Why do thousands of architecture and design enthusiasts return to Greater Palm Springs every February? Because they need more than 11 days to experience all the tours, exhibitions, talks, and parties during the marathon stretch of Modernism Week.
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That’s not to say the offerings repeat from year to year. While the event’s popular staples, such as the double-decker bus and signature home tours and the Palm Springs Modernism Show & Sale, return for the Feb. 14–24, 2019, event, the schedule packs many new offerings, including a Feb. 16 talk by acclaimed architect and urban planner Moshe Safdie at the Annenberg Theater.
These will be the 10 most talked-about events and attractions of Modernism Week:
1. The groove starts at the psychedelic-themed Opening Night Party on Valentine’s Day at the 1962 Wexler- and Harrison-designed Indian Canyons Golf Resort clubhouse.
2. The meticulously preserved 1955 Cree House, aka “The Forgotten Frey,” opens for the first time for public tours.
3. Tom Lazarus’ play The Princes of Kings Road dramatizes a real late-life hospital-room encounter between Richard Neutra and Rudolph Schindler and offers insight into the legendary architects’ personalities and the language of modern design. Three evening performances are scheduled Feb. 16–18 at the Annenberg Theater.
PHOTOGRAPH BY JULIUS SHULMAN© J. PAUL GETTY TRUST. GETTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE, Los Angeles (2004.R.10)
The Elrod Escape boasts an intact Arthur Elrod interior.
4. The Elrod Escape, the former Old Las Palmas home of legendary interior designer Arthur Elrod, opens for a home tour and hosts a cocktail party Feb. 21 to celebrate its namesake.
5. The stunning full-scale replica of Paul Rudolph’s 1952 Walker Guest House, situated in downtown Palm Springs across the street from Modernism Week’s CAMP (Community and Meeting Place), will be open for tours and the centerpiece of a symposium exploring the architect’s life, work, and impact.
6. Hugh Kaptur: Organic Desert Architecture opens Feb. 2 at the Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center.
7. The American Documentary Film Festival presents its Architecture and Design Film Series, screening more than 25 documentary and short films Feb. 22–24 at Palm Springs Cultural Center (formerly Camelot Theatres).
8. UCR Palm Desert hosts a photography exhibition, The Landscape Architecture Legacy of Dan Kiley, beginning with a Feb. 19 talk and reception.
9. Four featured homes open for tours: the 1958 Green Gables, designed by Palmer & Krisel and renovated by H3K Design; the 1958 La Vie en Rose, renovated by Christopher Kennedy; Axiom Desert House, a new modern-style prefab by Turkel Design; and the newly built Desert Eichler, KUD Properties’ replica of the original homes designed by Joseph Eichler.
10. PS Underground, known for its wildly entertaining and delicious dinner performances, introduces Nod to Mod, a nightly multicourse dinner event (with wine pairings) for a limited number of guests. The meal features traditional foods of the 1950s and ’60s, as well as live performances of songs of the era and video screenings of television shows and commercials.
For more information, visit modernismweek.com.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ANNA KULA
Replica of Paul Rudolph’s 1952 Walker Guest House in downtown Palm Springs.