Welcome to Vista Las Palmas, Palm Springs’ Mid-Century neighborhood with a history of architecture and celebrity!
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During the 1950’s & 1960’s, George Alexander and his son Robert Alexander were co-owners of a development firm that built more than 2,000 homes in Palm Springs. The father-son team capitalized on the need for mass market housing to the upwardly mobile interested in Modern Architecture. The original Alexander homes were built on a concrete slab with no insulation, for a cost of $19,500. Alexander construction included: post & beam construction, clerestory windows, center halls and large lots. The architectural style became known as Southern California Modern.
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Robert Alexander & his wife, Helene, moved from Los Angeles to Palm Springs in 1957, living here in Vista Las Palmas. Their home on 1350 Ladera was “The Home of Tomorrow” which was featured in an eight-page spread in Look Magazine’s September 1962 issue. The Egyptian inspired home used glass and peanut-brittle stonework to inscribe four circles on three levels. Electronic controls were installed to manipulate indoor climate, outside lights & automatic rain. Walls were textured in plastic and took the “Nile formality” into the artificial landscape. The cost of the new home--$300,000, set a new standard for luxurious living in Southern California. In 1968, the home was used as the secret getaway for Elvis & Priscilla Presley where they spent their honeymoon.
| On Sunday, November 14, 1965, George & Robert Alexander and their wives were killed in an airplane crash when their Lear Jet en route to Burbank crashed into the Little Chocolate Mountains northwest of Indio. The Alexander legacy lives on today in the preserved Mid Century neighborhood of Vista Las Palmas.
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| | In the 1950’s celebrities from Los Angeles used Vista Las Palmas as their desert retreat from busy work schedules. Today, Vista Las Palmas has become a symbol of Mid-Century taste for the distinctive homeowner who wants the relaxed lifestyle of the desert. Homeowners in Vista Las Palmas range from the part-time resident who spends the Winter here from a colder home base, to the full-time resident who desires year-round peaceful desert living. What we all share in common is an interest in preserving history through our Mid-Century Modern Homes! |
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