Celebrity Home Tours Stars and structures that put Palm Springs on the map
By Alison Elsner For DMHN For those who live in or visit the Coachella Valley, it’s easy to take the “playground to the stars” moniker for granted. Popular landmarks, like the Lucille Ball and Sonny Bono statues and the Walk of Stars in downtown Palm Springs, remind us of the desert’s history in welcoming the Hollywood set starting in the 1920’s, where they could escape the frenzy of L.A.
movie sets to regularly hob-nob at the Racquet Club or cocktail at their idyllic hideaways. Today, Palm Springs is still a magnet for famous names, with frequent celeb sightings at resorts like The Parker and neighbors like Barry Manilow and Suzanne Somers. One of the most fascinating ways to really get in touch with the celebrity influence upon our desert oasis is to take a refresher about famous homes of yesteryear. Many have been preserved or renovated and are now featured on
celebrity home or architecture tours. If it’s been a while since taking a guided tour, whether walking or riding, here’s a peek at two homes that embody midcentury architecture as well as the glitz and glamour of the movie-star set in decades past. Twin Palms Estate: Frank Sinatra lived in this Palm Springs home from 1947 – 1953, first with wife Nancy Barbato, then with wife Ava Gardner. Designed by architect E. Stewart Williams,
the estate is probably best known for its grand piano shaped swimming pool; when the sun’s angle is just right, the light and shadows take shape in what appear to be piano keys upon the pool deck. This was the first home designed by Williams and also the first home purchased by Frank Sinatra. (Sinatra did own another home on Frank Sinatra Drive in Rancho Mirage, partycentral for numerous Presidential and star-studded events).
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