Modernism Week Continues with Julie

To secure tickets, a fan of the premier Palm Springs event celebrating midcentury art, architecture, and culture, has to be on one's computer precisely at noon on November 1st. Julie and I deliberated for weeks prior to make certain we would be seeing/experiencing all we possibly could in our three days in attendance. We believe we chose well.

Modernism Week’s signature February festival highlights midcentury modern architecture, art, interior design, landscape design, and vintage culture in the Palm Springs area of Southern California. The annual 11-day festival features more than 400 tours, programs, and events. We planned our most enthusiastic attendance with 10 ticketed events purchased.

Our kick-off to the 21st edition of Modernism Week was the highly anticipated presentation Designing the Desert, and Other Landscapes: The Architecture of Paul R. Williams.
African American architect Paul Revere Williams (1894-1980) grew up in Los Angeles at the turn of the 20th century, as the city gained its metropolitan stature. From an early age, Williams showed an unconditional interest in becoming an architect and, against the vast racial prejudices of the time, he pursued a career in architecture, which he combined with studies in art and engineering. After working for prestigious firms in LA, in the early 1920s, he opened his own practice and became the first African American architect to join the American Institute of Architects. Earning himself a reputation among colleagues and clients thanks to his unique social and drafting skills, Williams’ early commissions for small affordable housing projects grew to include designs of banks, hospitals, hotels, alongside numerous residences for the upper middle class and the wealthy. Together with his competence to work at different scales (domestic, institutional, and urban), Williams mastered a variety of architectural styles (from Tudor to Colonial and from Georgian to Modern), demonstrating his capacity to prioritize his clients’ stylistic preferences.

“I came to realize that I was being condemned, not by lack of ability, but by my color. I passed through successive stages of bewilderment, inarticulate protest, resentment, and, finally, reconciliation to the status of my race. Eventually, however, as I grew older and thought more clearly, I found in my condition an incentive to personal accomplishment, and inspiring challenge...-Paul Revere Williams, “I am a Negro,” American Magazine, 1937.
Palm Springs Tennis Club

Lucy and Desi's home

Designing Frank Sinatra's home 

The El Mirador Hotel
Recently, a previously thought destroyed collection of his works was discovered and then donated to the Getty Research Center. This presentation gathered together those Getty curators who then shared with us a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming exhibition series, I Am an Architect: Paul R. Williams, slated to launch in late 2026 at Getty, LACMA, and USC. Marking the public debut of his archive, the various speakers shared archival highlights providing new perspectives on this groundbreaking figure, with insights into his life, his design signatures, and his widespread impact, both in Palm Springs and globally, examined anew. This preview commences a yearlong celebration of this pivotal architect and his legacy.
The El Mirador's Pool

I'm including this photo because I have actually been to this fun Williams' creation. The La Concha Motel opened in 1961 and closed in 2004. It is considered one of the best-preserved examples of 1950s Googie architecture and is now home to the uber cool Neon Museum. Googie will be discussed later in the post.
Mr. Williams said, "Without having the wish to ‘show them,’ I developed a fierce desire to ‘show myself.’ I wanted to vindicate every ability I had. I wanted to acquire new abilities. I wanted to prove that I, AS AN INDIVIDUAL, deserved a place in the world." After this exceptional retrospective of his life and talents, he certainly did deserve a place in the world and we're truly fortunate to still be able to witness that accomplishment.
Next on our tour was At Home with Innovation: Turkel Design’s Desert House.

"Turkel Design invites you to Desert House for a talk on innovation and sustainability. Joel and Meelena Turkel share the energy- and material-efficient strategies that make their fossil fuel-free home simultaneously cutting-edge, livable and replicable. Experience the indoor/outdoor oasis—the couple’s personal residence and a Living Lab for Turkel Design—and hear how they employed panelized prefab construction, passive heating and cooling, advanced materials and efficient use of space to yield an innovative, net-zero energy house that feels like home. Following the talk, a guided tour of the house gives you an opportunity to observe these strategies, products, and materials up close and ask the designers questions. Learn about the unique panelized prefabrication process that Turkel Design has brought to more than 300 custom Modern home designs throughout North America and beyond."
The Turkels' younger daughter gave us a sweet tour of her bedroom. Oh my gosh, so cute and so innovative.
This was the first of many audible proclamations, "I could so live here!"

Any house with a Bocce court gets my vote!
"Country Club Estates of Palm Springs Modernism Home Tour. Tour six beautifully decorated homes, including four by new owners, in Country Club Estates, the A. Quincy Jones’s 30 home Modernist gem in Palm Springs."
"Consider the “Q” as in quintessential, quality, and, most relevantly, as in A. Quincy Jones, the seminal midcentury architect best known for designing Sunnylands, the storied Annenberg Estate in Rancho Mirage. He is also the architect of the unique 30 unit enclave known as Country Club Estates of Palm Springs."
"It is the desert’s only multi-residential development bearing his imprimatur, conferring on it a distinction of rare merit. Each home in this distinctive community pays tribute to the design features for which A. Quincy Jones is known: clerestory windows, an inside-outside aesthetic heightened by the interior atriums and their walls of glass that invite the outside in. Gracious, spacious rooms feature his widespread use of stacked, square masonry blocks. True to his appreciation of lovely living, the complex is architectured on four acres that allow for shaded walkways, expanses of greenery and an unobstructed view to the beloved San Jacinto Mountains."
It is always fun to discover anything original in this old homes. I love this terrazzo flooring, a hallmark of 1950s residential and commercial design, particularly in the Southern and Western United States, embodying the Mid-Century Modern aesthetic. Valued for its durability, low maintenance, and seamless, polished appearance, it was commonly used in entryways, kitchens, and living areas to blend indoor and outdoor spaces. Interestingly, it was created by mixing marble, glass, and quartz chips into a cement binder, which was poured, cured, and polished to a smooth finish. Knowing how it's made makes me appreciate it even more.



We spend a great deal of time in other people's bathrooms.




In contrast to Sunnylands, which was planned as a meeting place of dignitaries, Country Club Estates, built in the same time period of 1965, was designed for everyday living–as well as ensuring that its residents would enjoy living beautifully. It seems 61 years later, Mr. Jones's wish is still coming true!
We had no idea what to expect with the Charles Phoenix: Grand Tour of Europe in the 50s & 60s–A Midcentury Dream Vacation Slide Show Travelogue. He warned us to “Fasten Your seatbelts and prepare for takeoff!” as the Retro Pop Culture expert launched the classic European vacation into a fun, festive extravaganza!"
With his unbridled enthusiasm, keen expertise and eagle-eye for oddball detail, Charles lavishes spirited commentary on colorful, vintage Kodachrome slides taken by tourists visiting Europe in the 50s & 60s. Through his hilarity, we were able to experience the local color, fragrant foods, fine fashions, monumental museums, iconic attractions, legendary landmarks, fun festivals, planes, trains, buses, boats and automobiles and the exquisite Midcentury Modernism of the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels. Wow!
Charles was a huge fan of thrift store shopping and found a box marked "Europe trip 1958". In it was a collection of someone's slides from a very fun trip. That discovery led to a lifelong search for more of these photographic treasures. There were several slides documenting the 1958 Triumph Rally of Europe, especially capturing one couple's trip. Charles shared several of these images with the most fun commentary.
The commentary on all of these slides was hysterical. Can you just picture what Charles said about this bus? I love this 1950s-era Citroën U55 Cityrama Currus, an iconic, futuristic double-decker Parisian tour bus which featured panoramic wraparound glass and a removable roof. Known for its red, white, and blue design, it operated from 1953 to 1980, with the last remaining, restored unit debuting at the 2026 Rétromobile show last month. What fun.
Charles went crazy for this photo of the iconic Egg Chair, designed by Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen in 1958.
We have been to Termini train station in Roma several times and I don't recall even noticing it was midcentury modern. It is the premier example of 1950's Italian rationalist architecture, famously nicknamed "the Dinosaur" for its sweeping, curved canopy. Designed by architects Eugenio Montuori and Annibale Vitellozzi (1947–1951), the structure features a monumental, 72-food-wide, 45-foot-high glass-and-travertine facade that blends modern, minimalist design with 19th-century Roman surroundings. How did I miss that?
The entire audience erupted in laughter when he shared this photo of a young George Clooney in a gondola in Venice. I'm still cracking up.
This concluding slide is end of the Triumph trip for the couple showcased. It looks like it was a very successful trip. I know the trip Charles took us on was certainly an unforgettable one. What fun.
The evening ended with the highly anticipated World Premiere Film: "GOOGIE". This is a definitive feature-length documentary on a pivotal chapter of Modern architecture known as Googie. Googie architecture was one of the most visually exciting and culturally formative design movements of the mid-20th century, yet it remains one of the least understood. Characterized by bold angles, sweeping rooflines, and a futuristic optimism, these structures drew on both Modern and organic materials to create a sense of spectacle. Coffee shops, bowling alleys, car washes, banks, and even churches became architectural icons designed not just for function, but to catch the eye of people cruising by in their cars.
Rooted in Los Angeles, Googie design was deeply influenced by masters such as Frank Lloyd Wright and John Lautner, whose visionary ideas filtered into the commercial landscape. The architectural firm Armet & Davis became especially renowned for creating some of the most iconic Googie coffee shops, where vibrant design helped define the social fabric of midcentury communities. Soon, examples of Googie spread beyond Southern California, shaping skylines and streetscapes across the United States.
Though many original structures have been demolished, a passionate movement has emerged to preserve what remains. Historians, architects, and everyday enthusiasts now recognize Googie as more than kitsch or roadside novelty—it is a legitimate form of high architecture that reflected the aspirations of a postwar America looking toward the future. This film explores the rise, fall, and revival of Googie, celebrating its role as both a community anchor and a uniquely American contribution to Modern design.
The movie showcased the fight to preserve the Downey McDonald’s. Designed by Stanley Clark Meston in 1953, it is the oldest operating location and was saved from demolition in 1994–1996 through intense pressure from the Los Angeles Conservancy and community after being damaged by an earthquake. The landmark site, featuring the original 60-foot neon Speedee sign and a small museum, was restored and reopened, retaining its 1950's walk-up charm. Needless-to-say, a trip to Downey is on my 'to do' list.

This was one of those eye opening days in which history was learned. Architecture was admired. Sights were appreciated and where Palm Springs allowed us to time travel. Day 1 was a complete success.
"Historic buildings, structures, landscapes,
and neighborhoods hold the stories of generations.
They give us a sense of place,
become part of our identity,
and represent our values as a culture.
They embody our shared history."

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