Utah Heritage Foundation

All I can say is, Wow!  If you love modern architecture and design, Palm Springs Modernism Week is for you.  Modernism “week” is actually 10 days of tours, lectures, screenings, parties and exhibits.  On a limited schedule this year, my first time there, I only managed to attend two lectures and a movie screening – to my great regret.

War and Peace, the California Design Dividend was a fascinating lecture by Bill Stern, executive director, Museum of California Design, about how the material shortages of WWII sparked the spare, but brilliant innovations by small California startup design companies that we now call Mid-Century Modern style.

The screening of Peter Moruzzi’s Desert Holiday (book title Palm Springs Holiday), a humorous vintage postcard tour of early Palm Springs architecture and resorts was a big hit, presented in a packed ballroom at the Riviera Palm Springs decked out as a movie theater, complete with complementary popcorn. 

Palm Springs Preservation Foundation’s popular free (but early!) breakfast lecture by board member Gary Johns rounded out the events I was able to attend.  Aptly entitled Lost, Saved and Endangered: Modernist Architecture in Palm Springs, his entertaining and informative overview of local preservation advocacy efforts was held at the Palm Springs Spa and Hotel to spotlight the plight of this threatened landmark.

Yes, Palm Springs’ Desert Modern architecture is fabulous, but that fact alone does not stave off the wrecking ball when demolition permits are accompanied by promises – often hollow – of economic revitalization.  As we learned from Mr. Johns, the empty lots dotting key locations are a testament to those broken promises.  Sound familiar?  Despite ordinances protecting the city’s architectural treasures, the key to their preservation is the vigilance of members of advocacy groups like Palm Springs Preservation Foundation, Palm Springs Modern Committee and the Palm Springs Historical Society.

When you go to this mecca of Modernism, thank the dedicated individuals in these organizations for making Palm Springs Modernism Week possible.

Can’t get to Palm Springs?  Check out UHF’s very own Salt Lake Modern

Also visit the National Trust’s website Modernism + The Recent Past