, and then subdivided it shortly thereafter.36
According to a newspaper announcement, Adams had plans to develop a set of
homes and apartments designed by the architect John Outcault.37 However,
only one Outcault-designed house was built at 45432 Panorama Drive (1957),
and when Adams built himself a house at 45468 Panorama Drive (1957), it was
designed/built by of Patten & Wild.
A few homes were built by individuals on Panorama Drive, but it appears that
Adams mostly sold land to developers who built apartments and
condominiums, which included an apartment complex at 45325 Panorama
Drive (1962), the Village Green condominiums designed by Harold Bissner and
Robert Pitchford at 45413 Sunrise Lane (1961), and an apartment complex
designed by architect Robert Ricciardi at 45301 Deep Canyon Road (1964).
36 “Adams Buys 20 Acres, Plans New Subdivision,” Desert Sun, December 4, 1956.
37 Ibid.
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Name/Number Shadow Hills Estates
Date 1956
Developer Monte Wenck
Architect Charles W. Doty
Boundary Highway 111 to the north, Fairway Drive to the south, Deep Canyon Road to the
west, and Toro Peak Road to the east
Development History Shadow Hills Estates was a tract created by developer Monte Wenck, a
prominent resident of Palm Desert who went on to own the Shadow Mountain
Club. Wenck appears to have purchased most of the land for the tract in 1954,
and immediately began planning for a subdivision.38 Initially, it appears that
Wenck intended to build a tract of Cliff May Homes in partnership with the
prominent developer Clifford Henderson, but only one such property was built,
at 74540 Monteverde Way.39
Between 1955 and 1956, Wenck subdivided his acreage into Shadow Hills
Estates. Except for the street Monteverde Way, which was excluded from the
subdivision and consisted of estate-sized lots, the subdivision was intended to
be a more affordable and to contain a variety of homes and apartments. It was
directly adjacent to Palm Desert Corporation’s Unit #4, Panorama Ranch, and
Palm Desert Estates, all of which contained a more a diverse and affordable
selection of homes.
Wenck clearly intended to develop many of the homes himself, beginning with
a model home designed by architect Charles W. Doty40 at 45630 Deep Canyon
Road (1956). Between 1956 and 1962, Wenck built dozens of modern homes in
Shadow Hills Estates from a variety of plans which were likely designed by Doty.
In addition, a selection of builders like M. L. Beard and Charles White also
developed homes (often building the same models, which suggests that they
were allied with Wenck) within the subdivision. Wenck, Beard, and White also
built these homes on empty lots in surrounding subdivisions, therefore diffusing
the character of the Shadow Hills tract into the surrounding neighborhoods.
These homes were modern, smaller, and targeted towards a more affordable
demographic. In addition, Wenck also developed a series of apartment
38 Helen Anderson, “Palm Desert,” Desert Sun, September 27, 1954.
39 Advertisement for Cliff May Homes, Los Angeles Times, March 13, 1955. Contracts, correspondence, and
plans for the Henderson-Wenck partnership are in the Clifford W. Henderson Collection at the Historical
Society of Palm Desert.
40 Advertisement for Shadow Hills Estates model home, Desert Sun, March 16, 1956. Doty appears to have
been the architect for many, if not all, of the homes developed in and around Shadow Hills Estates built by
Wenck and his colleagues, but further documentation is needed to confirm. Many of the homes appear to
be the same model as the one he is confirmed to have built, and many others are generally consistent with
his work during this period.
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buildings, including the Shadow Hills Apartments (1960) at 74550 Shadow Hills
Road, an apartment complex at 74602 Shadow Hills Road (1963), and another
complex at 74601 Shadow Hills Road (1966).41
Apart from the properties developed directly by Wenck and his associates, a
number of individual homeowners also purchased lots and built their own
houses. As was typical of the neighborhood, the homes were smaller in size but
were occasionally designed by prominent architects in such instances as the
George Mitchell house (Walter S. White, 1957) at 74581 Peppertree Drive or
the Roy Adamson house (John Outcault, 1959) at 74614 Peppertree Drive.
By the mid-1960s, Shadow Hills Estates was almost completely developed with
homes and a selection of apartments. Additionally, Wenck and his associates
had also succeeded in developing many of the empty lots in adjoining
subdivisions, thereby giving the whole neighborhood a highly developed and
Mid-Century Modern character.
41 The apartment complex developed by Wenck at 74601 Shadow Hills Road (1966) appears to be a design
by architect Richard Dorman, for it is a near exact copy of the Dorman-designed Fairview Cottages built by
Wenck immediately prior. Further documentation is needed to confirm this attribution, however.
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Name/Number Silver Spur Ranch
Date 1956
Developer Adrian and Mercedes Schwilck; Sol Lesser
Architect
Boundary Haystack Road to the north, Portola Avenue to the south, Arrow Drive/Chia
Drive to the west, and Portola Avenue to the east. (Does not include Corsican
Villas, Ironwood Park, or the houses along Agave Lane.)
Development History Silver Spur Ranch was the creation of Adrian Schwilck, a builder and developer
who had previously done work in Panorama Ranch, and his wife Mercedes
Schwilck, who provided funding for much of the venture. In 1955, the couple
began purchasing land from Alvasina Nolan, a homesteader who owned
hundreds of acres of land on the upper slope of Palm Desert, and who had
previously refused to sell her land to the Palm Desert Corporation.42 The
Schwilcks’ land purchases from Nolan and others ultimately totaled around 600
acres.
Development on the subdivision began in 1956 with the laying of streets and
infrastructure, the construction of a sales office (47550 Silver Spur Trail), and
the construction of a model home (47845 Sun Corral Trail). From the beginning,
the branding of the development was intended to evoke a ranch-type
atmosphere. Much of the early architecture was designed in a modern Ranch
style and horse facilities were also constructed.
The Schwilcks developed a few dozen homes (particularly along Sun Corral Trail
and Little Bend Trail) themselves in phases between 1957 and 1959, while at
other times allying with spec builders to develop other portions of Silver Spur.
In some cases, individuals purchased land and built their own houses designed
by significant architects such as Cliff May, Walter S. White, and Howard
Lapham.
Adrian Schwilck appears to have acted as the architect for the homes he
developed himself, while other architects such as Earl Kaltenbach designed the
homes developed by partnered builders. Although the development claimed to
target an exclusive clientele, houses ranged in size and price, from affordable
seasonal homes to larger estates, and architecture and construction was
policed by a homeowner’s association. The Palm Springs realtor Tony Burke was
brought on by the Schwilcks to act as the sales agent, and he himself lived in
the house at 73408 Little Bend Trail.
42 Oral History with Adrian Schwilck, May 22, 1980, Historical Society of Palm Desert, accessed via
https://archive.org/details/capdhs_000102.
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In 1957, the singer Bing Crosby purchased a sixteen-acre parcel of land at the
southernmost point of development’s landholdings and built a home for himself
designed by architect Howard Lapham. Crosby subdivided his land into four
parcels, and a selection of his friends constructed neighboring houses, including
Jimmy Van Heusen, Phil Harris, and Randolph Scott.43 Although Crosby’s name
was frequently mentioned in publicity materials, he never held a stake in the
development, and was essentially removed from the neighborhood. In 1962,
President John F. Kennedy infamously stayed at Crosby’s house in Silver Spur
Ranch.44
The initial phase of development (1956-1959) was relatively successful, and by
the end of the decade a few dozen homes had been built. In 1959, the movie
producer and real estate developer Sol Lesser purchased a majority stake in the
venture, and Schwilck went on to develop the Shadow Mountain Fairway
Cottages.45 Lesser and his consortium of associates hired the architect William
Krisel to design homes, a clubhouse, and master plan for a new, massive phase
of development that was to take advantage of all landholdings. However, these
grand plans were almost entirely unrealized, and only about a dozen of the
Krisel-designed homes were constructed.
In 1962, Schwilck, reeling on success from the Shadow Mountain Fairway
Cottages, purchased back the majority stake in Silver Spur Ranch for a
considerable markup.46 Working with the architect Richard Harrison, he built
dozens of duplexes and homes, developing the entirety of Feather Trail, Birdie
Way, and the lower portion of Silver Spur Trail, while simultaneously building on
empty lots distributed throughout the neighborhood. Schwilck also intended to
develop recreational facilities and built a clubhouse and pool (now part of
Corsican Villas) designed by architect Robert Ricciardi. However, partially due to
a glut of development in the mid-1960s, many of these properties remained
unsold for years, and Schwilck ultimately lost the development to foreclosure.
The foreclosure ultimately stymied any further planned development and
remaining lots were filled in piecemeal over ensuing years. In the 1970s,
Ironwood Country Club (including the Crosby properties) was developed
partially on land originally part of the Silver Spur landholdings, as was the
Corsican Villas.
43 Jack Smith, “Crosby in Surprise Marriage,” Los Angeles Times, October 25, 1957.
44 “Officials Will Welcome JFK At City Airport,” Desert Sun, March 22, 1962.
45 “Planning Ready for Silver Spur,” Desert Sun, October 16, 1959.
46 “$2,500,000 Ranch Goes to Schwilck,” Desert Sun, July 6, 1962.
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Name/Number Palm Desert Highlands
Date 1957
Developer Hal Kapp and Ted Smith (Desert Property Consultants)
Architect John P. Moyer
Boundary Bel Air Road and Skyward Way from Highway 74 to Alamo Drive
Development History Palm Desert Highlands was a small subdivision developed by
realtors/developers Hal Kapp and Ted Smith (Desert Property Consultants) on
land on the southernmost slope of Palm Desert not owned by the Palm Desert
Corporation, to the west of Silver Spur Ranch (which was also being developed
at this time). An existing subdivision named Pines to Palms Estates (consisting
only of one street) was informally conjoined with Palm Desert Highlands,
becoming Bel Air Road. The only street which was technically part of Palm
Desert Highlands per the subdivision map was Skyward Way despite homes only
being built on Bel Air Road.
Kapp and Smith had developed a handful of small subdivisions around this time,
including Desert Garden (1957) and Palm Vista (1955). While those were more
affordable, Palm Desert Highlands was intended to be a more exclusive
development, with real estate advertisements touting it as the “Bel Air of the
Desert” because of its estate-sized lots, imposing views, and emphasis on
“individually designed” homes.47 Although only one street was laid out, it
appears that Kapp and Smith had intentions of expanding the subdivision, as
surrounding streets (namely Somera Road) were graded but not paved or
subdivided.
The architect John P. Moyer seems to have been allied with the subdivision, and
although Kapp and Smith did not develop spec homes, four Moyer-designed
homes were built by a selection of contractors and advertised by the
subdivision. Each house was custom and individual in order to avoid the
appearance of a tract.48 Kapp built a house for himself at 72907 Bel Air Road
(1962), and then another Outcault-designed house at 72980 Somera Drive a
few years later (1965).
Only about a dozen homes were built, some by individual homeowners, but
many by contractors who then sold the homes through Desert Property
Consultants. The neighborhood would fill in through the following decades and
adjoining tracts like Eldorado Highlands (1963) and Highland Palms Estates
(1964) created more of a neighborhood environment instead of a few estate
homes positioned atop the Palm Desert slope.
47 “Palm Desert Highlands Proves Slogan of Palm Desert,” Desert Sun, March 15, 1958.
48 Advertisement for Palm Desert Highlands, Desert Sun, April 19, 1958.
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Name/Number Desert Garden Homesites
Date 1957
Developer Eugene Roberts
Architect John Outcault
Boundary All of the street Garden Square, and four lots on the east side of Lantana
Avenue
Development History Sometime in the mid-to-late 1950s, the developer and contractor Eugene
Roberts purchased a parcel of land from Randall Henderson that was originally
part of the Desert Magazine landholdings. In 1957, Roberts developed this tract
as a single circular street known as “Desert Gardens.”
Roberts worked with the architect John Outcault and developed five homes
designed by the architect between 1957 and 1959.49 Outcault also built and
designed a house for himself at 45530 Garden Square (1959). Homes were
modern in style, smaller, and intended for a more affordable audience, and
Desert Property Consultants (Hal Kapp and Ted Smith) were brought on as sales
agents The homes built in the 1950s were primarily the ones developed by
Roberts, but a few individuals purchased empty lots and built their own homes.
The southern half of the subdivision was developed by the end of the 1950s,
and lots were filled in with other houses in ensuing decades.
49 “Desert Gardens Set to Open,” Desert Sun, February 6, 1959.
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Name/Number Sandpiper
Date 1958
Developer Western Land and Capital Company; George Osborn and William Kemp
Architect William Krisel and Dan Palmer (Palmer & Krisel)
Boundary El Paseo to the north, Pitahaya Street to the south, Edgehill Drive to the west,
and Highway 74 to the east
Development History After the liquidation of the Palm Desert Corporation (PDC) in 1956, the Palm
Desert Sales Company (PDSC) quickly began selling leftover parcels of land to a
variety of developers and builders, many of whom built condominiums,
apartments, and spec homes. In 1958, the Western Land and Capital Company,
a company based in Newport Beach, purchased a large parcel of land at the
corner of Highway 74 and El Paseo, on which stood only the Palm Desert Fire
Station (now the Historical Society of Palm Desert) built by the PDC.50
The Western Land and Capital Co hired the prominent Mid-Century Modern
firm Palmer & Krisel to design a condominium development on the site. William
Krisel’s design featured “circles” of duplex condominiums arranged around a
communal pool, barbeque, and lawn area. The design represented the height of
the Mid-Century Modern style, with extensive use of breezeblock,
shadowblock, clerestory windows, dramatic overhangs, sharp angles, and the
use of the latest home technologies. The condominiums were terraced and
sited to preserve privacy for each unit while maintaining views into the interior
of the circles and onto the surrounding mountains. Krisel also designed the
landscape while the decorator Vee Nisley was commissioned for interior
design.51
Even more innovative than Krisel’s Mid-Century Modern design was the idea of
the condominium itself, which was largely untested in the late 1950s. In fact,
Sandpiper was not initially conceived of as a condominium development but as
a development of co-operative apartments which shared communal facilities,
maintenance, and seasonal amenities like turndown services.
As the developers of Sandpiper would come to find out, however, the
development’s combination of stark architecture, relative affordability, and
recreation proved a massive success. Almost immediately after the construction
of Sandpiper began in 1958, developers across the Coachella Valley replicated
the model, which became widespread by the mid-1960s. One example of this
was the 1959 Sands and Shadows development designed by Harold Bissner
50 Jim West, “Sandpiper,” in William Krisel’s Palm Springs: The Language of Modernism, eds. Chris Menrad
and Heidi Creighton (Kaysville, Utah: Gibbs Smith, 2016), 88.
51 West, “Sandpiper,” 99-102.
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immediately adjacent to Sandpiper, which similarly featured a circular
arrangement of Mid-Century Modern condominiums.52
The first four phases of Sandpiper were completed between 1958 and 1960 and
quickly sold out. The development was photographed by Julius Shulman and
featured in a variety of national publications in addition to extensive coverage
in the local press, further promulgating its vision and popularity. In 1961, the
developers George Osborn and William Kemp (both residents of Sandpiper)
took over the project, retaining Krisel for the design of additional units. Circles
#5-12 were completed between 1961 and 1965 in Krisel’s iconic Mid-Century
Modern style, but unlike the first circles the units were larger and sold as
condominiums.53
Between 1965 and 1969, Kemp continued to develop additional circles (#13-17)
without the involvement of Krisel, moving away from the stark Mid-Century
Modern design of the earlier phases but still preserving the general idea and
layout of the community.54 By the time that the entire parcel of land was
developed in 1969, 306 condominium units had been completed and Sandpiper
had established itself as a vital precedent to mid-century development across
the Coachella Valley.
52 “Sand and Shadow Work Underway,” Desert Sun, September 11, 1959.
53 West, “Sandpiper,” 112.
54 West, “Sandpiper,” 115-116.
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Name/Number Shadow Village [California Dream Homes]
Date 1958
Developer Sproul Homes Inc; Walker and Pauline Boltz
Architect
Boundary Desert Star Boulevard and Erin Street to the north, Fred Waring Drive to the
south, Portola Avenue to the west, and Florine Avenue to the east
Development History Shadow Village was a large-scale housing development created by Sproul
Homes Inc and later completed/rebranded by California Dream Homes. Sproul
Homes was a national housing developer that had originated in 1949 in New
Mexico and by the end of the 1950s was advertising as “one of the ten largest
builders in the United States,” developing communities across the western
United States. They specialized in large tracts targeted towards the post-war
nuclear family, building affordable tract homes that could be financed by VA
and FHA loans. The homes they built were typically Mid-Century Modern in
design, and they occasionally worked with such noted architects as A. Quincy
Jones and Frederick Emmons, particularly in tracts they developed in Las
Vegas.55
Sproul Homes acquired a large parcel of agricultural land in Palm Desert at the
northeast corner of Portola Avenue and Fred Waring Drive [Avenue 44] around
1958. At that time, very few developments existed north of Fred Waring Drive,
except for Unit #10 of Palm Village and Palm Dell Estates, both of which were
sparsely developed. Historically, the land in this area was used for date farming
and other agriculture, as was the case with the land purchased for Shadow
Village. Scattered ranch houses, like the Odell Ranch House (Herbert Burns,
1948) were typical of this area, but there was no unified development until
Shadow Village.
Development of the tract began in 1958 with the laying of infrastructure and
streets, which generally followed a sweeping curve. The construction of homes
also commenced in late 1958, and the model home opened in February of 1959
directly on the corner of Fred Waring Dr and Portola Ave.56 While no architect is
apparent based on current documentation, all of the homes were designed in a
Mid-Century Modern style typical of post-war development and other tracts
built in Palm Desert around the same period, including Shadow Hills Estates
(1956) and Desert Stars (1961). Advertisements noted that there were
seventeen designs in total, all of which contained three bedrooms and two
bathrooms and cost a mere $16,750.57
55 Dave Cornoyer, “Jones and Emmons: Modernism for the Masses,” Docomomo US, August 3, 2020.
56 Shadow Village full-page advertisement, Desert Sun, February 13, 1959.
57 Full-page advertisement for Shadow Village, Desert Sun, February 13, 1959.
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Holiday Realty Corporation, a real estate firm that specialized in tracts in and
around the Coachella Valley, was hired by Sproul to act as exclusive sales
agents. As with other developments with Sproul Homes, these homes were
targeted towards families and pre-approved for FHA and VA loans. Open houses
were arranged every weekend with free balloons and ice cream “for the
kiddies,” and advertisements emphasized the family-oriented features of the
homes, like the lunch counter that was standard in every home, or their
proximity to churches.58 Actor and resident Hopalong Cassidy attended the
grand opening of the tract in February of 1959, and the first homes were sold in
the weeks following.59
As noted in newspapers, plans for Shadow Village called for upwards of 500
homes to be constructed in addition to recreational facilities. Around sixty
homes were completed or under construction by the end of 1959, with many of
them had sold, and plans under preparation for successive phases. However,
for reasons which are unclear, Sproul Homes sold the development and residual
land in the spring of 1960 to Walker and Pauline Boltz, a husband and wife who
had developed tracts in Palm Springs.60
The Boltzes retained the Shadow Village name and broke ground on a new
phase of development in the summer of 1960, building what they called the
“California Dream Homes.” Almost exactly like the homes built by Sproul
Homes, these were affordable and modern tract homes that could be financed
by FHA loans. Through the early and mid 1960s, the Boltzes developed dozens
more homes and duplexes, and by 1965 the Shadow Village tract was entirely
developed with well over a hundred houses and duplex units.61
Shadow Village proved to be a success, and it quickly became one of the first
and only family-oriented neighborhoods in Palm Desert. The homes south of
Highway 111 built on land owned by the Palm Desert Corporation (and later
owners) had primarily been reserved for high-class seasonal residences. The
large number of families present in the tract likely influenced the decision to
build the Abraham Lincoln Elementary School (E. Stewart Williams, 1963,
demolished) and the Palm Desert Middle School (1968) directly adjacent.
Shadow Village not only outlaid significant housing stock affordable and
welcoming to families but pushed the northern boundary of Palm Desert (still
58 Full-page advertisement for Shadow Village, Desert Sun, March 27, 1959; Full-page advertisement for
Shadow Village, Desert Sun, May 1, 1959.
59 “’Hoppy’ Gets Some Assistance,” Desert Sun, February 26, 1959.
60 “Dream Homes Buys Shadow Village Lots,” Desert Sun, May 31, 1960.
61 It is unclear if the Boltzes reused the same house plans created by Sproul Homes or if they hired their
own architect. Regardless, the architect of this phase of development is also unknown.
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unincorporated in the 1960s) further than it had been before. From the 1960s
onward, development would increasingly happen in the undeveloped desert to
the north of Palm Desert, epitomized by Palm City [Palm Desert Country Club],
which would break ground only a few years later.
Established as a family neighborhood, tracts developed in the 1970s and 80s
adjacent to Shadow Village would continue to uphold this character. At some
point in the 1980s, the entire block of Shadow Village facing Fred Waring Dr
stretching from Portola Ave to Florine Ave was demolished as part of a project
to widen Fred Waring Dr. Otherwise, the general character of the neighborhood
has largely remained the same as an affordable, family-oriented region of Palm
Desert.
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Name/Number Desert Lily Estates
Date 1958 ca.
Developer Unknown
Architect Ross Patten (Patten & Wild)
Boundary Desert Lily Drive to the west, Willow Street to the north, and Tamarisk Street to
the south, four lots deep to the east
Development History Desert Lily Estates was a very small tract developed by an unknown developer,
consisting only of sixteen lots. It appears that the land was purchased from the
Palm Desert Sales Company (who had liquidated the Palm Desert Corporation),
and the developer proceeded to develop this small subdivision using the
existing plan for Palm Desert Unit #10 by Tommy Tomson. The Palm Desert
Sales Company developed Unit #10 shortly after Desert Lily Estates and
reflected the missing parcel sold for Desert Lily Estates on their subdivision
map.
Desert Lily Estates was targeted towards a more exclusive clientele, with larger
lots that were in the vicinity of Palm Desert’s finest homes. It appears that
Desert Lily Estates was allied with the design/build firm Patten & Wild, of which
Ross Patten was the designer. The firm designed and built six homes in the tract
for a variety of clients/spec builders. By the end of the 1960s, less than half of
the lots were developed in the tract, which was filled in through ensuing
decades.
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Name/Number Halecrest Country Club Village
Date 1959
Developer Golconda Development Company; Hale Company
Architect L.C. Major and Associates
Boundary Merle Drive to the north, Gary Avenue to the south, Rebecca Road to the west,
and Clifford Street to the east
Development History Halecrest Country Club Village was first announced in 1959 as an ambitious $60
million retirement community similar to the scope of the ill-fated Palm City, and
was to contain hundreds of homes, a shopping center, hotel, eighteen-hole golf
course, and even a landing strip.62 However, by the time ground was broken on
the community in 1960, it was to be a series of fourteen single-family homes
grouped around a central pool.63 Ultimately, only nine groupings of about a
dozen homes each were built. The homes were built as affordable single-family
tract homes designed in a simplified Mid-Century Modern style, and it appears
that they were mostly purchased by families. Although Halecrest Country Club
Village is among the least known and documented mid-century tract in Palm
Desert, it was featured on the cover of a 1962 issue of Life Magazine for a story
titled “Opening Up the Desert for Living.”64
62 “Officials Reveal Plans for Senior Citizens Project,” Desert Sun, July 28, 1959.
63 “Halecrest Set for Big Preview,” Desert Sun, December 16, 1960.
64 LIFE Magazine, March 23, 1962.
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Name/Number Sands and Shadows
Date 1959
Developer Neill Davis
Architect Harold J. Bissner; Robert Pitchford (Bissner & Pitchford)
Boundary Irregular (see aerial)
Development History In 1959, with the growing popularity of the condominium and co-operative
apartment model, the Pasadena-based developer Neill Davis hired the modern
architect Harold J. Bissner to design a development on a parcel of land adjacent
to Highway 74.65 Much like Sandpiper, Bissner designed a circle of Mid-Century
Modern condominiums wrapped around a central pool and lawn area. Arranged
in nine triplexes, the first circle of twenty-seven units was completed in 1959. A
second phase, this time designed by both Harold Bissner and Robert Pitchford,
commenced in 1963, and was also Mid-Century Modern in style but featured
flat roofs instead of pitched roofs.66 At least one additional circle of Sands and
Shadows was planned but never completed.
65 “Sand and Shadow Work Underway,” Desert Sun, September 11, 1959.
66 Advertisement for Sands and Shadows Unit #2, Desert Sun, March 2, 1969; Original brochure for Sands
and Shadows, ca. 1959, Historical Society of Palm Desert Collections.
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Name/Number Palm City [Palm Desert Country Club]
Date 1960
Developer Marnel Development Company
Architect William F. Bray
Boundary Hovley Lane to the north, Fred Waring Drive to the south, Virginia Avenue to
the west, and Warner Trail/Washington Street to the east
Development History Now known as Palm Desert Country Club, the large development at the eastern
border of Palm Desert was originally conceived as Palm City. In 1960,
developers Nel Severin and H. Marshall Secrest (Marnel Development
Company) announced plans for “Palm City,” an 1,800-home retirement
community with a population upwards of 4,000. The development was to
feature a variety of housing types (single-family residential, condominiums, and
apartments) recreational facilities, a golf course, shopping center, medical-
dental building, and community pools. Homeownership in Palm City was limited
to residents older than fifty, and it was intended to be affordable for seniors on
a fixed income.
Rather than a new subdivision within an existing city, the development initially
positioned itself as an entirely new city. Severin and Secrest purchased over 550
acres of land for the project in the undeveloped desert hinterlands straddling
Palm Desert and La Quinta. Although Palm City attempted to stand on its own,
it quickly became associated with Palm Desert, which itself was still an
unincorporated community.
The project was approved in the summer of 1960, and the construction soon
began on the first unit, consisting of the shopping center, homes, the first holes
of the eventual eighteen-hole golf course, and “cooperative apartments”
(condominiums). From the very beginning, the development was marketed as
an “Active Retirement” community with its ample recreational activities, which
included the golf course, swimming pools, an “arts and crafts center,”
shuffleboard, horseshoe pits, and social events.
Homes in the development, which were all built by Marnel Development
Company, had three standard floor plans and nineteen total designs in a
generic Ranch style typical of post-war tracts. Similarly, the cooperative units
(which were planned to total 400 units) were one- and two-story buildings in a
Ranch/Mid-Century Modern style consisting of one- and two-bedroom
arrangements. The developers prided themselves on the efficiency and
standardization of home construction, noting their construction rate of ten
houses a day and their grand plans to deliver a city of 4,000 people in one
year.67 Homes were arranged to face the golf course on winding streets each
67 “New 1800 Home Development Set,” Desert Sun, July 8, 1960.
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named after a different American state, with recreational facilities interlaced
throughout.
The pre-opening for the development happened in February of 1961, with only
four model homes completed. The interior designer C. Tony Pereira, noted for
his work on the Ocotillo Lodge in Palm Springs, was commissioned to design the
interiors of the model homes as well as the model apartments, which opened in
April of 1961.68 The shopping center, a Mid-Century Modern design, and
medical-dental buildings were completed around this time, and retirees began
moving into their homes in the late spring of 1961. The first unit, consisting of
450 homes, was completed in 1961, and the second unit, to consist of 463
homes and 184 cooperative apartments, was inaugurated in November of
1961.69
A little more than a year after opening for sales, the population of Palm City had
reached 850 residents, and the social development of the community also
continued. The Palm City Homeowners Association was created in 1962 to
govern and advise the community, and ground was broken on the first church,
St. John’s Lutheran Church, in 1963.70
While the developers claimed that Unit 1 of Palm City had sold out, it
appears that they had difficulty selling and developing the second unit, and
totally abandoned plans for the third unit. It was reported that Marnel had
suffered a loss upwards of $2.5 million. Severin and Secrest sold the entire
project at the end of 1963 to Frank Goodman and Robert Farrer, two
Oakland-based developers.71 Goodman and Farrer initiated a new campaign
to rid the development of its “old folks home” image, first by dropping the
age requirement, and then by renaming it “Palm Desert Country Club
Estates” to capitalize on Palm Desert’s image as an upper-class resort
community.72 With the change, the development became fully integrated
into Palm Desert, and therefore pushed the formal boundaries of the city
further east than had ever been done.
By the end of 1965, the first two units of Palm Desert Country Club were totally
complete, and the new developers focused on selling existing stock before
building anything additional. Their new advertising campaigns abandoned all
68 “Palm City Cooperative Opening Set,” Desert Sun, April 21, 1961.
69 “Grand Opening Continues at Palm City’s New Unit,” Desert Sun, November 7, 1961.
70 “Executive Council for Palm City Homes Voted,” Desert Sun, March 16, 1962; “Lutherans Witness
Groundbreaking Rites,” Desert Sun, November 27, 1963.
71 “Palm City to Change Image,” Desert Sun, January 6, 1964.
72 “Palm City-Palm Desert Draw Nearer,” Palm Desert Post, January 30, 1964.
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mention of a retirement community, instead promoting it as an affordable
place to live the lifestyle typical of nearby high-class country clubs.
Although Goodman and Farrer claimed to have plans to build the third unit of
Palm Desert Country Club as planned by Palm City, the only thing they appeared
to have developed were its streets. The empty streets sat vacant for about a
decade, when another developer built a few dozen homes in the mid-1970s,
and the developer John D. Lusk built out the remaining lots in the late 1970s
with his “Lusk Homes,” which were vaguely Spanish-inspired tract homes typical
of the period. 73
73 Advertisement for Lusk Homes, Desert Sun, December 9, 1977.
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Name/Number Shadow Mountain Golf Estates
Date 1960
Developer Shadow Mountain Golf Club
Architect
Boundary The streets of White Stone Lane and Flagstone Lane, in addition to the lots on
the west side of Portola Avenue between Fairway Drive and Grapevine Street,
and lots on a portion of the north side of Grapevine
Development History Shadow Mountain Golf Estates was a small tract developed as part of the
Shadow Mountain Golf Club, consisting of two streets within the golf course
itself and a selection of lots on the periphery streets. Given its exclusive location
and view within/facing the golf course fairways, the tract was intended to be
developed with high-class estate homes. However, only a very small selection of
homes was built. The design/build firm Patten & Wild built three modern estate
homes on Flagstone Lane designed by architect Christer Barlund between 1964
and 1965, and the realtor Richard Kite built a home on White Stone Lane. The
tract was eventually developed in ensuing decades, and the later homes were
also estate sized.
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Name/Number Desert Stars
Date 1961
Developer Charles White (White and Associates)
Architect Charles W. Doty
Boundary The street of Davis Road and a portion of Homestead Road and Beverly Drive,
Davis Drive, and Prarie Drive.
Development History Desert Stars was a small subdivision consisting of twenty -two homes developed
by builder Charles “Bud” White and designed by architect Charles W. Doty. The
subdivision (filed as Tract 2130) appears to have laid around 1960 and consisted
solely of twenty-two lots on Homestead Road and connecting streets Beverly
Drive, Davis Drive, and Prairie Drive.
According to original sales brochures, the architect Charles W. Doty was solely
responsible for the design of the homes, which White and Associates
constructed between 1961 and 1962. They were typical Mid-Century Modern
tract homes of the 1960s, with butterfly, pitched, and flat-roofed models, and
unlike the nearby Palm Desert Highlands, were intended to be more affordable.
Prices varied from either $18,950 and $19,950 for the 2-bedroom or 3-
bedroom models, respectively.74
Construction was fully completed on the homes in 1962 and the Desert Stars
subdivision (as defined by the tract map) was fully developed. However, White
would soon go on to develop the upper portion of Prarie Drive with his
Highland Palms Estates development two years later, in 1964. It appears that
the homes developed as part of Desert Stars were either not initially sold, or
that they were later grouped in as part of Highland Palms Estates for marketing
purposes. There was scarcely any marketing for Desert Stars, and future
advertisements for Highland Palms Estates noted a number of homes that was
only possible given the inclusion of homes built for Desert Stars.
74 Advertisement for Desert Stars, Desert Sun, January 4, 1962.
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Name/Number Eldorado Highlands
Date 1963
Developer Stanton Graham
Architect Stanton Graham
Boundary North side of Homestead Road, from Highway 74 to Alamo Drive
Development History Eldorado Highlands was a small tract of twenty homes developed by developer-
contractor-architect Stanton Graham immediately adjacent to Palm Desert
Highlands. (In fact, the original sign for Palm Desert Highlands was repurposed
for this new tract.)
Like its predecessor neighborhood, Eldorado Highlands was marketed as an
upper-class neighborhood with imposing views, larger lots, and “individual”
houses. Although they were designed and built at once by Graham, each home
had a different façade, with styles and influences ranging from “Greek, Roman,
Mediterranean, Oriental, or Spanish.”75While Graham apparently acted as
architect for the homes, the interior designer Noel F. Birns was brought on as
the color consultant and decorator for the model homes.
The set of twenty homes was completed in 1964 and Graham did not develop
anything further. An adjoining subdivision, Highland Palms Estates (1964) was
developed almost contemporaneously and mirrored the eclectic historicist
architecture of Eldorado Highlands.
75 “Subdivision Departs from Usual Palm Grove,” Desert Sun, December 14, 1963.
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Name/Number Highland Palms Estates
Date 1964
Developer Charles “Bud” White and Syd Crossley (Highland Palms Development Company)
Architect Charles W. Doty (attribution)
Boundary The street of Prarie Drive
Development History Highland Palms Estates was a joint venture between contractor Charles “Bud”
White and Syd Crossley, who developed the subdivision and sixteen homes in
1964 by continuing the streets laid by White in 1961 for his Desert Palms tract.
While White had developed the initial tract (Desert Stars) under his own
company, he partnered with Crossley for this phase.
It appears that the architect Charles W. Doty was responsible for the design of
the homes, however further documentation is needed to confirm this
attribution. Doty had designed the homes built for Desert Stars only a few years
prior, and many of the homes built for Highland Palms appear to be similar
models. Whereas Desert Stars was exclusively built with Mid-Century Modern
tract homes, Highland Palms was built in a variety of styles, including Grecian-
influenced homes (which may have been inspired by Stanton Graham’s
adjacent Eldorado Highlands being developed at the same time).
The subdivision was opened in 1964 and advertised as “designed for family
living,” and were slightly more affordable than its Eldorado Highlands and Palm
Desert Highlands counterparts, while still more expensive than the homes built
for Desert Stars.76 White and Crossley never went on to develop any houses in
the subdivision after the homes built in 1964, although the streets were
expanded (namely Beverly Drive) and developed in ensuing decades.
76 “Highland Palms Estates Presents Unique Desert Dwellings with Preview Opening and Party Today,”
Desert Sun, July 24, 1964.
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Name/Number Marrakesh Country Club
Date 1967
Developer Johnny Dawson
Architect John Elgin Woolf and Robert Koch; Richard A. Harrison; Theodore Robinson
Boundary Portola Avenue to the east, Amir Drive to the west, Haystack Road to the south,
and Grapevine Lane to the north
Development History In 1967, the developer Johnny Dawson leased the 155-acre parcel of land
known as Haystack Mountain Ranch from Elisabeth Stewart, a famous swimsuit
designer who had inherited the property from her father Edgar W. Stewart.77
The Ranch was a humble operation with only two small houses and a horse
corral, but by the 1960s it was one of the largest and most centrally located
undeveloped parcels of land south of Highway 111. Dawson, who was noted for
catalyzing country club development with his Thunderbird Country Club (1951),
Eldorado Country Club (1957), and Seven Lakes Country Club (1964), envisioned
a full-size country club in Palm Desert.78
Dawson hired the architect John Elgin Woolf and his partner Robert Koch to
design the development in Woolf’s quintessential Hollywood Regency style,
along with the golf course architect Ted Robinson, who was responsible for the
land planning and golf course. Initially, the country club was to be known as the
“Mountain Lakes Country Club,” but after Woolf exhibited his design which
featured a pink color scheme, the name “Marrakesh” (the Moroccan city famed
for its pink walls) was suggested to Dawson and became the official name.79
Woolf’s design and scheme was notable for its exuberant style as well as its
comprehensiveness. He designed everything for the community, from its
clubhouse to its condominiums to its lampposts, all in his signature Hollywood
Regency style. From the very beginning, the development was to be built out
completely with condominiums, and Woolf designed four models ranging in size
and design.
Construction began in the fall of 1968 on infrastructure, administration/security
buildings, and the golf course, all of which were completed in 1969. Beginning
late in 1969, construction on condominiums began and were phased out over a
77 “Dawson Tells of Condominium Plan,” Palm Desert Post, December 28, 1967.
78 James Munn, “We’re the Dawsons!,” Palm Springs Life, September 20, 2021,
https://www.palmspringslife.com/velma-wayne-dawson/.
79 “Introducing Marrakesh Country Club,” Palm Springs Life, September 1968.
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period of ten years in twenty-to-forty-unit increments, and finally completed in
1979 at a final tally of 364 units.80 Each section of condominiums also featured
a central pool area and pool pavilion (a Woolf specialty), and were wrapped
around the eighteen-hole golf course designed by Robinson.
In 1970, after difficulty sourcing the working drawings from Woolf, the modern
architect Richard A. Harrison was commissioned to redesign the clubhouse.
Construction on the clubhouse began in 1970 and was complete in 1972, at
which point the first residents had moved into condominiums. Velma Dawson,
Johnny Dawson’s ceramicist wife noted for creating the Howdy Doody
marionette, was responsible for the interior design of the clubhouse and a
selection of units.
Marrakesh instantly became the most prominent country club in Palm Desert.
In the years immediately following, clubs like Del Safari Country Club (1969) and
Ironwood Country Club (1972) would kick off, but Marrakesh was the first. Due
in part to Dawson’s reputation, many units were sold well before their
completion, and the club was activated with a variety of social and sporting
events even in its earliest years. Marrakesh’s unique Hollywood Regency design
also embodied shifts occurring in the architecture trends of the 1960s and 70s
and was one of the earliest country clubs in Palm Desert – a typology that
would define development of the following decades.
80 Luke Leuschner, Marrakesh Country Club: Historic District Nomination, Version 1: February 2025, 15-18;
“Final Phase for Marrakesh Project Given Approval,” Desert Sun, March 30, 1977.
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Name/Number Del Safari Country Club [Avondale Golf Club]
Date 1969
Developer M.G.G. Corporation [George Glickley, Burton Graham, and Daniel McLachlan]
Architect John F. Galbraith
Boundary Frank Sinatra Drive to the north, Country Club Drive to the south, Eldorado
Drive to the east, and Sweetwater Drive to the west
Development History In 1968, the businessmen George Glickly and Burton Graham purchased a 240 -
acre parcel of barren desert land from a woman named Sophia Maloof. At that
point, Palm Desert’s unincorporated boundaries were about as far Hovley Lane,
but this land was much farther north. Graham and Glickley, friends who were
members of Bermuda Dunes Country Club and had also together owned the
Bermuda Dunes Airport, announced a large-scale country club development
with custom homes, condominiums, a clubhouse, eighteen-hole golf course,
and other typical amenities.81
In the very beginning of the project, the Palm Springs architect William F. Cody
was hired for the design, but he was soon replaced by the Pasadena architect
John. F. Galbraith. The golf course developer and designer Jimmy Hines was
hired to oversee the design and construction of the golf course. The name of
the development was initially announced as The Safari Country Club in the
beginning of 1969 but was soon refined to the Del Safari Country Club.82 The
development was branded around an African theme with streets named after
African places, spear motifs on the main gate, and a central clubhouse that
resembled a fort. Galbraith’s design for the clubhouse was a unique circular
stucco structure atop an artificial hill with commanding views of the entire
Coachella Valley.
Construction began on the golf course and clubhouse in the spring of 1969 and
was completed by the beginning of 1970s. Despite the advanced construction
timeline and the project’s grand ambitions, the project began to face issues in
1970. Construction began on an early phase of twenty-one condominiums at
the end of 1970, and only a few custom homes were built (those of the
developers). Ultimately, only about sixty condominium units were completed of
an intended 500, and the project went bankrupt by the mid-1970s. In 1986, a
new owner renamed the club Avondale Golf Club.83 Despite the failure of its
initial vision, lots were developed over ensuing decades and the membership
filled out, and buildings like the clubhouse attest to a distinct period of 1960s
development in the Coachella Valley.
81 “Luxurious Golf Club Due Soon,” Desert Sun, March 4, 1969.
82 “Luxurious Golf Club,” Desert Sun, 1969.
83 Avondale Golf Club, “Our 50th Anniversary,” https://www.avondalegolfclub.com/legacy.
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Name/Number Deep Canyon Tennis Club
Date 1971
Developer El Dorado Homes; Rowland Sweet and C. L. Cleleand
Architect
Boundary To the east of Highway 74, between Bursera Way and Amber Street/Ambrosia
Street, consisting of development inside of Frank Feltrop Drive
Development History The Deep Canyon Tennis Club was a large-scale condominium development
initiated by developers Rowland Sweet and C. L. Cleleand on a fifty-eight-acre
parcel on the upper slope of southern Palm Desert. The land was originally part
of the Palm Desert Corporation’s landholdings, although it was never
subdivided or developed previously. Sweet and Cleleand originally proposed a
400-unit condominium development designed in a modern style and consisting
of two-story buildings.84
The plan, which signaled a departure from the low-density single-family estate
homes typical of surrounding neighborhoods, triggered some citizen backlash,
although it was approved in October of 1971 with only a slight reduction to 360
units.85 Construction progressed through 1972, although by this time it was
under the control of El Dorado Homes, a large-scale development company
which appears to have purchased the development from Sweet and Clealand.
The first phase of the Deep Canyon Tennis Club opened at the end of the
summer of 1973. At that time, only the clubhouse facilities, ten tennis courts,
and less than half of the planned 360 units had been completed. The
architecture, unlike that presented in initial plans by Sweet and Clealand, was
an ambiguous southwestern style with stucco walls and Spanish tile roofs.
Models ranged in size, beginning at $29,950, making them affordable within the
seasonal economy context.
For reasons which are unclear, the development would not be complete until
1979, when the final phase of the condominiums was constructed and sold. In
total, it had ten tennis courts, twelve pools, six paddleboard courts, extensive
landscaping, and a central clubhouse with a tennis pro shop and various
amenities.86
84 “PD Condominium Project to Offer Swimming & Tennis,” Palm Desert Post, July 8, 1971.
85 “Planners Approved Deep Canyon Club,” Palm Desert Post, October 7, 1971.
86 “Deep Canyon Club Offers Round the Clock Security,” Desert Sun, October 30, 1973.
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Name/Number Palm Desert Tennis Club
Date 1971
Developer John and Beverly Fletiz
Architect John Outcault
Boundary Homestead Road to the north, Mesa View Drive to the south, Center Street to
the west, and Alamo Drive to the east
Development History Initially idealized as the “Palm Desert Racquet Club,” the Palm Desert Tennis
Club was a 100-unit condominium development created by developer John
Fleitz and his wife Beverly Baker Fleitz, a prominent tennis athlete who had
been top-ranked in the 1950s.87 The Fleitzes purchased the twenty-acre parcel
from fellow tennis player George Alexander.88 The land had previously been
undeveloped and had never been a part of another subdivision, although it was
adjacent to such tracts as Palm Desert Highlands, Eldorado Highlands, Highland
Palms Estates, and Desert Stars.
While tennis-oriented developments had originated in Palm Springs prior to
World War Two with the Racquet Club and the Palm Springs Tennis Club, a
wave of these developments proliferated in the eastern Coachella Valley in the
1970s with the widespread adoption of the condominium model. Whereas golf-
oriented country clubs necessarily required large quantities of land, tennis clubs
could be built on smaller parcels. Contemporary with the Palm Desert Tennis
Club were the nearby developments Deep Canyon Tennis Club (1971) and
Corsican Villas (1973), which similarly featured condominiums planned around
tennis courts and clubhouse.
The Palm Desert Tennis Club was designed by architect John Outcault on a
twenty-acre parcel off Mesa View Drive, an area of southern Palm Desert which
was rapidly being developed, particularly with the arrival of Ironwood Country
Club only a few years later. Outcault designed the development in an
ambiguous southwestern style typical of the 1970s, with stucco walls and
Spanish tile roofs. The site planning featured 100 condominium units split into
five circles, each surrounding a small pool. Community facilities included a
clubhouse, large communal pool, eight tennis courts (one with a stadium for
events), and various other recreational amenities like an indoor handball court
and billiard’s room.
The Palm Desert Tennis Club opened for a preview and sales in the summer of
1973, followed by a grand opening in October of 1973 attended by numerous
87 “103-Unit Racquet Club Planned in Palm Desert,” Desert Sun, August 19, 1971.
88 Ginny Smith, “Desert Larking,” Desert Sun, June 21, 1973.
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tennis stars.89 Prices for the three-bedroom units began at $42,500, placing
them in the higher end, but the development appears to have quickly sold out
by the end of 1973.
89 Ginny Smith, “Desert Larking,” Desert Sun, June 21, 1973; Alice Marble, “The Net Set: Tennis News,” Palm
Desert Post, October 11, 1973.
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Name/Number Ironwood Country Club
Date 1972
Developer Silver Spur Associates (Robert M. Haynie, Jack A. Vickers, Arnold Palmer)
Architect William F. Cody; Francisco J. Urrutia
Boundary Irregular (refer to aerial)
Development History In the 1950s, the southernmost development on the slope of Palm Desert was
Silver Spur Ranch, a subdivision that consisted of largely middle-class Ranch
style homes at the base of Deep Canyon. The Silver Spur landholdings, however,
were significantly larger than the subdivision itself, totaling approximately 600
acres. Further south, above the subdivision adjacent to the mouth of Deep
Canyon, the singer Bing Crosby and a group of his friends had built estate
homes. This, however, was the only development on this portion of land owned
by Silver Spur.
In 1959, the developers, Adrian and Mercedes Schwilck, sold their stake in
Silver Spur to a consortium headed by movie producer Sol Lesser, who
imagined a sprawling development with hundreds of homes and a grand
clubhouse all designed by modernist architect William Krisel. These plans, which
never materialized, were to be on the land above Silver Spur around the Crosby
estate. Lesser’s plans for the expansion of Silver Spur Ranch were the last for
this portion of land until Ironwood Country Club, developed beginning in the
1970s. In 1962, Schwilck purchased back his stake in Silver Spur Ranch but not
all of the land, and it appears that Lesser retained much of the land to the south
of the development.
While Schwilck initiated a failed expansion of Silver Spur in the mid-1960s, it
seems that plans were being conceptualized for a large-scale country club
development on the land that was previously part of Silver Spur’s landholdings.
In 1972, a plan was announced by Silver Spur Associates (not to be confused
with the company that developed Silver Spur Ranch), a consortium headed by
Robert M. Haynie and Jack A. Vickers, for a large $90 million country club.90 At
the time, landholdings were reported at 900 acres, which appears to have
included land that was formerly Silver Spur Ranch property and land from other
sources.
The prominent architect William F. Cody was brought on as the architect and
planner for the development (then unnamed) which was to include three golf
courses, a clubhouse, over 3000 housing units ranging from estate homes to
condominiums, tennis facilities, and numerous other amenities. At this time in
Palm Desert, numerous other country clubs (of varying sizes) had been
developed or were in development, including Marrakesh Country Club (1968),
90 “Silver Spur Homeowners Discuss $90 Million Plan,” Palm Desert Post, February 10, 1972.
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Del Safari Country Club (1968), and Deep Canyon Tennis Club (1971), although
this new development would be larger than any of them.
After some citizen backlash from the organization Concerned Citizens of Palm
Desert, a resulting settlement lowered the density of the development, and
ground was broken at the end of 1972.91 At the beginning of 1973, the
development was officially named “Ironwood Country Club,” and ground was
formally broken. At this time, according to numerous articles, the famous golfer
Arnold Palmer had joined in as an investor in the project, and from then on, he
would be cited in publicity about Ironwood.92 Palmer and another famous
golfer, Jack Nicklaus, worked with golf course architect Desmond Muirhead on
the design of the three courses.93
The preview opening of the development was held in November of 1973, at
which point the clubhouse and five model condominium units were completed,
and the first golf course was under construction. Development on the
residential component of Ironwood was phased out over a period of nearly ten
years and featured a variety of home sizes and types, ranging from one-
bedroom condominiums to large estate homes. While the architect of the
earliest condominium phases (1972-1973) is unclear, the architect Francisco J.
Urrutia, a disciple of William Cody who likely got the job through his office’s
initial involvement, designed many of the successive phases. The
condominiums, priced in the higher range, were designed in a Late Modern
style hybridized with a generic southwestern palette (stucco walls and Spanish
tile roofs), and interior design services were offered by the management.
The developers also built dozens of “Fairway Homes” designed by Urrutia,
which were large single-family estates. Much later, Ironwood sold homesites for
owner-built estates, which would come to surround the Bing Crosby estate
once part of Silver Spur Ranch.
Development on the country club largely came to an end in the early 1980s. By
1982, only 975 homes had been built despite Ironwood’s authorization to built
1,700, and their initial aspirations to build over 3,000.94 At the time, the
developers cited both a slow economy and concerns about the overuse of the
club’s facilities. Later units would be planned and built, as soon as 1984, but
Ironwood was eventually complete by the end of a ten-year development
campaign.
91 “Silver Spur Opposition Withdrawn,” Desert Sun, September 21, 1972.
92 “Stars to Initiate Course,” Desert Sun, February 3, 1973.
93 “Silver Spur Becomes Ironwood Country Club,” Palm Desert Post, May 3, 1973.
94 “Ironwood Cuts Home Total by 40 Percent,” Desert Sun, February 19, 1981.
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Ironwood Country Club, however, became the city’s preeminent country club,
reorienting development of the southernmost slope of Palm Desert. In the
ensuing years, private country clubs (of an even higher level) were built
immediately adjacent, including The Reserve Club, Bighorn Golf Club, and Stone
Eagle Golf Club.
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Name/Number Corsican Villas
Date 1973
Developer Biddle-Kavanaugh Development Company; Pacific Lighting Properties Inc
Architect Barry Berkus and Associates
Boundary The street Desert Circle Drive and connecting streets
Development History Corsican Villas was a 130-unit condominium development built on a twenty-
acre parcel originally part of Silver Spur Ranch. In the mid-1960s, Adrian
Schwilck, the developer of Silver Spur Ranch, oversaw a development campaign
to build out the neighborhood, including a clubhouse (a Mid-Century Modern
design by architect Robert Ricciardi), communal swimming pool, and small golf
course, all completed in 1963. The campaign was ultimately unsuccessful, as
Schwilck lost the development to foreclosure, and the bank liquidated the
properties.
The developers behind Coriscan Villas, Biddle-Kavanaugh Development
Company and Pacific Lighting Properties Inc, purchased a portion of this
liquidated land in the ensuing years which included the former golf course,
clubhouse, and swimming pool. Other portions of land which were formerly
Silver Spur Ranch were also sold and developed at this time, including parcels
which would become Ironwood Country Club.
In 1973, the Corsican Villas were announced on this land and ground was
broken in February of that year.95 Like many other contemporary
developments, including the Palm Desert Tennis Club (1971), Deep Canyon
Tennis Club (1971), and Sommerset (1971, also developed by Biddle), Corsican
was to be a condominium development complete with tennis courts, a pool,
and clubhouse. The two-story buildings were designed by prolific architect
Barry Berkus A.I.A. in a Late Modern style with some Spanish elements, and the
two- and three-bedroom units began at $27,950.96 The land that once
contained the Silver Spur golf course was redeveloped for Corsican, although
the original Silver Spur clubhouse and pool were updated and repurposed as
the clubhouse for the new development.
The first unit, consisting of eighty units, was completed in 1973 and was quickly
sold, and a second unit of fifty units began in 1976, and were sold out by the
beginning of 1977.97
95 “Corsican Villas Started,” Desert Sun, February 16, 1973.
96 “Corsican Villas Mark Opening,” Desert Sun, April 13, 1973.
97 “Corsican Villas Sets Final Phase,” Desert Sun, January 30, 1976; Advertisement for Corsican Villas final
liquidation, Desert Sun, January 12, 1977.
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Name/Number Sommerset
Date 1977
Developer Biddle Development Inc; M & T Inc
Architect Morris-Lohrbach & Associates (architecture), Frank Radmacher & Associates
(landscape)
Boundary West of Highway 74, Desert Flower Drive and all connecting streets except for
the three cul de sacs east of Desert Flower Dr between Starburst Drive and
Sommerset Drive
Development History Sommerset, also known as Sommerset Garden Home, was a 193-unit
condominium development on a thirty-three-acre parcel on the upper slope of
southern Palm Desert. It was the creation of Biddle Development Inc (who had
partnered in developing Corsican Villas immediately prior) in partnership with
M & T Incorporated. The condominium units, which were marketed as
townhomes or “garden homes,” were to be surrounded by eleven swimming
pools and tennis courts and were anticipated to attract both permanent and
seasonal residents.98 Details, from landscaping to interior finishes, were
intended to be of utmost quality, and the units were on the higher end, ranging
in price from $77,990 to $87,990 for a variety of floor plans.99
Ground was broken for the first unit of Sommerset in the fall of 1977, with four
model units open to the public and sales beginning in the spring of 1978.
Immediately successful, three units followed: the second in the spring of 1978,
the third in the winter of 1978, and the fourth in the fall of 1979. Successive
phases were also more expensive, and by the fourth and final phase, units were
beginning at $114,000.100 By the end of 1981, only a dozen units for sale were
remaining, and all units had been constructed.101
98 “Ground Broken in Palm Desert for Sommerset Garden Home,” Desert Sun, October 21, 1977.
99 “’Finishing Touches’ Added to Models,” Desert Sun, March 3, 1978.
100 “Sommerset Features Recreation,” Desert Sun, July 30, 1981.
101 “Sommerset: 13 Left,” Desert Sun, November 14, 1981.