Palm Springs’ midcentury identity is usually encountered from the street: a butterfly roof above a hedge, a glass-walled living room glimpsed across a courtyard, a familiar building that still looks unexpectedly modern.
For four days this month, visitors can step closer, entering significant homes, meeting dealers who trade in the furnishings that defined an era, and exploring how the desert’s architectural legacy continues to shape its businesses and neighborhoods.
Modernism Week’s October festival returns Oct. 15–18 with more than 50 activities spanning architecture, interiors, art, vintage style and entertainment. At its center are home and neighborhood tours and the Palm Springs Modernism Fall Show, a marketplace that puts historic design and contemporary work under the same roof.
The smaller autumn counterpart to February’s 11-day festival offers a concentrated introduction to a regional specialty. Its itinerary reaches beyond Palm Springs into Rancho Mirage and Desert Hot Springs, linking preservation groups, private homeowners, galleries, hospitality businesses and working designers.
For the local business community, that mix helps explain the event’s appeal. Visitors can see how a restored home is furnished, meet the people selling comparable pieces, then spend the evening in a hotel or restaurant participating in the program. Architecture becomes both a cultural attraction and a reason to shop, dine and stay.
Palm Springs Modernism Fall Show Brings 40 Exhibitors
The Palm Springs Modernism Fall Show is a special opportunity for designers and design enthusiasts to connect with collectors and dealers from around the world.
The 12th Annual Palm Springs Modernism Fall Show will bring 40 exhibitors to the Palm Springs Convention Center, 277 N. Avenida Caballeros, with furniture, fine art, lighting, decorative objects and contemporary design available for purchase.
The show begins with an opening-night party and early-buying preview from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16. Advance tickets are $95, rising to $110 at the door, and include a wine reception, hors d’oeuvres, parking and return admission throughout the weekend.
Public hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18. A $30 ticket covers both days, allowing shoppers to return after considering a purchase or comparing pieces.
The exhibitor roster gives the event a local dimension. New participants include Mel Andrews Studio of Palm Springs, offering contemporary semi-abstract art, and Ruthless Gallery of Palm Desert, presenting architectural photography and contemporary jewelry. Maude Banks Collective of Los Angeles will bring midcentury wallpaper and textiles, while Randy Higbee Gallery of Costa Mesa will offer fine art, decorative arts and garden items.
Returning Palm Desert dealer StudioGRayblue specializes in furniture by major American and European architects, along with fine art, lighting and decorative objects. Other returning exhibitors include Amara Rugs, Modfire, Palette Contemporary Art and Craft, and Sleek Modern.
In a statement announcing the show, Rosemary Krieger, CEO of producer Dolphin Promotions, described it as an opportunity for designers and design enthusiasts to connect with collectors and dealers from around the world.
The contemporary offerings extend outdoors. Florida-based Paradise Grills plans its West Coast debut at the show, displaying outdoor kitchens, grills and pergolas. Presenting sponsor Airstream Inland Empire will offer trailer tours, adding another interpretation of compact, modern living to the weekend.
Home Tours Connect Preservation With Contemporary Design
The Marquee at Twin Palms, a 1957 Palm Springs residence renovated by H3K Home + Design, is among the homes opening for tours during Modernism Week, Oct. 15–18.
One of the festival’s featured properties, The Marquee at Twin Palms, demonstrates how a midcentury house can be adapted for current use while retaining its architectural character.
Built in 1957 and renovated by H3K Home + Design, the residence combines post-and-beam construction, walls of glass and a breeze-block entry with updated interiors and outdoor living spaces. The $40 tour runs Oct. 15–18, giving visitors a close look at the relationship between an original design and the choices involved in its renovation.
For a different approach to desert living, Frey House II offers access to architect Albert Frey’s own residence. Hosted by the Palm Springs Art Museum, the self-guided tours are $75, with a tour-and-reception option priced at $125.
Tickets also include admission to the Palm Springs Art Museum and its Architecture and Design Center during the Oct. 15–18 festival, subject to museum opening days. A shuttle takes participants to the house from the museum’s Aluminaire parking lot. The residence is not wheelchair accessible, and guests should review the check-in requirements before booking.
Rancho Mirage’s Blue Skies Village will open its gates Oct. 17 for an $85 tour of seven mobile-home interiors, a hidden garden and the William F. Cody-designed clubhouse. The visit offers a view of midcentury life beyond the region’s frequently photographed single-family homes, placing a community setting within the larger architectural story.
In Desert Hot Springs, Hotel Lautner will offer $60 tours throughout Oct. 15–18. The 1947 fourplex, restored by designers Tracy Beckmann and Ryan Trowbridge, now operates as a boutique hotel within The Lautner Compound.
Visitors will tour three of the four original living units, with the specific units varying by session. Lautner’s use of redwood, steel, concrete and glass makes this an unusually intimate opportunity to examine a major architect’s work in a functioning hospitality property. A portion of ticket proceeds supports the John Lautner Foundation.
Architecture Tours and Events Spread Across the Valley
Visitors seeking a broader introduction can take the Premier Double Decker Architectural Bus Tour, offered Oct. 15–18 for $130. The 2½-hour open-air excursion covers significant civic and commercial buildings and residential neighborhoods, providing context for the individual house visits.
The 90-minute Sinatra’s Rat Pack Homes and Hangouts tour, priced at $100, connects desert architecture with the entertainers who helped establish Palm Springs’ reputation. For those preferring a smaller vehicle, Modernism Week’s architecture tours use climate-controlled, 22-seat mini-coaches and are listed at $130 during the festival.
Walking tours offer another scale of discovery. The Palm Springs Historical Society will lead programs exploring neighborhoods and downtown history, while ONE PS’s Oct. 16 Trailblazers and Visionaries tour includes the Plaza Theatre, O’Donnell Golf Club and Welwood Murray Cemetery. That tour is $100.
The wider schedule gives visitors reasons to linger after a tour. On Oct. 15, historian Jim Cook’s $30 Palm Springs, Tuned In presentation examines the Coachella Valley’s musical history, with guitarist Brian Ray opening the program. Architectural historian Steven Keylon’s free talk on Hugh M. Kaptur is listed for Oct. 16.
On Oct. 17, the Casual Concours car show at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage will feature more than 170 vehicles, with a theme celebrating 1960s automobiles and Route 66’s centennial. Admission is $30, or $25 for members.
Evening options include the Oct. 16 Modernism Week After Dark event at Spirit Animal inside Hotel Zoso, priced at $45, and sunset tours at The Lautner Compound. Mr. Lyons will host $90 midcentury cocktail classes throughout the four-day festival.
A portion of festival ticket proceeds benefits Modernism Week and participating preservation, neighborhood and community groups. The nonprofit also provides architecture and design scholarships and preservation grants. The City of Palm Springs serves as civic presenting sponsor.
Modernism Week Adds Southern California Day Trips
Separate from the October festival, Modernism Week’s day-trip program is expanding its architectural excursions beyond the valley. Upcoming outings include Los Angeles’ Hollyhock House and Neutra Colony on Nov. 14 and a Claremont tour exploring artist and designer Millard Sheets’ influence on Dec. 12. The packages include transportation and lunch.
October festival tickets are sold by activity through Modernism Week’s event schedule. Prices, remaining spaces, accessibility and check-in instructions vary by program; several limited-capacity experiences are already listed as sold out.
Bob Marra is the CEO/Publisher of GPS Business Insider and GPS Market Intel. He has been studying, writing and giving presentations about business, economic and public affairs news and issues and the local economy in the Greater Palm Springs/Coachella Valley region for more than 20 years.
