INDESIGN MODERNISM ORIGINS BY DANN FOLEY
Modernism Week is upon us once again and Palm Springs gears up for the largest influx of international visitors all year! As a designer you can imagine my level of interest to be high and I will partake of the many panels and presentations being offered in the chock-full schedule of events. But, I got to wondering (as I often do here at The Standard). Where did all this modernism come from? Who started it and why Palm Springs? Everywhere I travel around the world people know Palm Springs, the very name conjures up visions of movie stars and midcentury modern style. But, did you know that the modern architecture movement in southern California and specifically, Palm Springs got its start even earlier? The construction of modern classic buildings in Palm Springs actually started in the 1920’s. People like Lloyd Wright, the son of the master designer Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Oasis Hotel in downtown Palm Springs. It was one of the early examples of what became California Modernism. In the 1930’s, architects like Richard Neutra and R. M. Schindler were designing custom modern homes for wealthy clients and movie stars alike in the desert oasis. We are more than just butterfly roofs and patterned concrete block in Palm Springs. As the city reached the calendar “midcentury”
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period several architects had huge careers building custom homes, tract house communities and public buildings. All of these structures were in the modern style, constructed with the newest materials that were changing the way we all lived and built. Our little/BIG town was and still is the center of the midcentury modern movement in the United States. One might suggest that I am overstating the affect Palm Springs had on the movement but, think about it, if someone were to ask where you go to see the best in midcentury architecture in the U.S., I am willing to bet you that virtually all of them would say Palm Springs. Chicago has an impressive number of buildings and homes but nothing can compare to the sheer number of midcentury structures than Palm Springs, not to mention the allure of Southern California. That brings us to the George Alexander Construction Company, the king of modern architecture in Palm Springs. I know, I know, you will want to argue with me that Donald Wexler was bigger. Wexler’s contribution to the style and the region cannot be denied but, for sheer quantity and direction, no one could touch Alexander. The reason is simple; they created affordable, budget conscious modern housing tracts on a huge scale, not seen before in Palm Springs. Alexander built more than 2,500 homes in this small town