Golden light, crisp evenings, and a long weekend of midcentury magic. This month marks the spirited return of Modernism Week’s intimate fall edition. The festival, which marked 20 years in February, introduced its October gathering in 2013, distilling the signature excitement into four delightfully haunting days. More than 50 events — home tours, parties, talks, and vintage culture experiences — tempt modernists and merrymakers Oct. 16–19, from morning neighborhood strolls to poolside soirées lit by the moon.
Get additional details and tickets at modernismweek.com. Not sure where to start? Try these insider itineraries designed for …
MOD WEEK NEWBIES
Editor’s note: Home tours are quickly selling out.
If you commit to just a few events, start with the new 100 Years of Palm Springs Modernism 22-seat mini coach tour, where guide Trevor O’Donnell traces desert modernism from the ruins of Lloyd Wright’s 1920s Oasis Hotel. Or step inside three icons: Frank Sinatra’s Twin Palms Estate, Albert Frey’s hillside Frey House II + Museum Day Pass (with optional twilight reception), and Sunnylands for the historic house tour. Add a bus tour and a sunset party, and you’ll advance to veteran status before February’s events.
COMMITTED COLLECTORS
The modernists’ shopping event of the year is the Palm Springs Modernism Fall Show, a candy store of vintage furniture and art. Its early access Preview Party offers first-dibs buying, drinks, nibbles, and hobnobbing with a design-minded who’s who. Bibliophiles can browse the free Art, Architecture & Design Book Sale by Friends of the Palm Springs Library; style devotees should visit the Curated Vintage Event. Fans of midcentury coupes can swoon over the Casual Concours show cars in Rancho Mirage.
The Double Decker Bus Tour offers the perfect primer to desert modernism.
Photo courtesy modernism week
Discover all sorts of vintage treasures at the Palm Springs Modernism Fall Show.
Photo courtesy modernism week
ACTIVE MODERNISTS
Bike your way to a modern education on the Midcentury Sunny Cycle Tour by PS ModCom or the free Hot Purple Energy Architectural Bike Ride. Get your steps in during more than 15 walking tours, from Golden Era of Hollywood Homes in Old Las Palmas to Modernist Treasures: Lush Living on the Links along the Indian Canyons Golf Resort and Hidden Paradise of Showbiz Legends in The Mesa.
ENTHUSIASTIC PASSENGERS
Editor’s note: Themed tours are quickly selling out.
Laugh and learn aboard the ever-popular Double Decker Bus Tours. Each bus and guide have a distinct character and narrative. For an overview of the city’s top architectural treasures, start with the Premier Double Decker Architectural Bus Tour, then branch out to themed rides like Sinatra’s Rat Pack Homes & Hangouts, Homes That Define Palm Springs, or the Twilight Architectural Tour. Big personalities like Charles Phoenix and Bella da Ball lead some of the most entertaining adventures.
Architectural designer Herbert W. Burns gets his due with a tour of three residential designs and a posthumous dedication on the Palm Springs Walk of the Stars.
MOD WEEK VETERANS
Three events spotlight the Canyon Country Club neighborhood, celebrated for the first time in Modernism Week history. Tour a study in preservation at the 1964 Berman-Rubin Residence, a standout Kenneth M. Burgess design. The Canyon Country Club Colony Home Tour includes vintage cars and golf carts. Finally, join a free author-led talk based on Canyon Country Club: History and Design of Palm Springs’ Garden of Eden by Steve Treinen.
FRIENDS OF THE ARCHITECTS
Step inside the minds of masters at The Herbert Burns Trifecta Tour (three homes from 1948–1959, plus a book signing with expert Steven Keylon); William Krisel’s Rice House (1969 design, plus poolside chat with Atomic Ranch editor and homeowner); the Sackley Chase Sensation (a Stan Sackley–Steve Chase collab updated by Grace Home Furnishings); Brutalist architect Laszlo Sandor’s Canyon South III (presentation and five-home tour); and John Lautner’s 1947 boutique hotel at The Lautner Compound in Desert Hot Springs, rarely open to non-guests.
Steen Bojsen-Møller hosts a Midcentury Mixology class at Mr. Lyons Steakhouse.
THE COCKTAILS & CAFTANS CROWD
Throw on your finest caftan for two debuting parties. Golden Hour Gathering at the Morse Residence in Vista Las Palmas invites guests to sip cocktails from a very sunken living room overlooking a pool with swim-up bar. In 1961, Hollywood architect Harold “Hal” Levitt expanded and glamorized this now atypical Alexander tract home, designed by Palmer & Krisel. Cocktails on The Wells Times Two spans two homes with live music, libations, and catered fusion cuisine: a 1962 Charles Doty with Arthur Elrod interiors, and a significant 1978 residence by John Walling, AIA.
THEATRICAL TYPES
At PS Underground, Forever Elvis pairs a boozy four-course brunch with the King’s songbook and stories. Evening show Viva Las Vegas serves a multicourse menu to the soundtrack of Vegas legends performed by the Gand Band. Mod With a Twist at Ocotillo Lodge uncovers the humorous oddities of midcentury living.
TIKI HEADS
Discover what’s real — and what’s as embellished as a Zombie garnish — at the screening of The Donn of Tiki, described as “the mostly true story of Don the Beachcomber,” followed by a filmmaker Q&A. You’ll never see a kitschy Tiki bar the same way again.
Herbert W. Burns
See more than 170 classic and special interest cars at the Classic Concours.
PENNY-WISE PARTICIPANTS
Budget time for Modernism Week’s free events, among them the Palm Springs Walk of the Stars Dedication for Herbert W. Burns and related talk, “The Design of Herbert W. Burns”; Modernism in Motion: A Sunset Showcase at Miralon, where owners of new modern homes open their doors; and complimentary cocktails with live music by the Martini Kings at artist Shag’s October Modernism Print Release Party for his latest serigraph, “The Aluminaire Affair.”
