frederick monhoff

A Piece of History is For Sale

Midcentury architect Frederick Monhoff designed this Palm Springs home in 1947, the same year his talents created the historic Biltmore Hotel in the desert city.

Staff Report Current Digital, Modernism, Real Estate

frederick monhoff

Designed in 1947 by Frederick Monhoff, this desert home was built for the late founder of the Biltmore Hotel in Palm Springs.
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY BENNION DEVILLE HOMES

The work of midcentury modern architect Frederick Monhoff, who designed the historic Biltmore Hotel in Palm Springs in 1947, is being celebrated in the sale of a desert home.

Monhoff was commissioned to build the home at 787 E. Sonora for Samuel Harold Levin, the founder of the Biltmore, in the Tahquitz River Estates neighborhood at the same time he designed the hotel, which was demolished in 2003.

The home is the epitome of organic modern with walls of glass, amazing light filled big-volume rooms, stained concrete flooring, bar/lounge area, and formal living room. An expansive front and rear yards feature custom-made fire rings and seating for 10 around each and multiple water features adorn the landscape.

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The 2,900 square-foot home boasts four bedrooms – all with ensuite bathrooms – plus a large second story master suite with a dedicated yoga/wellness area accessed by a custom fabricated cold-rolled steel staircase.

Monhoff was an American architect, artist, and illustrator. His architectural style ranged from art deco to midcentury modern, while his etchings of the 1920s and ‘30s documented scenes of Native American and Mexican life in the American Southwest.

Monhoff served as a design architect for the Los Angeles County Architectural Divisions and designed numerous public buildings and private residences in Southern California in the Los Angeles area, Malibu, Santa Barbara, Palm Springs, Orange County, and in Northern California in the Napa Valley.

Monhoff taught design at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles (1926-1950) and at the Pasadena Art Institute (1959). During the 1940s, he also taught architecture at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Listed by Scott Histed, luxe director at Bennion Deville Homes, the home is priced at 2,490,000. For information, call 760-864-1200, or visit scotthisted.com.

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