February 20 to February 26, 2014
www.coachellavalleyweekly.com
www.coachellavalleyweekly.com
modernism Modernism Week: Prefab Showcase and Modern Living Expo
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California Woman 411 with your host Dee Jae Cox
‘Talking to women who lead and inspire’ Saturday’s from 10 – 11 a.m. KPTR 1450 AM Palm Springs, CA California
CA-WMN-411 www.CaliforniaWoman411.com
Produced by The Los Angeles Women's Theatre Project:
www.lawtp.org www.californiawoman411.com
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here was a buzz at the Prefab Showcase and Modern Living Expo. The saxophone and trumpet of the Hot Purple Energy band grooved their alternative, improvised music to people wondering around the exhibits. The four-man band seemed never to take a break and never to tire. They were enjoying themselves and so were those milling about the Modernism Week Event. With over 30 exhibitors and ten food trucks providing a variety of delectables from shaved ice to sushi, it was a very stimulating day. The morning started at 10:00 with over 120 bike riders for the Hot Purple Energy Architectural Bike Tour, North Loop. The tour began at the Expo Village on Calle Encilia, went down to Ramon Road and wound its way through neighborhoods all the way north to Vista Chino, before returning to the Prefab Showcase. There were 16 homes on the tour; five are powered by HPE solar systems. This Saturday, February 22, they will do a South Loop Tour, which will start at the Saguaro
Hotel at Sunrise and E. Palm Canyon. The event is free. David Clemens, a Laguna Beach designer, came for the weekend with friends. “It’s a great way to keep up with the trends,” Clemens said. “The whole week is ideal, but you can see a lot in a weekend.” The Expo village had two prefab houses on display. The MiniHome and Method Homes both had perfect little houses to tour. Simplified and compact, there is something very appealing to these prefab, self-contained living spaces. Although they can be small, they can also be built larger and combined to make any custom size space. “Everything is assembled in a controlled environment,” said Pat Grabowski of MiniHome. “A prefabricated house saves time and money. You can create anything you want and it’s done when it arrives.” Prefabricated homes are made at an indoor location and shipped ready to assemble at a prepared site. The Method Home prototype house on display was also for sale. Their structures
By Heidi Simmons begin at $138,000 for 656 square feet. It is very inviting and tempting to consider since they are so comfortable and beautiful. No amenities are spared, but at over $200 a square foot, not including the land, it should be perfect. Prefabricated homes are a modern idea for sure, and maybe in the future they will become more affordable. Inside the Expo tent, exhibitors showed: furniture -- both indoors and out; landscaping materials; architectural software; cabinets; glass garage doors; custom house numbers and ingenious patio covers. Designers and builder were also present. Everything under the tent had a modern or contemporary feel. Marc Savelle came from Los Angeles where his company, Menzie International, has a five thousand square foot showroom of contemporary European furniture for the home, office and outdoors. “We brought too much for this small space,” Savelle said. “This is our first time here, so we are experimenting with what works best.” On display, which he had rearranged several times, was a sectional couch with all-weather fabric and colorful wood chairs and table. Local Palm Springs resident, Daniel Clemens (no relation to David Clemens) of Desert Landscape Design Inc., was under the tent even though his business is just across the way on Palm Canyon. “I’ve been a part of Modernism Week for years,” said Clemens. “We are located in the “Artists District” which is all original buildings from the modernism era of Palm Springs.” As part of the festivities, the “Artists District” hosted a party Sunday night called Gay’ole Evening of Art and Design. Clemens and many on his block are working at building a larger Palm Springs community of galleries and artists.
Graceland West
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inding up the hill from Palm Canyon Drive, there is a sense of going to a secret place. Narrow roads lead to a hide-a-way home of solitude and beauty. There are other houses in the neighborhood, but they are tucked away, private and hidden. At the base of Mount San Jacinto, between the boulder-infused Dry Falls and Chino Canyon, is an Albert Frey home built in 1946. But you won’t find this Frey house on the Modernism Tour. However, it does have regular visitors who stop to take selfies at the gate. This humble property was Elvis Presley’s “Graceland West.” This treasure is not one of Frey’s desert modernist style houses with a sweeping angular roof, but rather a discrete Spanish Colonial Ranch with stone pillars and broad wood beams supporting a burnished tile roof. This simple home sits mostly on top of 1.75 acres of hillside. The views from the over 5,000 square foot house with five bedrooms and seven bathrooms are spectacular in every direction. “Graceland West” is for sale. The house is not move-in ready or turnkey furnished. This was Elvis’s home until he died in 1977 and nothing has been changed since.
“The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll owned the property for seven years and recorded nine songs in the house,” said Eric Meeks, co-listing agent and author of The Best Guide Ever to Palm Springs Celebrity Homes. “Elvis purchased the house when Lisa Marie was just two years old and the family spent three months out of the year here.” According to Meeks, Elvis also spent his last birthday at “Graceland West.” The home was originally built for the Jergens family -- as in Jergens lotion. In 1960, McDonalds founder, Ray Kroc, purchased the property and Elvis and Priscilla bought it in 1970. Singer Frankie Valli bought the property after Presley’s death, owning it until 1980. After that, it just gets sordid and isn’t worth the trouble to mention the details here. The current owner wants to sell. Over the years, the property has been kept almost the same, albeit slowly deteriorating. Those involved with the house, since Valli,
February 20 to February 26, 2014
were ambitious and wanted to restore the property to its Elvis glory days. This has yet to work out. What is fascinating about the property is how Elvis shaped the house to fit his “needs.” He used privacy glass in the windows facing the street to keep fans from seeing in. He added a roof over the 16-person spa to stop the Paparazzi from taking photos of him and his entourage. But his needs were greater than that. He added an entertainment room, which he dubbed the “Jungle Room.” It still has the same black and white check linoleum floor. There is a bathroom, steam room and sauna off the “Jungle Room.” It has easy access to the oversized party spa. Presley added an additional bedroom with bright red shag carpet and his and her bathrooms with red and black tile. The addition is just across the courtyard from Priscilla’s private room.
With all the colorful furniture, creative materials and inspiring design ideas, one exhibitor stood out with his fascinating and adorable StaBiles: Unique Tillandsia Design and Collectible Plant Vendor. These are those crazy plants that live off air. Samuel Guzmán is the artist and plant caregiver. He builds single wire frames as plant stands accentuated by the Tillandsia. Guzmán has a mobile boutique truck, which he keeps open for viewing. Inside are his workbench, designs and plants. The plants are so interesting; they’re like little pets. “I’m from Santa Barbara and the StaBiles are really popular there, so I thought I’d try selling the StaBiles here at Modernism Week,” said Guzmán. He applied to be an exhibitor and was accepted. “People like them and they’re selling well.” Guzmán and his plants are both charming. The StaBiles seem the perfect accessory to any modern room. If you missed the Prefab Showcase and Modern Living Expo last week, no worries. It will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday (February 21, 22 and 23) from 10:00 am until 5:00. It’s located at 384 N. Indian Canyon Dr.
The kitchen has all the original appliances (sans fridge) and flooring from the 70s. The fountain he gave Priscilla in 1971 is right outside the couple’s private bedrooms. The acoustic tiles he added to the living room ceiling are in perfect condition, like he put them up yesterday. If this home sounds like a fixer, it is. But as you walk through the rambling, sunny house and hear the stories of Presley’s outrageous shenanigans, it informs one about the life of the iconic figure and the significant history of Palm Springs. The potential for “Graceland West” is only limited to the new owner’s imagination – and pocket book. Beyond the rich, famous and notorious who occupied the property, this is an Albert Frey house with solid bones and tremendous character on an incredible, ideal and spectacular Palm Springs hillside lot. Frey’s architecture and work built Palm Springs into the modernism magnet it is today and Elvis’s Spanish Colonial house is no less important. “Graceland West” has celebrity, fame and history along with the other three important features in real estate – location, location, location. For information on the property contact Eric Meeks at Coldwell Banker Real Estate 760 567 7646.
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