Tag: Architects

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The Miles C. Bates House – The Fog of War?

Walter S. White (1917-2002)
Miles C. Bates house, Palm Desert, CA, 1954-5.
Images courtesy of Architecture and Design Collection, Art, Design & Architecture Museum, UC Santa Barbara.
© UC Regents.

The Desert Sun earlier this month reported a decision by City Council, on advice of City Staff, to formally object to the Historical Society of Palm Desert (HSPD) submission for the nomination of the Miles C. Bates House to the National Register of Historic Places. The general concern was that the City would lose statutory control of the property to the federal designation.

A specific concern was heard that a national designation would tie the hands of the City should a future owner decide the structure prevented the land’s highest and best use, and wish it demolished. This is not the case. According to 36CFR1.60.2, “Listing of private property on the National Register does not prohibit under Federal law or regulation any actions which may otherwise be taken by the property owner with respect to the property.”  If it is an income producing property that has received federal tax preservation incentives, other rules apply. Continue reading “The Miles C. Bates House – The Fog of War?”

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The Miles Bates House in Palm Desert  –  More Progress

Following up on our last newsletter, the Historical Society of Palm Desert did raise money in a very short time to have this unique structure nominated for the National Register of Historic Places.  Contributions large and small were received from across the country, showing strong support for historical property preservation.  Big donors included the Board of Modernism Week.

Lawyers Title graciously contributed to the application by providing the required Chain of Title back to 1952.

A professionally drafted application is now in the hands of the  California State Historic Preservation Officer.  Learn more here.  The SHPO is conducting a thorough review of the application for merit and accuracy.  If it meets requirements the SHPO will nominate it to the National Historic Register.  Hopefully it will be so designated this year.

Here is a short excerpt from the application showing the level of and care to detail, replete with a history of ownership, building permits, original and modern drawings and photographs. Continue reading “The Miles Bates House in Palm Desert  –  More Progress”

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The Miles Bates House –  A Progress Report

New Publicity

Our last newsletter covered the state of this home and the visit by aficionados to view it, organized by the City and the Historical Society of Palm Desert.

It was Front Page news on June 9th in The Desert Sun, reporting the visit by Palm Desert City Councilors of June 7th.  The article will help popularize the rescue with the headline “Save the Wave”.

Miles Bates House Palm Desert
Miles Bates House Palm Desert

 

It reports the Historical Society of Palm Desert’s initiative to raise funds to have the house designated a national historic landmark.  According to Prof. Welter of UC Santa Barbara, it is “a rare if not sole survivor that recalls the architectural origins of Palm Desert”   The architect Walter S. White designed at least 48 homes in Palm Desert. This, the Bates home and those would be of great interest to participants of Modernism Week.

It also reports the downside – it could be purchased and demolished so the land could be used for apartment buildings.  The City has no control of what happens to it before or after it is sold as it is not their property, and they do not have the funds to contribute toward designation or restoration. Continue reading “The Miles Bates House –  A Progress Report”

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Rescuing the Miles Bates House – A Conundrum

Since our last newsletter with Prof. Volker Welter’s commentary on the Miles Bates house (1955) , we were fortunate to participate in a tour of it arranged with the City by Merilee Colton of the Palm Desert Historical Society.  Fearing the worst, we were among about twenty, from all points in Southern California, including City staff, able to take advantage of this opportunity last Thursday. Here is the exterior, as original, and as today with two boxy additions on the front in place of the gracefully curved free-standing wall.

Photo Courtesy of the Art, Design and Architecture Museum,
UC Santa Barbara
Existing Condition Photos Courtesy of James Schnepf 2017

Continue reading “Rescuing the Miles Bates House – A Conundrum”

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Modernism Week Discovery: Walter S White

Walter S White – Modernism Week Discoveries

73271 Buckboard Trail, Palm Desert Photo George Gutenberg
Photo George Gutenberg

As we suit up for MW 2017 to learn more about this genre, it might be good to recall that we’ve learned a lot in the past.

One such discovery at MW 2016 was the little-known Mid-Century Modern architect Walter S White who did memorable structures from Palm Springs to Indio, as well as work in Colorado and Los Angeles. He was first introduced to us in a blog by Professor Volker M. Welter, in 2015, who later did a lecture on the architect at MW 2016.

Professor Welter also authored “Projects and Inventions in Architecture”, published by the Art, Design and Architecture, UCSB.  This book provides a thorough review of his work and working life with details, background, drawings, locations and photographs. It can be ordered here. Thus the architect has been moved from being little known to well recognized.

Clicking here will show a map developed by Prof.  Welter showing his known and suspected projects. Continue reading “Modernism Week Discovery: Walter S White”

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Two Local Mid-Century Modern listings featured in the latest “Los Angeles Times Hot Property List” for Celebrity & Luxury homes under $1 million!

Mid-Century Modern Market Trends

Good Architecture markets itself when it gets seen, and the more it is seen, the more marketing it achieves. The trick is in getting it seen, and that means making it visible to the most people in the most ways.

The internet is the ideal tool for this with an almost global reach, but it has thousands of “channels” vying for eye-time.   Fortunately, it has “Integrators” in the form of search engines that tie similar things together. If a search engine finds something that is of higher interest to viewers, it will present that information with a higher rank in search results and to more people who are interested in it and will see it. Mission accomplished – almost. Continue reading “Two Local Mid-Century Modern listings featured in the latest “Los Angeles Times Hot Property List” for Celebrity & Luxury homes under $1 million!”

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Renovated Mid-Century Modern – What Does That Mean?

36421 Sandsu Rancho Mirage Remodel

If you are a Modernista looking at the good number of Mid-Century homes for sale in the Palm Springs area, you will frequently see these terms used in For Sale ad.

A quick search of our local MLS for MCM listings using the exact term “renovated” turns up about 30 listings, all in varying states of renovation.

For reference here is an example of a fully renovated Krisel.  Continue reading “Renovated Mid-Century Modern – What Does That Mean?”

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Modernism Week 2016

MODERNISM WEEK IN RANCHO MIRAGE

 

With Modernism Week 2016 fast approaching, fans are looking for new places to visit. The City of Rancho Mirage is also a Modernism Week sponsor.

Mid-Century Modern In Tamarisk Rancho, Rancho Mirage
Mid-Century Modern In Tamarisk Rancho, Rancho Mirage – Photo by Jim Riche

Rancho Mirage became a hub of modernist architecture with the development in the mid 1950s of Thunderbird and Tamarisk Country Clubs. Both became the focus of architectural innovation. As the rich and famous flocked further east, so their architects came with them: Cody, Krisel, Williams, Wexler, Lapham, Welton Becket, Pereira, and more designed houses here, while smaller condominium communities were also developed. Continue reading “Modernism Week 2016”

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All About Mid-Century Modern Architecture

Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Palm Springs
Mid-Century Modern Architecture

Why is everyone so interested in Mid-Century Modern Architecture? With all of today’s innovation, technology and design, why are we resorting back to designs that originated more than 60 years ago. There are countless stores and websites dedicated to midcentury modern tastes and many architects and developers have embraced this style when building new homes.

Mid-Century Modernism is an architectural design style that generally describes the mid-20th Century developments in modern design, architecture and urban development between the 1920s and 1980s.

Many consider Frank Lloyd Wright’s principal movement of organic architecture combined with the Craftsman (Arts and Crafts) style to be the jumping off point for the aesthetics behind Mid-Century Modern Architecture. Continue reading “All About Mid-Century Modern Architecture”

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Walter S. White, One of the Great Palm Springs Area Architects

Photo: George Gutenberg

Drawings for the Johnson-Hebert Residence by Walter S. White (1917-2002) date to early 1958.  By that time, White had perfected his ideas for mid-twentieth century modern desert residences.  Typically, he first conceived a roof for without shade, life in the desert was unbearable.  Underneath he, second, placed space-defining walls, usually not more than two per room and sometimes extending beyond the roof line in order to mark outdoor living spaces.  Third, the remaining sides of the rooms White enclosed with large expanses of glass.

Walter S. White (1917-2002), Paulette Johnson house, Palm Desert, CA, 1958, preliminary design showing the unrealized hypar roof. Image courtesy of Architecture and Design Collection, Art Design & Architecture Museum, UC Santa Barbara. © UC Regents.
Walter S. White (1917-2002), Paulette Johnson house, Palm Desert, CA, 1958, preliminary design showing the unrealized hypar roof.
Image courtesy of Architecture and Design Collection, Art Design & Architecture Museum, UC Santa Barbara. © UC Regents.

White liked to experiment with the roofs.  Curved shapes were a favorite of his; the Bates Residence (1954) in Palm Desert features a wave-like roof, a simple concave curve graces the Alexander Residence (1955) in Palm Springs.  By the later 1950s, White was fascinated by hyperbolic paraboloid (hypar) shapes.  Formed like a saddle, or a Pringle potato chip, these roofs were self-supporting and offered maximum freedom for the interior arrangements. Continue reading “Walter S. White, One of the Great Palm Springs Area Architects”