Charles Phoenix Presents - Palm Springsland

five four three two one we are blasting off right now to the world's greatest Desert Resort Community Where Do We Begin to Behold The Glory of how much we all seriously love Palm Springs the mecca of mid-century in this slideshow we're going east we're going west north and south looking through the layers of time in search of and in celebration of and in roast and toast of the mecca of mid-century so when you go to Palm Springs you guys from Los Angeles this is the first thing that you see kind of getting an idea that you are getting close yes this is the dinosaur well there's actually two now but this is the original dinosaur in Cabazon here he is in 1964 when he was first being built actually I'm not sure if this is 1964 but he started in 1964. and the story is is the portrait artist at Knott's Berry Farm this glind this guy named Claude Bell he's like I am so done like drawing Pascal portraits of people here at Knott's Berry Farm I'm going to live my dream and how much do we love anybody who says they're going to live their dream he said I'm going to build a giant dinosaur in the desert so yeah starting in 1964 and it's still there an icon of Southern California a landmark on the way to Palm Springs just to give you an idea of scale and oh by the way he hasn't always been painted pink only recently in the last few years have they started painting them up different colors different times of the year and stuff which we love but for years he was just the metal grid that you saw and then he was like this color like natural dinosaur color I guess but just to give you an idea of scale I mean Where Do We Begin oh and of course you're on a road trip to Palm Springs so you need Road snacks where are we going oh yes we are we're gonna go see the Hadley family they've been growing frying fruits fine fine fruits I love anything with fine in front of it no you I know since 1889 you guys yes Hadley's is a Roadside Attraction on the way to Palm Springs right by from LA right by the big giant dinosaur so what's what are we gonna snack on in the car how about this kind of like amazing not kind of like totally amazing I don't know about you it's like a solar system of dried fruits I don't know about you but I love anything like arranged perfectly and I mean this has got all kinds of things going on dried pears up there and down there the dried apricots going like this and of course the foil wrapped whatevers mystery items not romaki chicken but something I know and those dates that have been rolled dates yeah Nature's caramel that have been rolled in coconut stuffed with an almond well actually topped with an almond and of course the dried slices of pineapple with a maraschino cherry eyes looking at you and branded right there in the middle let us not forget Hadley's since 1889 still going strong as is this Shields date Garden okay I hear the angels singing I'm filling the spirits and I'm feeling the soul Shields date Garden if you're coming from the other side like not not La you are going to sorry a big giant like just flew by the window I got distracted I distract easily I have ADD don't you I know anyway it doesn't matter right now who has ADD or who doesn't but um what I was gonna say is is if you if if okay I better calm down if you're coming from the opposite side of Los Angeles you might pass by this on Old Highway 99 Shields date Garden Shields day Garden Where Do We Begin to behold the glory and by the way you guys only the cars in the parking lot have changed it looks exactly like this it's been there since 1926. yeah celebrating 98 wait 96 years 96 years yeah I'm good at math 96 years um the new Shield sales room exactly like that I love it says the world's finest and rarest for a quarter of a quarter of a century so it lets you know this was built actually in 1952 the knight in shining armor looks exactly like that he is enormous and of course we cherish the very existence of that giant knight in shining armor an icon a roadside icon for the ages of all time and a world-class National Treasure not to mention a local Landmark yes Shields date Garden here is the day Garden I know day Garden I don't know about you but I've always dreamed of living in a Grove of date date palms date palms oh and by the way we might as well get it out in the open right away you guys they're not called date I mean they're not called palm trees they are not called palm trees Palms are grass and grasses that grow fruits not all grasses grow fruits do they um do they I know um anyway okay better calm down everything's fine um yeah so I this is one of my favorite old slides I've ever found it's from the mid 50s and it's really my favorite family portrait ever the family portrait who decided the Dad decided to climb what three steps up that ladder which is used for the guys going up there who have to like hand pollinate the uh dates that's a whole nother story we'll get to that in a minute but how he has his little kid there the little kid is so smartly dressed a little plaid vest the smart little shoe and then Mother wearing a circle skirt with Giant Circles on it something on her head very chic very Timeless classic I know and right around the corner in that Grove you are going to see this billboard actually no it's not there anymore but back in the day it was there just ahead seeing here the romance and sex life of a date continuous showing and color and sound also one of California's largest rose gardens we are not talking about the rose gardens at Shields we are talking about the romance and sex life of the date it is a film they have a theater there this is the romance theater since 1952 it is still there the movie is still showing continuously I know and the other day when I was there there were only four people in watching the movie but it's like you walk into this theater and it's like you're walking into a time capsule the whole place is Shield state garden Homespun and family run I cannot recommend it enough Where Do We Begin We Begin by saying thank you and giving gratitude to Mr and Mrs Shields and here they are oh look at them you see the sparkle in their eye together and they made so much magic for us creating Shields date garden and it is a true Miracle of Miracles Beyond and more Galore that Shields is still there of course they have long gone to the date Garden in the sky but look at her she's even got a rose in her hair oh and of course this is I have to say in all of the Coachella Valley this is where this is my favorite place to actually have to enjoy the local food there everywhere I go of course I mentioned this before but everywhere you go has a local food and we might as well get it out in the open the Coachella Valley Palm Springs is no different the local food is the date Shake yeah the date shake and that's basically vanilla whatever with a slurry of pulverized dates um only in the last few years have they started to pulverize the dates I remember like in the 90s like trying shakes in the 80s and the 70s and the 60s trying these date shakes and they had little date crystals in them and the date crystals would get stuck in the straw and a dreamer drove me crazy to the point where I didn't want to have a date Shake but now I don't want to have date shakes for another reason that's because I fear I will be two things a like like catapulted into a diabetic coma because they're so full of sugar and be addicted because they are so delicious you guys you've got to try a date shake and as I said my favorite place is at Shields date Garden okay you guys we have arrived in Palm Springs yes we're back on the road coming from Los Angeles and this is the first thing you see when you get to this this is the form Ariel Tramway Gas Station built in the year of 1965. it is an architectural Masterpiece as you can see look at that soaring roof line This is a building with a point of view cool isn't it I know anyway and of course the natural beauty of Palm Springs is a breath taking and uh anyway um yeah this building oh I know I was gonna say this building is now the visitors center so when you go to Palm Springs you absolutely cannot go to Palm Springs without stopping here at least once to you know buy a book or something and because you know when you go places you want to buy books about the places and here's the architectural greeter and the Land of the Giants greeter yes we have got the giant dinosaur we've got the giant Knight and Shining Armor and we also have a giant Marilyn Monroe the most glamorous movie star the most glorious movie star and the most gorgeous movie star of all time here she is to greet you right in front of the Palm Springs musee yeah musee that's French for Museum I just like saying it sometimes I throw in a French word or a Spanish word or a rarely a German word but occasionally um never Japanese oh someone's gone I mean I can't talk right now sorry okay we're back um anyway so what I was gonna say was is yeah Marilyn is there she's is there to greet you and you can stand there and have your picture taken too but we're not talking about Marilyn right now we are talking oh with these prehistoric mountains as a dramatic backdrop you guys I don't know it's so weird about Palm Springs mountains I get this feeling there that I don't really get anywhere else which is like in the world with mountains where I've been um that dinosaurs are gonna come walking out of them so it's kind of appropriate there's a dinosaur a giant one on the way even if he is bright pink I mean you know nothing in Palm Springs is normal by the way it's all Extraordinary including this my favorite neighborhood dotted by clumps of Palms clusters if you will this is the Canyon View Estates and we yes are going to be talking about mid-century modern architecture oh yes we are and this is one of my favorites these little condo buildings are absolutely adorable and here oh yes and that is the 1969 Chrysler 300 in the parking lot in a dramatic shade of a lemon yellow doesn't it look delicious I know anyway um with Hideaway Headlights by the way you guys Hideaway headlights alert um so these little Condominiums are such a good investment so um you know I do bus tours maybe you don't know but I do an architectural bus tour or two or three or four or five or six every modernism week in Palm Springs yeah modernismweek.com anyway and one of the guys on the bus said where should I invest in Palm Springs I want a condo I said invest in this neighborhood so he actually bought this house this is his 1960 Cadillac with the added on flying saucer on the trunk there and uh I love the whole thing painted pink to match the front door by the way which by the way painted front doors you have to paint your front door a color in Palm Springs it's basically required so he said I'm gonna buy a place there and uh anyway he did he bought it um for uh he bought it for 280 000 and sold it for 780 000 four years later and here he is right here maybe I'm gosh should I be telling his business I don't know but well it's it's public record um anyway Carlos cordoza he's a great guy and I love his personal and decoratorial decoratorial decoratorial yeah decoratorial is that a word decoratorial style you guys Where Do We Begin the Behold The Glory of how much we love and have no fear of color color color color color the world needs more color the world needs more color and mid-century modern furniture I know can you believe it anyway look at those clear story windows and everything there you guys those are the windows up there um this is the inside of those I know look at his style of course oh I love everything that surfboard coffee table and that rug and that unusual figurine over there on the left that gorgeous like it's I don't think it's an original Picasso um but one could only wish on that giant Palm in the corner that sofa that keeps going and then wraps around a little as though to say come sit down so warm so inviting so rich So Glorious those pillows and of course the crowning touch and my favorite detail in the whole room that 1958 Arne Jacobson chair that's my favorite chair ever always has been since I was a child so this by the way this style of mixing like kind of contemporary and and actual classic real genuine pieces of mid-century this is a style that I call mid-century modern and in case you forget when you are where you are when you're there because it's so intoxicating you guys on his patio he has well he has it written down for you so there is no forgetting and don't you love that bullet planner oh I know you guys absolutely love um you can order those online um gosh um uh hiphaven.com hip Haven dot com yes that's where you get those anyway oh gosh you guys oh the shopping in Palm Springs is out of control no this isn't Modesto California let let us not be confused but there are a lot of quirky kooky and classic Collectibles mid-century Collectibles of all kinds available in Palm Springs it is the greatest shopping place in the world for the mid-century stuff including oh there that is a mannequins there yes it is um the guy over there I know and then don't you love the martini glass don't you love the cross don't you love um what's his name from The Ed Sullivan Show um topogio yeah he's a little before my time but I guess a lot of this stuff is so that's no excuse that I wouldn't know who he was but yeah he's Topo Gigio and of course you guys a heaven a starburst fixtures the ultimate light fixtures of all time Timeless classic the star burst light fixtures Where Do We Begin I know don't you love him oh I know oh yes we do okay we're going to a party right now this is a very special party the farmer now but then when this slide was taken a couple of years ago the home of Joan and Joan and Gary Gand they are fantastic people in Palm Springs as there are so many Fantastic people in Palm Springs but anyway what's unusual about this house is yes you can see it right now the swimming pool goes right up to the living room and bar uh-huh okay this is their classic New Year's Day pajama party which I've been privileged to have been to have been invited to several times and of course all those smart puppy happy uh party people are lovely in every way every day but it is not then we're looking at right now no we're looking at that's actually those are two giant sliders of glass that slide into the Rock and disappear into the rock walls you guys so the whole thing is open yes you can just you could like sit on the couch right there and do a backflip into the pool this is like my favorite house in Palm Springs and then also you guys the bar see the bartender there in Black though guy with the white robe he's pointing that guy like you can swim up to the bar and the bartender will turn around and um give you a drink there's actually a little table in the pool too but we don't need to talk about that right now because I wanted to show you the inside out of the house after everyone was gone I think there was one Lonely Wanderer that was still there but um or maybe this was a different day yeah this had to be a different day but yeah a Wanderer but I wanted you to see how the pool goes right into the house I mean you guys that's amazing I know and then the bar there all the blue and everything the step down very dramatic the rock wall and then another glass wall that you open up that disappears and you have an outdoor room there that is the realm the reality and the thrill of indoor outdoor living because we all have this fantasy that we can live outdoors so with the glass walls and glass walls that disappear voila you can parked out front of Joan and Gary's gan's house um oh I know right up against the mountains you guys it's so beautiful anyway there is a guy there with a face mask on because it's the New Year's Day pajama party there at the door and it looks like well somebody in a bathrobe um anyway but we're not talking about the bathrobe um we will talk a little bit about the front of this house here The Rock The Breeze block The Palms and the light the lamp the what is it the um yeah the lamp out there with the globe how much do love that and I guess you by now noticed how could you not the 1978 Bobcat by Mercury yes this is Mercury's version of the always iconic and ever memorable and always Unforgettable Pinto by Ford yes and as you can see there I don't know if you guys can see but inside it has a plaid interior to match but what is interesting about this Mercury Bobcat slash Pinto design more than anything is that it was clearly I didn't even realize this until I was stacking up these pictures to show you you guys it was it was influenced by this the 1963 Avanti by Studebaker this is yeah it is I know um it's just so bizarre but um this is the official classic car of Palm Springs this is a car that was invented and are designed in Palm Springs by legendary industrial designer and you know some other people I'm sure but who gets all the credit is Raymond Lowey um anyway but what I was going to say was you guys is this in 1963 this Studebaker Avanti was a very I mean still is avant-garde in every way the side styling the uh everything everything about it the rear window wrap around the C pillar there going like this I know and those wheel covers I mean talk about an Exquisite Divine Design of absolute highest order world class every one of these Avantis is a world-class National Treasure here you can see the very well where's the grill I know this is the car without a grill um I mean there have been a few over the years but not that many and don't you love those headlights they are looking at you not to mention the asymmetrical hood that focuses right in on the driver there and begins with that s for Studebaker yes and when you go to Palm Springs you are going to see more Studebaker Avanti's there than anywhere else they were made from about 1963-64 and then another company took the stampings over and made fake Studebaker Avantis for years but if you want one you want the original okay we're talking about this right now in the realm of me going in search of for the last 30 years now other people's old slides I have to say this is right up there with one of my favorites I mean everything about it that foggy kind of like mystery air of Palm Springs those mountains kind of lurking there within there's the desert Haze I know I better calm down okay everything's fine but you guys how much do we love a big black 19 59 Electra by Buick Park there look at that razor sharp fin on the back that Fierce front end and don't you love those ocotillos there flanking it framing it uh in those two like Square kind of plastic looking pots that reflect the color on the house there this house is pure like well it looks like lemon meringue pie kind of in a house had a baby and that one Cactus there and they've painted some Driftwood see that Driftwood there next to the cactus they painted it to match the house and then those people there and then you can see the umbrella in the back here is the umbrella there now and swimming pool I love the lamp in the window those two chairs in the back that are just staring at everything that's going on I mean they are taking it all in the Little Rock and cactus garden there the spare chair and then of course our three lovely people sitting right there front and center ready to enjoy Palm Springs I wonder if they had a conversation like how about you match the cement you match the house and I'll match the pool I know aren't they gorgeous Where Do We Begin and he's having a cigarette yes he is so now we're going to Twin Palms you guys I mean Palm Springs first of all that's why I call it Palm Springs land because well that's why I call every place of land because it is like a big giant theme park I'm surprised they do not charge admission you know really like going to Venice Italy like why aren't they charging admission I don't get it but anyway I know I mean how much would it be though like a lot um it should be Palm Springs very expensive to get in um but anyway I know because just cuz but it's free it's free and you can drive around all the lands of Palm Springs which are the neighborhoods and uh they're all marked the one thing that's missing though is the word land at the end like this should be Twin Twin Palms land um aquanetta how much do we love a street named after your well in my case my mother's hairspray when I was a child Aqua Net oh yeah she would go in the bathroom and she'd go with that aerosol you know can that would have such a beautiful label on it and she'd spray her hair and spray her like for five minutes and then she'd leave the bathroom and the whole bathroom would be like raining these fumes these little these little particles of of uh the hairspray and I'd go in there as a child and like breathe deep and go and do you know nobody ever stopped me anyway Twin Palms this is the poster child House of Twin Palms this is the Chrisman red house built in 1957 indeed and you can see that it has that that that celebratory Open Arms life is fantastic roof line reaching up and welcoming you in and even better if you pull up in a 1958 Monterey by Mercury yes indeed I love that kind of cap roof and everything that wrap around rear window that sweeping jet flow styling on the side those sensible smart reflective wheel covers and where it says Monterey right there on the front fender for your pleasure and mine yes by the way you guys okay another view of the house and there is Chris I I like he doesn't know but I actually stock his house um he's like what's going on here what are you doing I'm like taking pictures like crazy mainly because I love the house a but B where did we begin to Behold The Glory of and how much did I oh well wait wait okay I don't I guess I told you guys Palm Springs is a hotbed of classic American cars survivor class classic American cars more than anywhere else in the known universe there are so many amazing classic American cars here well maybe Sweden has more but 50s and 60s cars this is a very very rare car it is the all-new for 1960. polara by Dodge and the most striking feature of this car well there are many but we'd be here all day uh inside and out but as you can see well I'm going to tell you right now this is the only car ever with fins that the fin stopped like two-thirds of the way back and it's like I'm done car you just keep going I'll be fine but anyway I know in that little thin tip the thin okay the little uh thin thin thin little end of the fin actually lights up at night I know and again then look at the roof line on that house isn't it gorgeous and here we have the 1959 Dynamic 88 bios mobile yes ladies and gentlemen and this has a very distinctive feature of all uh well that mini 1950 all well 59 and 60 General Motors cars all had this roof line in the four-door Series this is called a flat top some call it a pancake top some call it a patio roof but there is glass all around you and not a blind spot these cars are a dream to drive now notice just beyond the well very generous trunk of the car you see a crop circle yes this is very special and one of the things that makes Chris that makes Chrisman Red's house stand out more than anything else besides the obvious is the Landscaping so in 1957 when these houses were built they had a landscape architect that came in and said we're going to do something really extraordinary we're going to do this crazy like crop circle meets your great grandmother's Patchwork quilt and well it didn't quite happen nobody did it I'm not sure why but then Chris found the plans like 15 years ago or whatever and decided to actually go ahead and install the original Landscaping plan and in Twin Palms you will see many of the homes have now adopted their original Landscaping plan and have done these crazy front yards so it's kind of art installation meets you know landscaping and it is intoxicating now the one thing that really makes Chris's yard stand apart besides several other things is you can see the one over there on the far right that raised bowl that has some like crazy plants in it but he decided to get rid of the plants and put glass rocks there's one on there there's two you can see I think he has four in his yard but anyway um I mean who does that I know and they're just gorgeous to look at A and B uh it gives me a fun moment in my uh the architecture tours that I do in Palm Springs because I tell everyone on the bus I say every night at eight o'clock he flips a switch and each one of these glass or these bowls full of glass rocks shoots a flame 15 feet in the air and everybody always believes me but it's not true he really doesn't do that but we're not talking about glass rocks and raised bowls on poles yeah bowls on poles you don't usually talk about bowls on poles do you but we are now well not anymore because we're talking about the house down the street there you guys there it is at night look at that now this is an in the Twin Palms neighborhood this is a very very special house and the reason why it's special is because well for me it's special well well the roof I mean just architecturally it's gorgeous and the night Lighting in Palm Springs they're very very much about night lighting there you guys lighting the gardens up lighting up lighting spotlighting I mean it's just gorgeous I love to arrive in Palm Springs at night it is it is at its magical Peak it really is I mean mornings every time of day every time of day but anyway speaking of every time of day so Palm Springs is right up against the mountains and when the Sun goes behind the mountain it becomes Twilight and it's they have an extra hour of Twilight there which gives them an extra hour of cocktail time which gives them an extra hour of socializing time and it also gives them an extra hour to uh well yeah I just said it socialize um so this is where I found out this very house in Palm Springs is where I found out this kind of crazy thing about Palm Springs that after the Sun goes behind the mountain if you are driving around or walking around a neighborhood and you see the door like a jar 10 to 12 inches that means we're having cocktails by the pool and perhaps you are welcome to join so what you do is this you you know it you walk up gently into the driveway and you say my slightly louder than usual voice what a beautiful home this is and uh you know you kind of just stand there for a minute and if they don't come to the door and open it and like oh um then you go take a couple steps more and go what beautiful landscaping and you know by if if you say like the third thing which and I love the color scheme and if you wait a few more you know a couple minutes after that no one shows up okay well then they've accidentally forgot to close the door but chances are between one of those three statements you are going to have the host of the hostess of the house open the door and say well thank you so much well we're having cocktails around the pool won't you join and that is one way that you meet lovely convivial happy peppy party people in Palm Springs speaking of Palm Springs yes you guys it is all about houses it's all about presentational there it's such a very presentational show-off Society we might as well get it out in the open and everything is like done done done but you know you really driving around you're really seeing just the facade of the house once you open the doors you whoosh there's glass walls and a the centerpiece crowning Touch of every residential and hotel property is the swimming pool but we're not talking about swimming pools right now we're talking about what you see from the street and this house right here absolutely it is in Twin Palms by the way is the quintessential House of Palm Springs I mean it has all the ingredients it has a rock wall it has a breeze block wall it has Desert Landscaping it has um well palm trees Galore and more all around it has a cockeyed slanted roof line it has a a globe over the front door a globe light fixture the most minimalist light fixture you could possibly have and the crowning touch is the and required basically in Palm Springs front doors painted a bright color now when I was a child growing up in Southern California really it seemed to me I mean occasionally you'd see like a red front door but it was rare but you would see a turquoise front door and to me as a child that always meant that you had a swimming pool but in Palm Springs you could have any color lime green pink uh orange red um uh whoa yeah turquoise whatever why am I like you know what colors are you could have any color so anyway and double doors by the way you know two doors and then of course you can't see it but the extra pounding touch there on the far right right up against the street there is this mailbox this is the ultimate mid-century modern mailbox designed in the year of 1957 and a company we started reproducing and probably 15 years ago or whatever but this is the ultimate um mailbox to have in all of Palm Springs speaking of Palm Springs now we're in the Vista Las Palmas I mean Las Palmas neighborhood wait no this is Vista Las Palmas there are a lot of neighborhoods in Palm Springs you guys but it's easy to know where you are because most of the street signs as you saw in the Twin Palms land as I call it have the the name of the neighborhood so Vista Las Palmas here right up against the mountains the scenery spectacular yes you're waiting for dinosaurs to walk out of the mountains but anyway this is what I call the Swiss Miss mod house I mean where do we begin to Behold The Glory of how much we all love an A-frame you can take this particular body style of it house there are several it's attract built in between 57 and 62. uh you can um you can take this in several directions some have done Tiki with it but um you know if I did it I think I'm not sure what direction I would take it in but I know for sure that I would have to collect cuckoo clocks and serve Swiss Miss cocoa to the cuckoo clock Club once in a while wouldn't you I know yeah I know it's amazing um but anyway then there's this house this is a legendary house this is a famous interior designer and he built it in 1962. why am I blanking on his name right now we might as well get it out in the open uh maybe I'll think of it in a second I can't believe it um oh well whatever um I don't have notes you guys so there's a lot um anyway so what I was gonna say is this house was his Showcase House and uh first of all before anything the stuff what is the style well this is Hollywood Regency style where mid-century and classical Design Elements come together um Hollywood Regency style is a Timeless classic style that started in the Fred and ginger movies of the 1930s in Hollywood that's why it's called Hollywood Regency but the first thing you notice about this house besides of course you've got to step up four steps because you're above the sidewalk that way um those door handles you guys are actually in real life coffin handles and uh the double doors again very dramatic I mean when you walk up those four steps and you stand there and ring that doorbell you have arrived yes indeed you have so here is this is the Kaufman house built in 1946. this is Richard nuitra one of the most iconic most famous Architects the kaufmans are also famous for their falling water uh vacation home in rural Pennsylvania uh the kauffmans are of the Kaufman department store family of Pittsburgh and this was their California winter home and as I said Richard neuetra is one of the most famous Architects and this house is actually considered to be by men mid-century residential historians the ultimate darling of all mid-century homes in the known universe so um I know can you believe it that upstairs you see there that's actually an outdoor room and I have been to this house several times uh it was restored about oh gosh 15 years ago I guess um by a couple who uh said you know gosh we can afford to restore this house why don't we to Divine Perfection and indeed they did and then when they were done they're like darling gosh we're done wow it really turned out gorgeous and then I'm not sure which one of them said but the next line was according to the legend I want a divorce but anyway we all know there are no guarantees in life but also I know you guys can you believe it I know um again there's those four steps it's all about four steps in Palm Springs because you have to be like up a little bit um anyway the bedroom and everything that bed looks like it could talk to you doesn't it look like a character from a movie like Cherry from Pee-wee's Playhouse um gone and I mean you know the bed version um anyway and there you can see the upstairs there in that outdoor room and it has those all those lines there are actually slats that will block out the Sun for the few minutes of the day that it's going to be there and uh the gorgeous reflection in the swimming pool and of Twilight I know well anyway what I was gonna say is in the 70s Barry Manilow you know Barry Manilow at the Copa Copa Cabana the hottest spot north of yeah Barry Manilow bought this house and called up the carpet company according to the legend and said I want wall-to-wall ice blue shag carpet and so they came there and they installed the carpet and everything and then he goes to look at it and he called him back and he said you guys I said wall to wall and they said we have it's it is wall-to-wall he says no I want it I want it up the walls Barry Manilow had ice blue shag Carpeting wall-to-wall and up the walls according to the legend but no more this house as you see it exists right now and hopefully you are lucky enough to see it oh and this house this is the iconic legendary Landmark House of Tomorrow indeed it is and yes it was built in 1962 it was built for the fine folks Mr and Mrs Alexander who developed the entire Vista Las Palmas neighborhood and this was the best plot in the entire land that they developed there and all the land and so of course they built themselves the most outrageous house which looks like a stealth bomber that's gonna come and fly away or take off any minute now it has recently been restored to Divine Perfection and yes those are cutouts on both sides that is the master bedroom up there and isn't it gorgeous I mean how much do we love uplit Palms I know just everything about this house here is a slightly earlier in the evening view of that dramatic roof line that comes to a point this is also the house where according to the legend well it's well documented well we'll actually know let's get to that in a minute what I want to tell you is um going to going up the front walk there is kind of like a hike because you have to walk up these Pebble those these uh Mexican beach Pebble um well there's discs and squares and rectangles that you have to kind of walk up there's no railing and there's a waterfall happening beneath you at the whole time so you're like looking at the waterfall and trying not to fall and Meander up finally you reach the front door hopefully you haven't tripped by now and you are just beholding the glory of a the fact that you're there be the fact that you haven't tripped see the fact that you're walking up a walkway of these discs and squares that have water running underneath I mean you're like who am I where am I and how did I get here then you look up and he's see that cut out and whoosh that front door double doors the doors are so big they don't open all the way but they just keep going like they give you the illusion they do so this was a party because as I said the house has just been restored it just sold for about five over 5.8 million dollars uh anyway so oh okay better calm down everything's fine inside this was before the restoration by the way so the good news was this house had never been restored the bad news was this house had never been restored but anyway um so you can see the gorgeous pool all the Lush Greenery in the backyard and that fireplace I mean is this the greatest fireplace ever I know and again that bowl on a pole the bowl on a pole is a theme in Palm Springs but um it looks like um they're starting to decorate for Christmas so this this picture was taken when this house was was referred to and it still is the Elvis honeymoon Hideaway because Elvis here's another view of the living room and by the way that 67 passenger sofa that wraps around the entire left side of the house well if you're standing out front left side um anyway I know and all those amoebas and and things to sit on and all that pillows and all that that rock wall curving the glass right up above that soaring roof line again another angle of that hypnotizing spellbinding and mesmerizing fireplace but the most unusual feature of this room is the portrait the photograph there you can barely see on the wall here it is in full bloom this is the king of rock and roll Elvis Presley and his bride Priscilla they were married in I guess yeah 1967 wasn't it or was it 66. I should know that anyway um yeah one of those two years they spent their honey noon honeymoon night there so this house will always forever be known as the house of Tomorrow aka the Elvis honeymoon Hideaway so anyway Elvis I mean Elvis I know Elvis Elvis Elvis Elvis The Perfect Storm wasn't he I know um anyway uh the you know Palm Springs is pretty star-studded back in the day Palm Springs is you know well I mean we could go on and on and on but there is a lot of royalty in Palm Springs this is Gary Wexler I consider him to be Palm Springs royalty because his dad was one of the modernist Architects working there in the 50s and 60s and I'm going to show you a couple of his properties in a moment but first a little local art appreciation Gary Wexler is a great artist I love his screen prints he is a graphic designer and decided to start doing fine art and there it is and it's gorgeous and I love it and I went into his studio and I'm here his Gallery studio and I said you know can I take your picture and he's like well okay but anyway so and there he is so but he told me that hit that when he was a child he got invited over his family went over to see the Alexanders in the house we just saw the Elvis honeymoon Hideaway house and uh anyway he said I remember sitting on the front those front steps with a waterfall going beneath me there um and we were they were serving lasagna and where everyone was eating outside he said I went outside and ate my lasagna on the front of those steps and he said it was the first time I ever had lasagna and how much do we love lasagna I know especially when mixed with uh enchiladas enchiladas and lasagnas the recipe I made up it's called Enchantia so good but we're not talking about that right now we're talking about the work of his father Donald Wexler and here is one of the houses right here this is a steel case steel wait yeah steel case study home um there were seven of these built only two with this roof line they were built in 1962 you can drive by them now um Palm Springs you guys you know mid-century modernism went out of style for a few decades and I remember driving by this house and the six others in the neighborhood and they were like I mean they were all completely run down it was a very rough neighborhood at that time and I mean not ruff ruff but it was just it was all in shambles and now all of these beautiful uh case steel case study homes have been restored to Divine Perfection and I know that roof one line what I call I've always referred to this style of mid-century roof line is a folded paper roof line I just do that's not the technical term but that's what I call it and uh you can call architecture you can name anything you want to name it so I call that the folded paper roof line anyway here is another of Donald wexler's home built in 1964 for television Pioneer singing star of the 40s and 50s and 60s and 70s Dinah Shore she's the one that famously on television her variety show in the 50s was sponsored by Chevrolet and she is the one that's saying see the USA in your Chevrolet America is waiting for you to call anyway um this is not the close-up of the house this is I wanted you just to see the setting I mean this is like you know Palm Springs you guys is like kind of George Jetson meets The Flintstones it's very Flintstones and George Jetson so here is walk up that walkway turn to the right so you don't full fall into it so you're not a fool in fall into the little reflecting pool and you walk up to the front door this is what you see so this house is actually kind of caught in the Fred Flintstone world because that wall that you see and several other walls in the house are Adobe Adobe I love saying Adobe don't you I just love it Adobe um anyway and then modern mid-century modern other materials over there and those spider leg beams very much inspired by Richard duentra but anyway you walk up to that front door and now if you ring the doorbell ding dong the man of the home if he's home probably wouldn't answer the door anyway but you open the door and you are going to start singing um My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion Because standing there before you will be the one and the only Leonardo DiCaprio This is not that house this is a different house 1947 the Frank Sinatra house it is called Twin Palms and uh yeah I know can you believe very post and beam so what is mid-century modern you guys like mid-century modern architecturally speaking mid-century modern is about Divine Simplicity it is about post and beam that is mid-century at its core post and beam that is what mid-century is Simplicity new materials a lot of glass the indoors Outdoors are kind of like blurred and uh yeah simplicity so in this case you throw open the gates there this is actually the back side of Frank Sinatra's house and you walk under that culinary to your right the swimming pool to your left I don't know why they plant grass in the desert it just doesn't make any sense to me why don't they just do a desert landscape but we're not here to talk about why why why we're here to talk about yes yes yes this is a masterpiece an artistic Masterpiece of the absolute highest order I'm sure you would agree and when you go in there you've got to make sure that you see the master bathroom because that is the one spot in the inside of the house that they have not redecorated and the peach tiles on the wall the peach bathroom tiles you're going to see one with a big Smash in it that's where Frank Sinatra's allegedly Frank Sinatra's then wife well no they were really married but where she allegedly threw a champagne bottle at him and it went and he it missed him but it hit the tile and it's still broken after all these years if you ever get into the Frank Sinatra house while you're in the neighborhood Where Do We Begin okay I better calm down I'm gonna take a drink you guys cheers okay um here we go oh sorry this is like a lot of talking um anyway this is Robo lights it is right down the street from Frank Sinatra's house you guys but Frank Sinatra by the way hasn't lived there for like you know 70 years the house was built in 47 but we're not talking about Frank Sinatra anymore we are talking about Robo lights look at the scale you guys that's me standing there yeah Robo lights is one of the world's greatest folk art environments it's the work of one artist one folk artist named Kenny Irwin and uh it's the largest a residential plot in the old um wait wait um a movie Colony neighborhood um and you guys are well actually maybe it's a movie Colony adjacent but anyway it doesn't matter um it is a spectacular walk through experience you can go online robolights.com and it's like five dollars to get get in it should be like 150. uh it is and this is just the tip of the iceberg just the tip of the iceberg it is absolutely overwhelming it is world class in its folk art environmental extravaganzical experiential realm of its own in reality it is a craft project gone absolutely mad in every way and you might meet the artist there Kenny Irwin and uh I don't know how much longer it's going to be there apparently it's been slated to be moved somewhere so go on robolights.com and go there speaking of art I was at the mid-century modern mid modernism week art show or you know where they sell stuff a few years ago and on the wall was hanging this watercolor and I'm like hmm you know I really you know I'm a fan of all the mid-century stuff and I've never seen a watercolor or an oil painting or an acrylic painting or are hardly anything like that of a motel I'm buying this so I bought it and it said Mar Royce gays Mar Roy Manor so it belonged to this was probably built in about 19 this painting is from when the hotel motel um they don't say motel by the way in Palm Springs Motel is absolutely an illegal word to use and Palm Springs because motels are too pedestrian so even though they have places to stay that are kind of like motels like this place um they don't say model so manner or in anyway so gays Mar Roy Manor Marsha and Roy gay that was their name hahaha I know but anyway I just fell in love with this painting so I had to buy it and so then in the realm I I looked at it really good the colors I mean everything about it so then in the realm the realm of me collecting other people's old slides I found some slides of Palm Springs and I'm looking at this slide I'm like wait a minute wait a minute wait a minute that is this slide was taken I love the two little girls and their cousin Lurch don't you I know this was taken at I could tell and then I went back in the shape of the swimming pool the charcoal walls and look it's absolutely there's the shape of the swimming pool and there's the charcoal walls and the color the the fascia boards there I painted that coral color there it is this is it I couldn't believe it I love when you know like your worlds your separate worlds of reality come together as one I know it's just you know the great moment of life and then I just this is just so I love the colors uh everything about it this is just such a beautiful look at the Rocks the Landscaping I mean this is absolutely quintessential Palm Springs the pool everything matches everything's color coordinated the pool matches the place I know and then this letter is there lounging around just soaking in that sun and she has I just noticed a little t-strap Mary Jane with some little cutouts over the toes how adorable some rehearsal shorts as they call them a little blue zone of a floral print very smart sunglasses and ruby red lips and a casual well a casual stance I'm just also noticing her red rinse on her hair the gorgeous sunglasses I mean talk about picture perfect in every way every day oh you wanted more than one Lounge you're fine how about this Lazy Susan of a lounger Life Magazine cover Palm Springs May 7 1956 yes I love this cover I've always loved this cover it's one of the greatest but why there is a is that a lamb in the middle there which reminds me of my Easter meat love of lamb but we're not calling we're not talking about Easter meatloaf a lamb right now you guys I know um we're talking about the young lady on the lower left there right by the word Lazy Susan her well I met her she's about 84 now and she lives in Catalina but she was um raised half in Catalina and half in Palm Springs and her parents owned this long gone Dell talk with hotel and what's unusual about this hotel is well well I I mean many things it's gorgeous I know it is as I said it is long gone but um notice Hotel del tacoits I always say it wrong duh I need to get a hold of myself talk wits talk wits Hotel del tacoits um it is talk wits isn't it yeah talk wits that's what it would be anyway so it's right across the street from um they built it right across the street from Robinson's I mean no Robinson's department store was built right across the street from that old hotel in 1958 Robinson's of Beverly Hills J.W Robinson's department store very glamorous department store high-end I can remember when I was a kid and a teenager it still existed it was like the nicest about the nicest store we ever went to but anyway it was a chain by then but this is their 1957 store probably their second ever store in Palm Springs and um the first was in Beverly Hills and uh I love the gold diamonds roof line everything the the uh the block wall inside that mocks the diamonds and everything the 57 Chevy parked out front with that wild antenna on the bias there also notice that there's four steps up from the sidewalk again it's this kind of the snooty thing even though Palm Springs really isn't that snooty but there is era of sophistication that still exists from the past I mean it's kind of this like it's all like time is in a blender there in a weird way but in a wonderful way we love it and that big glass wall and everything and inside at night somebody took this shot at Christmas of 1958 and where do we begin to hold the glory but you guys I love everything about this shot just the interior design the Poise the dignity the style the grace the goodness the glory of it all the chandeliers there that cut out that soffit situation the shelves of shirts the racks of dresses those plants the Christmas tree white flocked white yeah flocked a flocked tree you guys Blue Ribbon the gold ornaments I mean this is just stunning that woman there is dressed to match but what I really want you to notice is you saw Hotel Del Taco it's there on the hotel across the street there it is reflected on the woman the mannequin's face you can see the turquoise it's reflected in the glass they took it okay well I guess it's not that big of a deal but I just love putting the puzzle pieces of History together I we might as well get it out in the open that's one of the reasons why I'm here right now talking about it and speaking and talking about it here we're talking about this is the Riviera Hotel in Palm Springs this is one of the very few giant well not even giant but large Resorts everything else in Palm Springs all the resorts are like little Resort ads like 8 10 12 rooms maybe 20 but this one has way more than that um the Riviera hotel opened in 1963. don't you love the logo up there the the well conjoined ours uh the Rivier it says Palm Springs Riviera Hotel that frame around the the Marquee is just I mean that's that's like some fancy schmancy kind of stuff that I love Billy Allen band Miss Jerry Sullivan the Nunes Brothers Trio dining and dancing and yes there is a car show in the parking lot and yes there is a lady way over there someone said dear this her husband probably walk way over there and I will take your picture in the port cochair we see this yes ladies and gentlemen it is the 1963 Continental by Lincoln and this is the one with the suicide doors that is the back door of the car as you can tell and it's opening backwards that's because suicide doors open like that I know very iconic very legendary the man on the right the lady getting in the car or out and but I love the waiver with the sunglasses don't you I know she is just so excited to be in Palm Springs well speaking of excited to be in Palm Springs I love The Branding on the high dive the low dive let us not forget where you are obviously a very popular place to take a photo and so they in case you forget where you are you're in Palm Springs California at the Riviera I know uh junior and Missy are on the diving board there ready to make a splash and I don't know who this guy is but he looks very confused to be there maybe he's looking for this woman right here I don't think it's his wife I don't know who she is well well no actually I don't but anyway I will tell you first of all the little Sunset a sun suit sorry I said Sunset the sun suit is a Timeless classic in every way every day a little strappy sandal also but we're not talking about her Ensemble for the sun we are talking about this glorious little golf cart on the front of it it says marketeer I love it anything called the Market's here because you're supposed to drive into the market but instead know in this case you get to strike a pose on it it takes your luggage to your room at not she's not the luggage worker but anyway or the luggage uh schlepper but anyway again I love The Branding I mean branding is so important we know now we know that now more than ever it's just so gorgeous I know gold metallic too I know speaking of 63 Continentals here's one right here so I remember when I was a little kid my grandparents had this exact car in this exact color and my grandmother would always say it has the best ride of any car ever um you know what I think I'm getting a little frothy sorry too much information but oh dear um drop me chopstick um anyway so yeah my grandparents had this car my grandmother always went on and on and on about how the 63 Continental that they had had the best right she said my friend has a Mercedes and that car rides like a lumber wagon I'll never forget her saying that her friend's Mercedes drove like a lumber wagon that's what my grandmother said I mean things our grandparents say that stick with us that is one thing I know and don't you love this Trio of lovely golfer ladies the matching hats the matching awesome and of course the Timeless Classic Mr Rogers staple the cardigan sweater I know and oh you wanted gold I mean you wanted purple oh what am I saying purple gold colors of royalty yes this woman decides to paint her golf cart purple or is that would you call it lavender yeah I call it either and then her little Ensemble skirt and Blue Zone to match speaking of golf carts here is well I mean I love this golf cart from the Thunderbird Country Club in Palm Springs I don't know about you guys but I love vintage golf carts there is a vintage golf cart museum near Palm Springs in La Quinta happens to be near Shields day Garden you guys I have not been there yet but I want to go there and see all the Vintage golf carts Where Do We Begin to Behold The Glory of how much we all love vintage golf carts and as I said this one's at the Thunderbird and this house this is from a magazine um and it is well it kind of is the quintessential view of Palm Springs you guys I mean from the inside of a house to see that what glass walls again they're very into glass walls there and that sweeping view of those gorgeous mountains the ones that I keep imagining always dinosaurs are gonna come walking out of I don't know there's this deep depth of soul in Palm Springs that I experience when I'm there so there's some like kind of magnetic force field of time there that I can really feel but but forget about that how about the beauty looking out on this golf course I know and don't you love that giant like 36 by 36 checkerboard carpet or is that sisal maybe it's sisal but it actually looks like carpet I mean who's doing that somebody needs to do that the mid-century modern furniture the flowers and more Galore I mean we could go on every detail the little ashtray over there on the side I know now what are you supposed to wear in Palm Springs and we've been talking about Fashions um you know for the ladies and here's ladies like pretty cash um the lady with the shorts very casual almost predicting the future the lady in the peach sundress with that very sensible handbag is wearing a bullet bra to really show off the uh the upper part of that dress and then um but it's the guys that we like here the way they're dressed more than even the ladies the guys are setting their foot forward in fashion in ways that you do not usually see the gentleman in the Vintage slides dress and yes that's that 58 Chevy in the background uh but when and don't you love the light fixture too kind of like a flying saucer I know but in anyway okay Where Do We Begin the guy on the right a pull over a matching set the pullover with a convertible collar and that little stripe coming down there that goes into a pocket and then the little like Calypso length pant seriously yes and then his friend a little jacket over his shirt with a giant convertible collar the pant to match the little short sleeve jacket and the crowning touch you guys the Rope belt the world needs more rope belts you guys next summer next spring starting in Spring the Rope belt is coming back speaking of coming back Behold The Glory of this in the heart of palm springs kind of Hidden Away in a courtyard is this spectacular mid-century modern Masterpiece the Town and Country Restaurant built by um um oh my gosh there I go again forgetting the um the name this is like early onset or what that's not even funny um uh I'll think of it a minute hey Quincy Jones I'm pretty sure that's the architect here a Quincy Jones um anyway this is the Town and Country Restaurant and miraculously it is still standing there it's in a bit in ruin and it's been I think 20 years since there's been anything in there the last life it had was a discotheque um I do believe but anyway yeah it's absolutely a mid-century modern Masterpiece that diagonal staircase coming down into that Garden Courtyard the three poems as the accessory that gorgeous signage and right out front there in 1963 these lovely ladies the real official greeters of Palm Springs pose strike a pose there's nothing to it I mean this where are they now they need to be like walking around Palm Springs every day a in every way because this is intoxicating this is Major this is real this is deep I know and they've all been to Charm School on top of it aren't they gorgeous I know oh I just I just love this this was actually taken for the cover of I believe Palm Springs Life Magazine so which is a fantastic magazine and speaking of being welcoming say hello to yes emerging from a 1960 Imperial limousine is I know don't you love the Finns is Ike and Mamie yes our president and first lady well then former already in 1960 but they arrive in Palm Springs and uh very odd though there's no red carpet and you can tell people have been doing donuts there in the dirt before where are the secret servicemen there are people peeking through the bushes and by the way sir don't you know that you're not supposed to put your hand in your pocket when you shake someone's hand that is like impolite you know like what are you doing with that hand in your pocket no hand out of pocket and then reach to shake the hand of the first lady and here are our official greeters again I cannot get enough of them they are at the airport welcoming I'm not sure who Western Airlines that's the gate and everyone's all excited there's even a a voice or is that a Cub Scout Boy Scout Cub Scout wait Cub Scout Boy Scout no Cub Scouts Boy Scout Boy Scout um I was never a Cub Scout or a Boy Scout um because the meetings were on Wednesday night and that was the ninth Carol Burnett Show was on and they did not want to miss the cowboy net show to be a Boy Scout so it never happened but anyway that's okay they're at Palm Springs International Airport and uh this is not Palm Springs International Airport you guys in the 1950s there was a hotel in Palm Springs more like a motel um called the desert sky and I'm kind of obsessed with it because it was a fly-in hotel and here you can see it from up above someone's like you know gone uh circling or whatever all the planes are parked there you can excuse me I'm terribly sorry um that chicken soup though um well sorry now I'm not really being like inappropriate but I made homemade chicken soup and I have to say it turned out really good I'm very simple about it just Mere pois from Trader Joe's half olive oil half butter saute and boil the chicken bring the chicken to a full boil and then you uh leave the lid on and you turn the boil off and just let it sit there for 45 minutes and it will cook and then you take it out and you shred it and add it to your mirepoix and yeah miracle I just love saying it don't you I know um and then add some chicken stock and you'll have some that you already have in there and some salt and pepper and it is perfect simple simple simple chicken soup we're not talking about chicken soup right now the Desert Sky Motel I absolutely love it but it's no longer there you guys but that you could buy a little Bungalow there to live and everything and here is well I don't know who they are they're Mr and Mrs caltropics and I look caltropics up you guys and there's a lot of places called caltropics um so I don't think their caltropics corporation still exists but anyway uh they have obviously flown in they are having like private airplane Pride moment right now strike a pose there's nothing to it leaning on the wing um that you will have to admit is it is a spectacular the Tails like that you guys I mean talk about a mid-century modern classic don't you love the paint Scheme the red the white I know in those those racing speed Stripes that propeller stopped exactly uh like this not like that um I don't know and they're both smoking cigarettes he's got his sunglasses in her hand she's got it on it looks like they're well I was gonna say her pants and I mean his pants and her skirt match but they don't really but they kind of do I know I just love it I just love this picture so much I mean that red that lipstick red that is lipstick red that's the color we're not calling it any other color of red but lipstick inside the Desert Sky Hotel is the dining room it was a round dining room kind of like a tiki hut which we love with a covered wagon wheel looking like a circular light fixture up above don't you love that Rattan cage or the Wicker cage or the houseplant I know the Rattan Furniture the pink napkins those those little each table has like a candle light there with a view of the mountains and of course the airplanes parked outside so you can admire everyone's airplane I know and yes the Rattan Furniture so tiki Tiki tiki Tiki yes Palm Springs has Tiki you guys I mean it has all it has everything um and I love this shot from 1963. um although originally you know I thought this this shot was taken at the Caliente Tropics but it wasn't by the way um I don't think maybe it was um it doesn't matter right now oh wait oh okay when what I wanted to say though about Tiki Gods you guys yeah so tiki God so you know their palms their Palm trunks is what they are which is a big giant blade of glass grass remember um because palm trees are grass bombs sorry not supposed to say trees palm trees Palms are grass you guys so that's the root ball that guy's afro hairdo that is the root ball it is the Palm trunk turned upside down and then carved and don't you love that I mean the tongue and everything I mean classic here is the Caliente Tropics an icon landmark in Palm Springs since 1964. this is the you have arrived A-frame Port could share yes we love A-frames um extra points in life if you can find in Southern California a wiener schnitzel hot dogs drive through where you actually drive through the A-frame but we're not talking about wiener schnitzel right now we're talking about a 62 Cadillac convertible park there and the 1959 Dodge Sierra Station Wagon and yes the color scheme and everything I know chartreuse avocado and orange paired with an off-white spellbinding hypnotizing and I know it is mesmerizing it is a very spirited place this is um Caliente Tropics is where Tiki um Caliente a tiki event takes place um at least once a year and a lot of people gather just to drink rum drinks and well enjoy themselves um but anyway uh as you can see yeah it is a spirited crowd and you can kind of get the tiki vibe there that A-frame with the beam poking out I love it that hanging lamp there and that limbo how low can you how low can you go bar hanging there um that's so like a tall vehicle doesn't go through that is actually not a limbo bar but they probably do play limbo there it is called Limbo isn't it wait is that the name of it um anyway so by the way yes that is a 1954 Cadillac Coupe Deville parked there in a rich very bright shade of a seafoam green I know anyway at that hotel the Caliente Tropics is where you would find Walter clock Walt Walter Walter with an H Walter Clark's Hawaiian shop where he imported clothes from made in Hawaii all of which are now prized collectibles in every way every day I love vintage Hawaiian shirts I love everything here starting on the far right A lady wearing a two-piece bathing suit and then there's the sarong sundress there's a moo moo that's cut off then we have a lady in a bikini then we have a traditional moo moo moo moo m-u-u-m-u-u moo moo and then we have a lady with a uh a bustier with a big bouffant skirt a sundress and then we have a lady with a very bold pattern straight up and down dress and then we have a guy that's my favorite right there is the shirt the the guy's shirt with the uh the um big foot on the back I have never seen that but I can guarantee you that is a very valuable Hawaiian shirt I don't know why we're talking about Hawaiian shirts right now well actually we do because we're in Palm Springs talking about Walter Clarks um and I love it and by the way I love that like lemon yellow and that kind of muted green of the mid-century modern building there behind this parade float yeah and these are the only fake palms and Palm Springs you guys there are no fake palms and Palm Springs they're all real so anyway if you want Western back in the day you go to Marge Riley Western Wear yes she will suit your fan entire family up with the finest of Western Wear Marge Riley Where Do We Begin kind of barn Spanish barn style I love it it says dresses riding clothes men women and children I know oh you're gonna do the Western thing fine how about this Desi Arnez yes star of Television husband of Lucille Ball Creator co-creator and co-star of the most famous the most iconic television show of all time my personal favorite forever and always always has been always will be I Love Lucy yes so in 1957 he wasn't actually allowed because uh you know allegedly um being Cuban he wasn't allowed to build uh his home on this country club that he wanted to build on so he's like fine I'll build my own hotel and indeed he did and here it is and by the way I don't know if you guys notice but I'm sure you did There's Something Kind of intoxicatingly Perfect about well that kind of volcano we we're not going to talk about the volcanoe mountain in the background but it is kind of isn't it I know um it probably was a volcano a million years ago but anyway no that's color palette that that gorgeous like muted orange do you say orange or orange you can say orange now we can evolve let's collectively as a society say orange now okay it's more fun I know um and that turquoise okay you could be annoying and say turquois if you wanted but anyway it doesn't matter orange and turquoise or orange and turquoise I just love it with the muted Rock and the dark wood there and everything and palm tree Palms oh sorry Palms not trees as a dramatic backdrop fine you didn't want to go to the Western Hills you wanted to go to the Desert Hills well don't you love like I love hand like hand written signage um it's just the mood is up and the standard of living is flying high when you see signage written out in your favorite lesbian dance handwriting the Desert Hills the desert skies I know look at that s look at that k-i-e look at the E look at that other S I mean it's just it's it's heaven it's is it wait is it just me oh maybe you like this s better the Stardust how much do we love out of this world names the orbit in I love the orbit in you guys so much the orbit Inn in Palm Springs is one of my favorite places to stay I mean you guys we could like this this show could be a series I mean Palm Springs this goes on and on and on but uh it is one of the greatest places to stay in Palm Springs if you love The mid-century uh the orbit end just look it up trust me and tell them I sent you okay fine you wanted to go back to 1965 and say at the desert oh I know you could never call a place the desert ho now but um because people would well anyway no it'd be sold out all the time for sure they'd have to keep expanding but anyway I know don't you love that 1964 Ford Fairlane 500 sitting there and that khaki metallic not to mention the Imperial finished in jet black yes indeedo you want to do Western fine back in the day like in the 40s and 50s maybe into the early 60s they would have these big like um wagon uh Wagon Train breakfasts and you'd ride on Horseback from like your Resort wherever you were in Palm Springs you'd ride on horse book horseback out into the desert and they would serve you this breakfast you know bacon and eggs and all the trimmings and everything else and then a western singer would serenade you for like a few minutes you'd have a little concert and then back you'd on your horse you'd go I know it's like I want to do that again I want to have a western party in Palm Springs I really really do nobody's doing that we need to do that I have Western Wear don't you I know um anyway so speaking of extra points for dressing alike extra points for having a trailer that's lemon lime and don't you love the door that's open there revealing the honey blonde wood of the Interior oh those Interiors of those vintage trailers are spectacular and there are there's a big vintage trailer show every February or I just say Fab now forget the ruery yeah every Fab there's a big trailer show in Palm Springs um at during modernism week look it up and by the way um you guys that kid has it says Palm Springs on his T-shirt and extra points for the cuff Levi's okay fine you want to talk about trailers we're going to the Sahara trailer park you guys this picture was taken a week ago um don't you love the camel I know anyway it is the best trailer park in all of Palm Springs land here it is uh just a couple of years after it was built in 1955 a sweeping dramatic view of the Mountain's Majesty The Palms the clubhouse the swimming pool the bottle brush the uh Shay's lounges there and people dancing how often do you dance like what do they think they're about Dancing with the Stars or something I know I love it no one dances like that anymore wow that is like I just love this whole scene it's amazing but this trailer park still exists and many of the yeah Sahara Park it's behind the Ace Hotel it's so picture perfect I mean this place is just right for the picking to become this like well one of the great show places of Palm Springs because so many of the trailers are original like this one right here don't you love it the yellow you can see the little trailer there in the middle see it it got built around they kind of did a bump up that's called a Ramada that's to shade the trailer right above the trailer up there and then uh some company came around I don't know when maybe the early 60s or whatever maybe even earlier and said we're gonna bump out everyone's make them a living room on the side so many of them have this bumped out living room but it's very classic very adorable here's another one the trailer now really stands out you can see the Ramada above it and I know don't you love the color of the trailer I know don't you love I love the green stained cement the world needs more colored stained cement you guys there is cement stain and it looks so great in color um and the Palo Verde tree there and everything and in the driveway it is a 1959 Continental yes it is absolutely absolutely gorgeous and this is my friend Dennis and his trailer and I've been the guest and and I've been a guest in Dennis's trailer many times it's absolutely fantastic Dennis is a great party thrower and one time I ate too many Edibles there a few years ago and I left and I'm like I can't drive I can't drive I ended up having to spend the night in the parking lot at Ace Hardware I did I know it's scandalous anyway so here is Dennis went all tilt full Western in his trailer he calls it the Giddy Up getaway and it is I know don't you love thrift shop thrift store Thrift Shop store whatever art Wagon Wheel Furniture I mean Palm Springs has so much to offer and everybody loves to show off their places too this is actually at another trailer park the team the King Tut trailer it's probably was done about I'm gonna say 55 or 60 years ago and it's still there as is this one Chinese modern 1958 Blue Skies trailer park is where these are I don't know about you guys I love Chinese modern I never heard of Chinese modern until watching that I love Lucy episode where Lucy has to tell the truth and uh her friend Marion strong has Chinese modern furniture and they all go over there to play cards and then um Marion strong says to Lucy what do you think of my new furniture and she says well gosh um she says it looks like a nightmare you'd have after eating too much Chinese food I know can you believe that that cracked me up as a child so much but anyway I just love this and Breeze block you guys this is a breeze block side trailer pop out you know Breeze block here's Breeze block right here Breeze block is ready for its close-up or as I call it concrete lace Breeze block is the quintessential most important architectural uh detail trimming of um most homes in Palm Springs and it comes in many patterns it was popular in the 50s and 60s and there are companies now that remanufacture it but it comes in about a million million patterns it's fun just to drive around Palm Springs look at all the breeze blocks the brick the biggest well there's actually bigger but the most prominent breezeblock installation is you have arrived at the Parker Hotel which the Parker Hotel is a must-see must experience place in Palm Palm Springs um and this is this the guy there the doorman white with pink pants those big double orange doors you open it up and voila I will tell you that I went there the last time I went there I was actually driving in the Wienermobile yes it is there's that big wall behind it and we pulled up there and they're like you can't come in here with that you can't come in here with that we're like why and they're like cuz we said we just want to turn around they're like no I don't think so and then they said well actually though you're not going to be able to back out you're gonna have to come in so we went in we we turned around and everything and every like rock star and rapper and person that hotel like came out even a weenie dog you guys came out to greet the Wienermobile there it was a big moment and then the guys the guards at the guard shack out front they were like mean when we were coming and they were all nice when we were going out and they said can we take our picture with the Wienermobile the Wienermobile transcends class you guys it is the world's greatest advertising vehicle and it originated in the year of 1934 and uh if you're lucky you get to ride around in it but anyway we're not talking about wienermobiles right now but if you like orange and oh by the way it's so bizarre because Norma's restaurant at the Parker is in the color scheme of the Wienermobile yeah go figure uh anyway this is Norma's highly recommended restaurant at the Parker Outdoors as you can see it's magical it's just radiant and glorious and glowing and lovely I'll never forget I had a big salad there I ordered a salad and it came in a hollowed out um iceberg lettuce oh yeah it was the biggest head of iceberg lettuce I've ever seen But hollowed out completely and the salad was in the middle and then it had a bread stick that was like a foot long a bread stick a foot long coming out of it it was so amazing oh you want bread fine here's Brad you guys Peninsula pastries in Palm Springs this is Helene and Kristoff they were from France well they are still from France they came to Palm Springs on vacation and they're like you know what um I I Really they we're not moving back to France and so they they opened up a pastry shop in Palm Springs and a bread so Breads and pastries and F cakes too absolutely the best pastries in the Western Hemisphere probably the Eastern Hemisphere as well anywhere near Palm Springs four sure you've got to go to Peninsula pastries you guys now if you're lucky when you're there Helene will be behind the counter and she has a beautiful French accent she's just charming and adorable and occasionally if you're lucky Christoph will come screaming out of the the uh you know the kitchen door the bakery where he's baking doing all the baking they make everything from scratch there he'll come out and with a rolling pin in his hand like screaming in French or whatever and then go back in there and off it's fantastic you'll love it it's great it's it's a deep Soul kind of place you guys I mean this is the real deal so uh my favorite there I mean I've tried just about everything and everything is intoxicatingly good and it's hard to make up my mind but at the end of the day I really do love the apple tart I guess they call it a tart um but oh first of all slicing the pastry dough like that fine art the taste of it the texture of it oh you don't want it to end there's only one problem when you eat it um you don't eat it in the car like I did because I mean my car was like when you take a bite out of it it the the the layers there's so many layers like a like a croissant that um it explodes and like all these like there becomes a snowstorm of flaky like you know dough crust or whatever it is oh so good you guys Peninsula pastries though you didn't want Peninsula pastries you wanted a Banana Split you know I hadn't had a banana split for 40 years up until about four or five months ago and I just thought you know yeah I'm gonna have a banana split remember Banana Splits have you had a banana split lately have you they're so good anyway at cream first of all I love the signage k-r-e-e-m again in your favorite lesbian aunt's handwriting so spectacular they serve their banana split in a Chinese restaurant speaking of Chinese restaurant to go container how like you know how Forward Thinking is that I know and anything with sprinkles and a maraschino cherry on top I'm in speaking of handwritten signage you guys I can't get enough of it Palm Springs is loaded up with it it is the official style guide of Palm Springs signage the handwritten signage which was very popular in the 30s 40s 50s and 60s and then went out of style well it's back and again I said it before I'm going to say it again when you see it it's like the mood is up and the standard of living is flying high I love this house in another neighborhood in Palm Springs there are so many neighborhoods in Palm Springs you guys I believe this is um uh Rancho Vista I think anyway I know it doesn't matter because it's just such a great house well it does matter but um and I love like they're very American they've got the American flag in place of drapes and everything the color palette this is kind of a hippie neighborhood you guys it's a little more colorful a little more out of control a little more Wild Child and I love it don't you I know and you could like if that's like a movie screen over there their their address is like a title on a drive-in movie theater screen which is genius I know and no one's ever gonna say like well I can't find the address it's so perfect I know speaking of more handwritten signage you guys this in this case the holiday house which was established in about 1951. there are you know varying degrees of hotel service in Palm Springs um from like five star four-star three-star and you know I mean there's not that many I mean it's all Palm Springs is all like you know very nice um well most but anyway um this is one of the nicest places to stay in all of Palm Springs you guys the holiday house you're only seeing their Volkswagen van which serves as a sign board but don't we love Volkswagen bands I know anyway um the holiday house yeah don't you love the blue oh this is very different the core the karakia you guys means okay I better calm down I think I have to drink water Savor the karakia for a minute the karakia bed and breakfast one of the most unique properties in all of Palm Springs there's a backside of a fake Crow up there on top um because karakia means Crow and Greek did I just say that I don't know if I did but here it is we're just gonna stand at the entrance this Arch interest Rock Arch entrance it is actually a house it's a former home built by a Scottish artist in 1924 Gordon Coots and I absolutely love this place the New York Times call it the sexiest Resort in all of the United States and all of the United States so it's very special the karakia check it out you want Moroccan style fine go to the El Mirador yes the Mirage uh built in 1928 this is the tower building this was taken in the 19 late 1950s and I can tell because that's a 58 Oldsmobile sitting there in that pastel pink to match the El Mirador I love it when people match to dress where they match their car where they're going don't you anyway I know that's a 58 Oldsmobile because I had one I drove it home from San Fernando Valley to Silver Lake where I live with no breaks big mistake uh one night lost the brakes I thought well I'll drive home anyway but anyway I don't recommend that but the Tower and the lobby building built in 28 are still there uh it is now the lobby building of the Desert Regional uh hospital and thank you Desert Regional Hospital of Palm Springs for saving that incredible tile topped Tower I know I just love it and then you can see in the 50s they added that Port could share on and here it is and these guys is with a Plymouth cab and a Cadillac and a 57 Ford as a dramatic backdrop you can see the port cochair there in an absolute picture-perfect example of early 1950s mid-century modern it is indeed and these two guys there strike a pose there's nothing to it modeling their fezzes and extra points because the guy on the right actually has the very valuable Fez print shirt yeah Fez Prince those are fezzes all over that shirt it's like a Hawaiian style shirt that's print I mean very valuable now a Timeless classic speaking of Timeless Classics these guys I don't know where they're going oh well I almost said I don't know where they're going I do El Mirador pool so they are Downtown Palm Springs also by the way Palm Springs in Palm Springs we celebrate the Mediterranean style the Spanish style call it what you will pre-modernism they were building a lot of this style and some of it's still there and it's just beautiful so warm and inviting the casa de Beverly yes in the El Dorado Hotel this picture taken in the late 1940s has got to be the Fourth of July parade they do a lot of festivities there there's parties and parades and all kinds of stuff all the time I love crepe paper and bicycles when they get together don't you and don't you love a tandem bicycle speaking of this is the center of town Spanish style this is La Plaza built in 1937. this according to the legend is the first retail Center built in the United States with a parking lot as the centerpiece car culture had arrived and it is still there it is still the heart and soul and centerpiece of Palm Springs here it is back in the looks like the 1940s judging by The Cars the sign there that says La Plaza is still there it looks virtually exactly the same the only thing is is the wishing well behind it is gone but anyway never mind that another shot of it from the 1940s I love that night late mid-20s car parked there I wish like it's probably a Packard uh it's absolutely gorgeous I know anyway La Plaza still looks like this here it is now I was just there the other day and you do not do Palm Springs without doing a Scamper around there are a lot of little hidden nooks and crannies and little boutiques and shops and there's some restaurants that are there that are fantastic Tyler's hamburgers is there uh atlier Cafe is there and uh funky little stores and also oh yeah like this place the Elephant Walk or whatever but just to walk down that Corridor this time-honored kind of Time Capsule of old Palm Springs it's just very special very warm very rich very inviting and then there's a restaurant there called the farm which is spectacular highly recommend it reservations are totally necessary weeks in advance it is the place and Mrs Farm the lady that owns the farm uh she actually lives in uh well this house right here don't you love the gentle Arch roof line there and that big giant rock rock better calm down there she is she is sitting there she herself told me that uh she left a toaster plugged in that she bought at Target and into her counter and uh it lit the house on fire luckily the fire department was able to get up excuse me the winding roads that lead to her uh one of the very few houses or homes built in the Hills there in Palm Springs but anyway I know the farm and her house but up above that up on the right there you see the home of local rock star architect Albert Frey this is the home that well he was he's probably the most iconic modernist architect in Palm Springs and it was probably there the longest um but uh or virtually but anyway um if you get to see the house I I cannot recommend the Albert Frey house enough I mean we could go on and on I wish we could go inside and out of all these but if we did it would just take us forever but look at the beautiful view down below the swimming pool there and it is quite spectacular and again one of the very few houses on the Hill are on any of the hills in Palm Springs and look down there way down there in the far distance you're gonna see not Twin Palms but triplet Palms a trio of palm trees this is the centerpiece and crowning Touch of an Albert Frey property very Albert Frey very in his style guide the man who his house we just saw a second ago this is as you can see there it's spelled out crystal clear so there is no confusion hello Palm Springs City Hall how are you I'm fine thank you yes built between the years of 1957 and 1952 uh well shall I say 52 and 57. uh it is so minimalist and so perfect so Palm Springs and of course that what I call a Botanical breakthrough whoosh the palm trees looking the other way you see this again up the four steps there's this kind of four-step principle of architecture in Palm Springs that puts you Above The Pedestrian level everything there is a little heightened or a lot heightened it's a very special presentational place so anyway oh now I'm getting a notification okay never mind that sorry but I love it's almost like the water rushing in it's like a waves or whatever you come down there you go way down there to the end where it twists around and this is the people are the city the council chamber buildings and by the way let it not go and said Sunny Bono was among the pioneers of preservation of the mid-century aesthetic and Palm Springs in the 1990s when he was mayor of Palm Springs yeah Sonny and Cher Sunny Bono yeah Cher I Got You Babe yeah Cindy and chair Sonny bone O'Mara Palm Springs and uh it is in part um we owe credit to him for saving this building from like them building like some mcmansion or something speaking of Albert Frey allegedly um I don't know why I keep saying allegedly it's not a word in my vocabulary until today but anyway the monkey tree was supposed to be one of his um designs but I think it turns out we now know that it wasn't but about 10 years ago uh maybe even 15 when I was studying Albert Frey I had to go around and see all the Albert Frey properties and Palm Springs and the monkey tree was one of them so I called it the monkey tree and I said I'm studying Albert Frey and he's the architect of your hotel because at that time it was thought he was and so they said come on over if you want to see it it's great it's fantastic you'll love it and they also said by the way it's a nudist colony and I'm like oh what a nudist colony you've got to be kidding well I had to see the place because I was studying Robert free architecture so I went there and yeah they were right it was a nudist colony so anyway oh I know but then I don't know what happened to the nudity it moved on to another place and yes there are several clothing option now places in Palm Springs well the desert the Sun the warmth and everything nudity yeah I've added a syllable to nudity the word needs to be nudity I know anyway um so what I wanted to say was is like it is still there the monkey tree is still there um a few years later after I I was there it got purchased by a couple from New York who said their dream was to order or to have a bed and breakfast and so they did and everything was fine and then they said let's have a party here and do you want to host the party I said okay let's do it and they said do you want to give the party a theme I said well the theme will be pink I think what am I saying pink yellow and turquoise so uh we had a yellow and turquoise party or yellow and blue call it what you will but anyway it's people in Palm Springs are very into dressing up fun and festive it's so much fun you guys I know don't you love the ostrich feather him on her vintage cocktail dress in the 1960s there ostrich feather trim yeah that's what we're talking about but we're talking about we're not talking about ostrich trailers anymore right now we're talking about the greatest Cactus Nursery Showplace on the planet in my opinion it has a very deep Soul Morton's Botanical Garden since 1957. I do believe you have to pay five dollars to get in it should be 55 even that would be a bargain this is the son of the original owners uh slim and Patricia Morton Patricia Morton was a lifelong dedicated she was a lifelong dedicate did I just make that up a lifelong dedicate to Cactus and in 1957 they bought this property and they moved there this is their son he's still there um slim and Patricia Morton I'm not sure if his name is Slim Jr but it should be I mean how great would it be to be even named slim yellow yeah I mean but even slim Jr is even that much better anyway he will greet you there he's really tall and he has the presence of that old Western Star John Wayne anyway the whole place has a deep Soul it's the only place that you're ever going to see that you're ever going to see the world's only cactarium you guys and here it is it's an old Quonset hut and you go in but first I know so unpretentious don't you love it it's a very special place this is the inner sanctum of Palm Springs one of the great inner sanctums there it says that the world's first cactarium so you have not done Palm Springs until you've done the cactarium in your in when you're in there they're like so many bizarre like succulents and cacti that are everywhere all around you and they're coming to get you and everything it is hypnotizing spellbinding and mesmerizing as is the original House on the property that was once owned actually built by a photographer an early desert photographer a landscape photographer named Stephen Willard I wrote it down I did not want to forget that name uh anyway he his tint hand tinted photos are now very collectible very valuable he worked in the 30s here's one of them right now and I got invited over to these people's house actually in a trailer at the trailer park and they had one of his big framed 1930s hand tinted photos there and I absolutely fell in love with it it was just so beautiful Stephen Willard look him up you want Cactus fine we're going to do cactus right now this is Trick trick I can't even say it this is so exciting you guys Trixie's cactus garden yeah I can say that Trixie's taxi Garden Oh taxi car oh my God Palm Springs is so exciting it's overwhelming you guys Trixie's cactus garden not Trixie's taxi Garden that'd be interesting but you guys okay so um recently I went out to dinner in Palm Springs and I looked back at the property behind the restaurant I'm like what's that what's that it's all pink and then I went and looked over the the fence and I saw this so recently uh one of Drew Drew Paul's Drag Race contestant Champions Trixie Mattel whom I only knew of not because I watched RuPaul's Drag Race I I don't watch RuPaul's Drag Race because I don't watch any television I don't I really really don't unless I'm over at someone else's house um anyway but I I knew of Trixie Mattel already because I got a call around a year ago saying can you do a voiceover on Trixie Mattel's album so Trixie Mattel made an album and I'm the voiceover on there the low voice that's me on there anyway whatever so I go to look over the fence of the pink all and I see this it is absolutely the most gorgeous Perfect Picture Perfect Motel yeah Motel makeover Ever of all time everything is pink and white and I've never seen color coordination like this I've never seen a kidney shaped swimming pool that is the ultimate shape for a swimming pool by the way you guys a kidney shape yeah kidney shape something cool anyway I mean I've never seen uh pink white pink white Sunburst uh Splat of color coming out from the pool like this with everything matching perfectly it is indeed Divine Perfection now this was the former uh an old hotel that was there for a while and Ruby Montana's and Ruby Montana was there for a long time and I have to say Ruby uh it was a magical place when she had it and now Trixie's done a makeover and it's still magical absolutely perfect in every way now when Ruby Montana had it Ruby Montana serve dessert out of the back door um well you bought whole pies from her lemon pies so she's gone she's no longer there she moved on I don't know where she went but now if you want the best lemon dessert in all the Palm Springs you gotta go to Sherman's Deli oh yes Sherman's serving it up in Palm Springs since 1962 and I will tell you that it is here where you get this relish tray of like green tomatoes sauerkraut and like pickles in a little aluminum tray a decorative aluminum tray I mean where do you get that anymore nowhere here is the bakery case there and uh we could go on and on about all these desserts but I love their domed cakes on the right like the one on the lower right the chocolate and white one absolutely gorgeous but it is right next to it it is this this Dome of a lemon cake so beautifully decorated this is the ultimate lemon dessert in all Palm Springs Sherman's you got to go there and get this and bring it to a party it weighs like 20 pounds more probably more and I don't even know how much it costs but whatever it is it's a bargain because when you walk in the door of a party with this set it down in the middle of the table you will hear the angel singing and you will see the people gather Sherman Sherman's Sherman Sherman Sherman's Deli has been around as I said since 62 this is the original location right here and uh I don't know about you but um I love that like kind of like toothpick meets rocket ship that that really makes a statement over the restaurant which started as the spring things yes built in 1957 by local rock star modernist architect um William of Cody this is a very special and long gone long bold eyes bulldoze restaurant um before Sherman's took it over it was called The Springs you can see it says the Springs written out right there in coral and dirt color and white letters don't you love that the desert landscape the flower blossoms the rock that plant going like this and everything The Palms and the unusual building itself I mean we've never seen anything like this very avant-garde and in Palm Springs you have the license to be avant-garde Palm Springs is different Palm Springs is special and look at those beams coming out like that with those decorative endings look at the glass on the diagonal and then going back in like this I mean this place look at that front door yeah that's the front door over there you guys I know and you can see right through the restaurant you can see a table in there you could sit there the Ocotillo the rock the just the shape of it the organic the earthiness of it I wish there were more photos of it but at one point the roof comes right down to the ground and gives you and like your great grandma's here the perfect place to strike a pose there's nothing to it indeed and uh I know isn't it gorgeous I just love it the Ocotillo is framed so there I've been framed so well there with a black background and uh I know we could go on and on about the ladies and everything and all that but I want to show you another William F Cody building yeah in Palm Springs as part of the lure the lore there is the architecture and the actual Architects there's a lot of people that study modernist architecture will style there in Palm Springs this is another Cody building built in 47 the Del Marcos hotel this is not the original signage uh whoever designed this sign probably about 20 years ago when they redid rehab rethunk reinvented restored the hotel looks like they had a little too much Chinese I mean not Chinese food the night before it looks like they had a little too much Swiss cheese the night before doesn't it I know anyway we love the Del Marcos hotel it is a little kind of wacky wonky it's a little Frank Lloyd Wright meets Mad Hatter Tea Party look at the doors there I know I'll never forget one time I was giving my architectural bus tour in Palm Springs and out of that very door one of those doors open and the guy said shut the up because I guess I was being a little loud on the bus but anyway yeah the walls going like this and everything okay you wanted to talk about Springs and Palm Springs we've seen Palms where the springs they are here yes at the Palm Springs Spa yes ladies and gentlemen Agua Caliente so sadly tragically uh this uh walkway this entrance to the Palm Springs built in I think about 64. got bulldozed about five years ago yes nothing lasts forever in this world doesn't matter how perfect or sacred or special it is there are no guarantees in life but anyway I will tell you that this was a masterpiece and we only now have photos to remember it by sadly tragically the Springs the natural springs in Palm Springs are there so Palm Springs kind of got started you guys basically as a health resort in like the late 1890s if you research Palm Springs you're going to see a lot of women where Pioneer developers in Palm Springs shocking but true a very feminist Society because yeah as I said a lot of women were a few several women were like very instrumental in the development of Palm Springs and the hotel properties there um the early ones and uh anyway so yeah I mean we could go on and on in the 30s Hollywood discovered Palm Springs and it became a playground for the rich and famous movie stars Moguls Titans of Industry captains of Commerce you name it and then by the 70s it went up it started to go out of style a little bit as Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage began to develop and a lot of the people went to those newer Resorts and newer built newer homes and Palm Springs kind of fell out of favor until uh the 90s Palm Springs started to kind of bubble up again when mid-century modernism became a thing and people architectural historians and artists and others with vision came to Palm Springs and said this place is amazing it's got great bones it's got Legend it's got lore it's got landmark and more Galore let's restore this place and they did we're still at Palms spring spa as you can see their hot springs and mineral hot mineral baths and springs and this woman is striking a pose next to this sculpture that was there I wonder where it is now I don't think they would have thrown it away in the garbage um but anyway and by the way to her I say thank you for wearing that beautiful shade of violet no print print dress and that big poof right here on the side of your head is very becoming speaking of purple speaking of pink and night lighting how much do you love night lighting this is you guys I know we're going all over the place speaking of Springs these aren't the real Springs this is just a little uh fountain pool around the centerpiece and focal point of the Villa Roma condominium complex in Palm Springs [Music] da da da da da da yeah um you can go there and sing Italian songs and pretend you're Dean Martin or whatever you want to do um speaking of night lighting we are now looking at the City National Bank built in 1959 this is well if Palm Springs is a theme park this is the castle it is absolutely in the most prominent spot in the entire town at where Palm Canyon and Indian Canyon come together just south of the heart of palm springs is this and here it is in its day when it was new that gorgeous Fountain the night lighting and everything don't you love look at purple lighting in the fountain and pink lighting and everything and all that turquoise oh it's almost too much for words this is the scale of that Fountain it is enorm Monumental and massive judging by extra points for dressing alike I know and what was she thinking though with those lipstick red or do you call that Chinese red or Scarlet socks bobby socks socks bobby socks yeah bobby socks I know uh anyway and they've got their their Jeep pulled up there behind I love the two-tone on the Jeep it practically Blends in matches the whole place but that Fountain I know the tile here is the building as it stands today virtually well I mean it's been slightly altered the fountain is gone but the crowning touch and the focal point of this very beautiful very International style very spectacular modernist building uh inspired by a church in France by the way is the focal point is the blue tile it's like little one by one Venetian tiles and just like something you'd find in your shower I know isn't it gorgeous and of course the crowning touch the accessories The Palms oh fine you wanted uh a very Brazilian style well Oscar Niemeyer of Brasilia Fame inspired this mid-century modern Masterpiece originally the Coachella Valley Savings and Loan now chase you can see the chase logo up there but thankfully still exists and is still beautiful in every way every day and what's so great about it you guys it the you saw a fountain at the other bank well this whole bank is floating in a pool of water in case you want to practice your butterfly stroke there before or after you deposit your millions or maybe do a withdrawal to go shopping or something you can take a lap or two in the reflecting pool there at Coachella the former Coachella Valley Savings and Loan built in the year of 1961. I just had to throw this one in hair styling by Elora Kenyon don't you love that I know I love the sun trap roof line the V beams over there the painter palette shape well kind of free form shape of the signage there the font everything look at Buy they're just the word by there with a tall B and the long tail on that y not to mention speaking of lipstick red her sandals her lemon meringue shorts and her avocado Blue Zone very Timeless classic not to mention the dark stained wood and the lemon meringue uh color or more custard yellow I guess of the trim of that building I know and here we are you guys we've talked a lot about Palm Springs we've been east west north and south but we have not done the pools yet you guys swimming pools swimming pools swimming pools it is the ultimate crowning touch as I said earlier it is the centerpiece of every residential and hotel property this one taken in the 1950s yes the mountains The Umbrellas the pool her the cigarette the lounge she's having a good time this is one of the most famous swimming pools ever of all time in Palm Springs this is the tennis club built in 1946 the pool is still there the modernist structure there a Quincy Jones 1946 still there Mrs Bixby though she's left the building thing this is mix Mrs Bixby of Long Beach one of the land grant families or you know it's one of those families that um owned a lot of property in Long Beach starting in probably 1880s uh anyway Bixby is a prominent name in Long Beach this is Mrs Bixby I got this at her estate sale or maybe it was one of her children's estate sale but anyway it doesn't matter um but we remember the bixby's and uh we thank from thank them for all the good they did in Palm Springs and we thank her for striking a pose so casual with her superhero cape there by this oval shaped swimming pool and here we are Desi Arnez Western Hills Resort and again that gorgeous two-tone of the turquoise turquoise and orange remember and we're diving into the pool finally we are in the pool I know it gets very hot in Palm Springs you guys sometimes in the summer it can get over 120 degrees Yeah super hot but anyway I just there's something about this photo I don't know what it is it's like well it just feels cool doesn't it I know and look at the baked desert the purple mountains Majesty the spatial the racial and the umbrella and that guy over there doesn't want to do anything to do with those people the anti-social one and then there's the pool for one yes I know I don't know about you but I love a porcupine style bathing cap ladies please gentlemen whatever it doesn't matter should we bring back we need to have a bathing cat fashion show wouldn't that be fun that's one thing I have not seen in Palm Spring we're gonna have the the golf carts come out and we're gonna have the bathing cap Family bathing caps come out we could have a Hawaiian clothing show because it's very Palm Springs I know anyway you guys last but not least we're doing it we're going up to the top of 8 500 feet on the aerial Tramway one man's dream starting in the year of 19 about 37 he's like you know we need to take people up there because it's 30 degrees cooler at the top of the building so ultimately it happened the Albert Frey um this is uh down below the lodge down below the aerial Tramway station where you catch the Tramway still looks exactly like this don't you love those windows and everything very 1963 because that's the year the Tramway finally came to be uh the man one of the men who were really was really involved in putting this all together and worked for decades to get it going actually spent two years in Switzerland riding up and down every one of them that was there to kind of make sure that everything was going to be fine and indeed at his it has turned out to be there I am I've been I've been on it several times and you have not done Palms ring until you've done the aerial Tramway and when you get part way up there you guys know the ride is kind of scary but who cares it's fun it's a Thrill Ride uh I mean it is the ultimate attraction in all of Palm Springs Land There is the aerial Tramway station seafoam green though no longer it needs to go back to that though and here he is oh well we're back at the Tramway station there um I guess I jumped the gun a little back in the day they uh the guys who loaded and unloaded the uh gondolas I believe they call them um well tramways uh they wore Lederhosen I mean how perfect is that don't you love Lederhosen I know anyway I feel like singing um Papa but I'm not going to right now yeah as I said it's a little scary to go out there um you go up it's about uh 6 000 feet you go up you're about 2 000 above sea level when you start and then eight thousand five feet the lady right there in the window she's like realizing already this is going to be scary and oh there it is so basically I think it's about five uh glorified telephone poles it was strung with like clothesline that you're going up more or less it's amazing you guys and look at this beautiful picture perfect postcard shot of 1963. it's like a fashion show Let It Be an inspiration to you yes it's okay to wear Stripes going like this it is proof positive right there the whole all the glory up top we have 1968 the drop torso look on the right shocking pink mink collar we've got a lady with three pocket flaps going down her right hip and the long end of a self-tie belt down the other gold chains uh man in a very simple classic gray suit and a lady in a Jackie Kennedy style suit of 1963 complete with um mid-length gloves and she's holding one in one hand very poised proper dignified and three quarter sleeve of course you noticed on the jacket and a well puff puff cigarette finally we reach almost the very end where our official greeters are having a parade you guys Palm Springs is a very special place I hope that you find it in your heart and soul to really bask in the glory of the glow of it all the legend the lore The Landmark around every corner it has a spirit very special unique in all the universe and last but not least as we finally depart this tour ladies and gentlemen yes I took the Wienermobile to the giant dinosaur of course I had to because the Wienermobile people said where do you want to go next and I'm like let's go see the giant dinosaur so here we are we've we've seen the East the West the north of the south of Palm Springs and I want to say thank you so much for joining me here on this wild and wacky tour of Palm Springs land as I call it thank you for your support and you being here and purchasing your ticket for this event allows me to continue to do what I love doing celebrating roasting and toasting having fun with a very spectacular time and place in American pop culture history the mid-century behold the glory and thank you again for joining me okay you guys bye-bye [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: Charles Phoenix

Views: 17,608

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Id: eSFTz8BBzPg

Length: 116min 51sec (7011 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 12 2023