Starting July 25, Modernism Week Fall Preview 2019 events may be viewed online in preparation for Aug. 1 when tickets go on sale at noon (PST) for the four day fall event, Oct. 17-20.
More than 50 events are scheduled throughout the Coachella Valley, including walking tours, architectural bus tours and Charles Phoenix-led bus tours, a tour showcasing homes across a range of neighborhoods, the Modernism Show and Sale-Fall Edition, educational events, and evening cocktail parties.
“Fall Preview is a wonderful opportunity for our attendees to experience new and exciting events offered exclusively during the four-day festival and also get a taste of what our 11-day festival in February will offer,” said Lisa Vossler Smith, executive director of Modernism Week. “Fall Preview offers an exciting array of entertaining tours, lectures, iconic architecture and parties. We invite all visitors to Palm Springs and local residents alike to come see what Modernism Week is all about.”
Several new events will dot the Modernism Week Fall Preview 2019 schedule.
• On Oct. 17, participants will be able to celebrate architect William Cody, Desert Bel-Air Estates, and a new Indian Wells historic landmark in an entertaining three-part event. The Fillmore Crank-Beverly Garland House, a 1961 design by Cody, has recently received landmark designation by the Indian Wells Historic Preservation Foundation.
PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID A. LEE
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• Fastidiously restored and researched during 2017-19 by previous homeowners, the structure was discovered to be part of Desert Bel-Air Estates. The afternoon will feature a ‘Conversations about Cody’ photo and panel presentation, a self-driving site visit to the historic Crank-Garland house, and an afternoon reception at Martyn Lawrence Bullard-designed Sands Hotel & Spa and Pink Cabana. City officials and special guests will be on hand to welcome guests. Tickets for the three events are $70.
• On Oct. 18-19, a Midcentury Mixology demonstration will be presented at Mr. Lyon’s Steakhouse in Palm Springs. Participants will interact with legendary mixologists to learn how to make iconic, classic cocktails of the midcentury era while making their own for sampling. (Includes three drinks). Tickets are $62.
• A Midcentury Brunch will be offered at the acclaimed Essense restaurant at the newly redesigned Two Bunch Palms Resort & Spa in Desert Hot Springs. The menu will have a selection of five different entrees and includes a choice of a Mimosa, glass of Rosé, or one of the signature healing juices. The brunch will be Oct. 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets are $36.
• Grace Home and Dunn-Edwards have teamed up to offer Bold & Beautiful: Designing with Color in the Desert on Oct. 20 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Grace Home Furnishings in Palm Springs. Michael Ostrow, interior designer/Grace Home Furnishings, Sara McLean, color expert and stylist for Dunn-Edwards, and Katy Carrier, editor of Modern Luxury Palm Springs, will lead the discussion on using color in the variety of design styles present in the desert. Mimosas and light bites will be served. Tickets are $30.
FOCUS ON HUGH KAPTUR
Midcentury modern architect Hugh Kaptur will be honored with four events during Modernism Week Fall Preview — all organized by the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation, one of the founding partners of Modernism Week.
On Oct. 18, the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation will present “Recognizing Modernist Architect Hugh Michael Kaptur” at Kaptur Plaza from 10 a.m. to noon. This free event will give an overview of Kaptur’s work in Palm Springs, with special emphasis on the newly protected complex Kaptur designed in 1974. Kaptur will be present.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY PALM SPRINGS LIFE ARCHIVES
Architect Hugh Kaptur will be honored during Modernism Week Fall Preview.
Modernism Week Fall Preview 2019 attendees will have the rare opportunity to tour a newly refurbished Kaptur structure – Palm Springs Fire Station No. 4 in South Palm Springs on Oct. 19. Free tours of the renovated structure and its new addition on Saturday will start at 10 a.m. Also that day will be tours of the John and Bessie Macy Residence, designed by Kaptur in 1961, as a speculative venture utilizing wood post and beam construction. Tours will run from noon to 3 p.m. and tickets are $30.
On Oct. 20, Kaptur will be the focus of a talk, “The Architecture of Hugh Michael Kaptur,” taking place from 11 a.m. to noon at the Palm Springs Cultural Center (formerly Camelot Theatres). Palm Springs Preservation Foundation board member Steven Keylon will give this free presentation.
TOURS
Modernism Week Fall Preview 2019 guests will have a rare opportunity to tour the iconic desert hideaway Hotel Lautner, designed by legendary architect John Lautner in 1947. Once known as the Desert Hot Springs, the property was reimagined as the award-winning Hotel Lautner in 2011. Tours run Oct. 20 from 2-4 p.m. and tickets are $60.
The Modernism Week Featured Home: Axiom Desert House debuted in February and by popular demand will return for Modernism Week Fall Preview 2019. This stunning home by Turkel Design is a midcentury-inspired, systems-built jewel that is a testament to the modern prefab. It features products by Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery, Corian Design, and Dunn-Edwards paint. Tours are offered Oct. 18-20 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tickets are $30.
PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID A. LEE
The Premier Double Decker Architectural Bus Tour provides guests with a 2.5-hour overview of significant civic and commercial buildings.
The Essentials of Palm Springs ONE-PS Home Tour will be offered Oct. 19 from 10 am to 2:30 p.m. This sixth annual tour showcases significant homes in a variety of Palm Springs neighborhoods and is organized by ONE-PS. Tickets are $65.
Returning tours include the popular Cul-de-Sac Experience and Give Me Shelter home tours. The “Cul-de-Sac Experience” at Canyon View Estates No. 4 will start at 10 a.m. Oct. 20. This tour combines vintage automobiles artfully displayed on the driveways of six homes designed by William Krisel in a quaint cul-de-sac in South Palm Springs. Participants have access to all of the homes on the tour, and tickets are $75.
The “Give Me Shelter” tour Oct. 20 features a collection of modernist homes that blend a perfect symbiotic relationship between indoor and outdoor sheltered spaces. This self-guided tour takes participants through six iconic Palm Springs neighborhoods and inside homes seldom open to the public. The tour will conclude with a reception at the Palm Springs Animal Shelter – a unique midcentury heritage building design by architects Swatt & Meirs. The reception, exclusively for tour participants from 4 to 6 p.m., will feature a signature cocktail and tasty hors d'oeuvres. Tickets are $75.
PARTIES
• On Oct.18, Modernism Week Fall Preview 2019 attendees are invited to attend the festive Opening Night Party and Early Buying Preview Reception at the Modernism Show & Sale at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The popular Show and Sale, which offers 20th and 21st century objects, furniture, art and textiles from more than 40-plus premier national and international decorative and fine arts dealers, continues Oct. 19-20. The Friday night party is the prime opportunity for shopping direct from dealers before the show opens to the public on Saturday. Tickets are available in advance for $60 at modernismweek.com or at the door for $75 and include daily re-entry to the show. Weekend show hours are Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID A. LEE
• On Oct. 19, the American Legion will host the Past Meets Present Party from 2-6 p.m. Designed in 1948 by John Porter Clark and Albert Frey, this Class 1 Historic building has never before been open to the public for a Modernism Week event. Guests will enjoy cool cocktails and delicious appetizers as they dance away the afternoon to the sounds of Freddy Fender, Jr. and tour the Legion’s newly refurbished broadcast booth and radio station that at one time showcased popular national radio broadcasts. Tickets are $30.
• Nod to Mod, a nightly evening experience produced by PS Underground, will showcase its new location during an upbeat retro immersive five-course culinary and dining experience with live music and entertainment, limited to only 50 people per night from Thursday through Sunday from 7 - 10 p.m. Admission, featuring a multi-course meal and open bar, is $195.
PHOTOGRAPH BY JAKE HOLT
Tours of the Frank Sinatra “Twin Palms” estate will be available during Modernism Week Fall Preview.
RETURNING EVENTS
The Palm Springs Casual Concours classic car show returns this year at the Desert Princess Country Club in Cathedral City on Oct. 19 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This popular event will feature approximately 100 cars, and organized by Great Autos of Yesteryear. Proceeds from the event will benefit Sanctuary Palm Springs. Admission is $15.
Atomic Ranch returns this year with an exciting new educational program called "Smart Remodeling + How to be a Good Modernist Neighbor" at the Canyon Estates Clubhouse on Oct. 19 from 2-4:30 p.m. In this engaging talk, Atomic Ranch and their panel of experts will discus how to make midcentury modern renovation dreams a reality at the Charles DuBois-designed Canyon Estates. Participants will learn how to renovate a midcentury home the smart way and hear what happens when, like in this community, like-minded modernists learn from each other and improve their neighborhoods together. After the talk, participants will enjoy cocktails and light bites, and be able to tour two homes. Tickets are $60.
Architectural enthusiast Gary Johns of the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation will reprise his popular Lost, Saved & Endangered presentation at the Palm Springs Woman’s Club on at 9 .m. Oct. 20. This engaging and informative discussion details the many architectural treasures in the Coachella Valley that have been preserved, destroyed or that face an uncertain future. Admission to this popular presentation is free but participants must RSVP in advance.
The Best of Mod with a Twist returns to the Fall Preview this year with an encore performance of their audience favorites. These witty and insightful 10-minute presentations explore life and culture in Midcentury America, often with a humorous and wry alternative analysis of what was going on in the country in that period. Nightly events are $55 per person and take place at the Desert Star from 5:30-7 p.m.
Modernism Week’s signature Premier Double Decker Architectural Bus Tour provides guests with a 2.5-hour overview of significant civic and commercial buildings, as well as residential properties. Daily tours depart from the parking lot of H3K Home, 501 S. Palm Canyon Drive in downtown Palm Springs, where Modernism Week will have a box office and attendees may purchase tickets to Fall Preview events. Legendary performer Charles Phoenix will conduct a version of this tour each day at 8:30 a.m. Tickets are $95 for the standard tour and $110 for the Charles Phoenix tour.
Other popular returning tours include the Sunnylands Historic House Tour, Frey House II tour and Frank Sinatra’s “Twin Palms” Estate Tour.
Following the Fall Preview, Modernism Week’s signature 11-day festival celebrating its 15th year will take place Feb. 13-23, 2020. Tickets will be available Nov. 1 at noon PST.
For more information, visit modernismweek.com.
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