HomeMy WebLinkAboutList of 10 City of Palm Desert Landmarks
L ANDM ARKS OF THE CITY OF PALM DESERT
1. HISTORIC AL SOCIETY OF PALM DESERT (72 -861 El Paseo) D esigned by W alter
W hite in the style of Ranch Vernacular, the fire station was completed in 1951.
Contractor Bill Lord used rustic concrete masonry units furnished by the
County Prison farm brick yard in Banning.
2. SHADOW MOUNT AIN GOLF CLUB (73-800 IRONW OOD) Located in the heart of
the Coachella Valley surrounded by the Santa Rosa and S an Jacinto
Mountains, Shadow Mountain Golf Course was incorporated on January 24,
1958. Designed by the famed and legendary golfer, Gene Sarazen. It was the
first golf course in Palm Desert.
3. PORTOLA COMMUNITY CENTER (45-480 PORTOLA AVE) The building located
at 45-480 Portola Avenue is significant as the first Communit y Library in
the Cit y of Palm Desert. The building was constructed in
1962 on land donated by Randall and Cyria Henderson.
4. SANDP IPER CONDOMINIUMS, CIRCLES 5 - 12 (EL PASEO) Sandpi per
Condominiums Circles 5 through 12, completed i n 1958 through 1965 by
the Los Angeles- bas ed architectur al firm of Palmer & Krisel, exhi bit
numerous stylistic markers that pl ace them directl y in t he historic cont ext
of Palm Desert’s Modern P eriod. Further, Circles 5 through 12 are an
excellent exam ple of multi-famil y residential development in Palm Desert
in the mid-1960s. The 128 units and 64 buildi ngs that c omprise Circles
5 through 12 reflect a coherent vision of modernist architect ure rarel y found
anywhere else in the United States. The siti ng of the buildings in Circles 5
through 12, and the landscape architecture further reinforce a cohere nt
modernist arc hitectural vision that successfully c reated a l ei sure lif estyle of
“carefree desert living.”
5. PALM DESERT COMMUNITY CHURCH (CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING, PALM
DESERT) (45-630 PORTOLA AVE) The building is significant as the City of
Palm Desert’s first Communit y Church. A ground-breaking ceremony was
held at the Portola Ave site on February 6, 1950. Architect Barry Frost’s
plans were approved by the congregation on March 12, 1950, with Clarence
Beck of Indio, the builder. Carl Henderson became the chairman of the
building committee, and the congregation set to work in earnest to provide
a roof for “the house that Mac would build.”
6. SCHINDLER HOUS E FOR MARYON TOOLE (44-870 CABRILLO AVE)
From 1946-48 Schindl er built this home for Maryon Toole in what was then known as Palm Village. The home was built in the later years of Schindler’s career, which ended prem aturely with his death in 1953 at the age of 65. In The Architecture of R. M. Schindler, Michael Darling of The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles said “The richness of the Toole house shows an architect in full command of his medium, orchestrating a range of architectural concerns toward a fully integrated whole.”
7. Randall Henderson House - (74-135 Larrea Street)
The residence at 74-135 Larrea Street is significant as the home of Randall
Henderson, founder of Desert Magazine and early pioneer in the city of
Palm Desert. It is further significant for its contribution to the development
of the south side of Highway 111. Construction on the home began in
approximately 1950 and was completed in 1952.
8. Miles C. Bates House (73-697 Santa Rosa Way)
Miles C. Bates house, located at 73-697 Santa Rosa Way was designed by
Walter S. White. Walter White was an American modernist architect and
industrial designer who worked in the Coachella Valley in the 1950s.
Although White patented the innovative wood roof system that alternated
the use of wooden dowels with complementary biconcave elements to
achieve the unique wave shape, the Bates house is believed to be the only
home in existence that used this system.
9. The Owl House (47-869 Sun Corral Trail)
The property located at 47869 Sun Corral Trail is directly related with the
beginnings of the Palm Desert development that came to be known as
“Silver Spur Ranch”. It can be comfortably argued that since it was the first
occupied house on Sun Corral Trail it played the largest cumulative visual
role in impacting future owners of Silver Spur Properties.
10.Kings Point at Palm Desert (Cactus Ct & Mesquite Ct)
Kings Point was designed in the mid-century modern style by Hugh Michael
Kaptur in 1974 and built by Kings Point Development, Robert Grundt and
David Green over two-years from 1974 to 1976. Kings Point at Palm Desert
is the only multi-family complex designed by Kaptur and built by Grundt and
Greene in the City of Palm Desert. It is also the largest example of his work
in the City.