Notable Architects from the Mid-Twentieth Century Who Practiced in Palm Springs
Richard Neutra (1892 – 1970) – Austrian-born, raised, and trained, Neutra immigrated to the U.S. in 1923, where he worked with Frank Lloyd Wright before branching out on his own. Neutra designed homes in Palm Springs, including the Miller Residence (1937) and his masterpiece, The Kaufmann Residence (1946).
John Lautner (1911 – 1994) – After training under Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin West, Lautner moved to LA and focused on residential architecture. His distinctive application of the principles of organic architecture culminated in the Palm Springs homes for Arthur Elrod and Bob Hope. These homes are in a gated Southridge community and are not accessible to the public, although the Hope residence can be seen on the side of the mountain from East Palm Canyon Drive.
Donald Wexler (1926 – 2015) – Donald Wexler worked for Richard Neutra for a while in LA, then relocated to Palm Springs, where he was employed by William Cody. Wexler partnered with Richard Harrison for a time. Together, they designed many school buildings and the Steel Development Homes for Alexander Construction Company. Other notable designs include the Dinah Shore Residence, the main terminal building at the Palm Springs International Airport, and Royal Hawaiian Estates Condominiums.
William “Bill” Krisel (1924 – 2017)—Krisel studied architecture at the University of Southern California and also became a licensed landscape architect. It is estimated that 30,000 residences in Southern California can be attributed to Krisel. As a personal friend of Bob Alexander, he is credited as the architect of record for many Alexander Construction Company developments.
E. Stewart Williams (1909 – 2005) – Williams studied at Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania. Some of his notable Palm Springs designs include the Palm Springs Art Museum, Coachella Savings and Loan (now Chase Bank), Santa Fe Federal Savings & Loan (now the Art Museum’s architecture and design center), Palm Springs Aerial Tramway station, and Frank Sinatra residence.
William Cody (1916 – 1978): Cody studied architecture at the University of Southern California before moving to Palm Springs in 1946. The following year, he designed the Del Marcos Hotel and went on to work on several clubhouses and Country Club developments throughout the Coachella Valley. Cody’s celebrated designs include the Abernathy House, Palm Springs Public Library at Sunrise Park, St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, and the L’Horizon Hotel.
Albert Frey (1903 – 1998) – Frey established a style of modernist architecture in Palm Springs known as “Desert Modernism.” He worked in Paris for Charles-Edouard Jeanneret (commonly known as Le Corbusier) before moving to the U.S. in 1928. He then worked with New York architect A. Lawrence Kocher in New York City for some years as the managing editor of Architectural Record magazine. A small commission for an office and apartment for Kocher’s brother, Dr. J.J. Kocker, brought Frey to Palm Springs. In California, he worked with architect John Porter Clark. Buildings of note include Frey House I and II and the Tramway Gas Station (now the Palm Springs Visitor Center): the Raymond Loewy Residence, and the Palm Springs City Hall.
John Porter Clark (1905 – 1991) – Clark studied architecture at Cornell and apprenticed with Garrett Van Pelt in Pasadena. He relocated to Palm Springs to find more work and is credited as one of the pioneers of “Desert Modernism.” In 1935, Clark met Albert Frey and collaborated on many projects, including the Palm Springs City Hall, the Welwood Murray Memorial Library, Palm Springs Woman’s Club, and St Paul’s in the Desert church.
George and Robert Alexander (developer) – The Alexander Construction Company was founded by George Alexander and his father George. They specialized in affordable tract residential developments in Southern California post World War II. The prolific developers helped make second home ownership in Palm Springs affordable to the growing middle class. Their homes are known as the “Alexanders,” though most of the developments’ architecture is credited to William Krisel and Dan Palmer. They also partnered with architects Charles Dubois and Donald Wexler. Alexander developments in Palm Springs include Twin Palms, Vista Las Palmas, Racquet Club Road Estates, Desert Lanai, and Sunmore Estates, among others.
Hugh Kaptur (1931 – ) – Kaptur studied architectural engineering at the Lawrence Institute of Technology in Detroit, Michigan. He relocated to Palm Springs in 1956 and apprenticed for Wexler and Harrison. Kaptur is recognized for his design of the Steve McQueen Residence, the William Holden Residence (both gated and private), several home designs for the Ranch Construction Company (now Desert Park Estates Neighborhood), the clubhouse at the Mesquite Golf Course, Tahquitz Plaza office buildings, the Triangle Inn, Fire Station #3 (with Robert Ricciardi) and Fire Station #4, the Musicland Hotel (renovation) among others.
Jack Meiselman (developer)—Jack (1899 – 1994) Meiselman developed many single-family homes in and around Palm Springs in the 1950s and 60s. Their homes, designed by a young architectural designer named John “Jack” Moyer, featured many of the same design features and construction methods seen in the post-and-beam homes by the Alexander Development Company. The Meiselmans built approximately 350 homes in Palm Springs.
A. Quincy Jones (1913 – 1979)—Jones worked with a slew of modernist architects, including Douglas Honnold, George Vernon Russell, Burton A. Schutt, and Paul Williams. He later partnered with Paul Williams on several Palm Springs projects, including the Palm Springs Tennis Club (1947), the Town & Country Restaurant (1948), and Country Club Estates Condominiums.
