Recently, while Bird Dog was lounging in the Caribbean, I was sent to do a presentation at a conference in Palm Desert, California. Since I was a featured speaker, the conference was paying for my hotel, and as these things are typically boondoggles held at high-end resorts, I asked my wife to join me and she reluctantly agreed. It took a tremendous amount of arm-twisting, two lines of text at a minimum.
My presentation meant a day in a ballroom with 200 of my closest industry competitors. It provided a great opportunity to discuss issues at the heart of my business and I managed to deliver a 30 minute presentation in what seemed like 5 minutes. I'm still learning to present well, though I was pleased to hear my work referenced several times by the speakers who followed me.
Once I got past the fun part, it was 'boondoggle on' and the wife and I availed ourselves of the surrounding region. We took a bike tour of Palm Springs, headed out to Joshua Tree National Park and did an hour's hike up Ryan Mountain for some spectacular views. I highly recommend a visit to Joshua Tree, if you're ever in the area. It has a beauty which is very hard to describe. It may not be for everyone. I found it fascinating. I also wanted to visit the Salton Sea, but time didn't permit.
As we were preparing to leave, my wife noticed an article about Mid-Century Modern architecture in a local magazine. What caught her eye was a house owned by the Kaufmanns, a family I recently wrote about. Apparently, this family was rather innovative in their tastes. Successful in the business of retailing, they expanded the American cultural landscape by contracting with ground-breaking architects, in this case Richard Neutra. Success really does breed success. Their home in Palm Springs is considered the premiere example of the Mid-Century Modern home.
Generally speaking, Palm Springs/Desert is a beautiful location. Mount San Jacinto towers over a region in which stunning vistas are commonplace. This is a transformed land and two things give this fact away.
First, the dirt piles that pass for mountains and hills. As you ride along the outskirts of town, one side of the ride is beautiful, manicured and desirable. Compare this to the other side, which can best be described as slag heaps. While these are naturally occurring hills and mountains, it's as if someone mined the region and just threw everything in piles on the outskirts of town. This is a desert, after all, and the contrast between the natural landscape and the landscaping of homes is striking.
A view from Mt Ryan and a view in the Cholla Garden in Joshua Tree National Park
Secondly, the windmills and solar panels, which supply the energy. So much wind is created due to temperature differentials in the Los Angeles region that wind is forced through the Banning Pass almost constantly. As it's a desert and sunny almost 280 days a year, the solar panels which are peppered among the windmills add to the energy production.
This is a region which exhibits its raw beauty at Joshua Tree and the mountains, and its manufactured beauty in the homes and resorts.
We are not fans of Mid-Century Modern, though as my wife says, if you're going to live here, you may as well go all in and make it work for you. Mid-Century Modern fits here. It makes sense in an odd, but beautiful, way. There are very few houses you could pick up and move to other locations and feel like you'd made the right move. This is architecture which suits this desert.
An example of 'Butterfly Design', which has an inverted peak, rather than a standard peaked, or flat, roof.
This is the Edris House, designed by E. Steward Williams.
The 'Swiss Miss' house, an A-Frame by Charles Dubois and built by Alexander Construction.
Another view of Neutra's Kaufmann House.
