Resources

Home Owners Guide To Preserving Midcentury Modern Architecture

Top 10 Myths About Historic Preservation. To read the article, click here

The Fall 2008 issue of CA Modern magazine contains an excellent article entitled “Streetscape Smarts.” The article discusses strategies that some California midcentury modern neighborhoods are using to safeguard their architectural character. Included is a section on “tips for preserving your neighborhood.” To read the article, click here

Owners interested in more historically accurate paint jobs of their midcentury homes might consider Sherwin-Williams’ Suburban Modern paint palette. According to Sherwin-Williams, “The smaller stature of suburban modern homes allowed them to be painted in brighter, more unique colors such as Caribbean Coral, Burma Jade, Stratford Blue and Harvest Gold, often edged in white trim.” To view the Sherwin-Williams Suburban Modern exterior paint brochure click here and to view the interior paint brochure click here

Another source of information on midcentury house paint colors is an article, entitled “Hues that say you,” in the Fall 2008 issue of CA Modern magazine. To read the article click here

Preservation Links

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation is an independent federal agency that promotes the preservation, enhancement, and productive use of our nation’s historic resources, and
advises the President and Congress on national historic preservation policy.
http://www.achp.gov/

National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation provides leadership, education, advocacy, and resources to save America’s diverse historic places and revitalize our communities.
http://www.preservationnation.org/

Office of Historic Preservation & State Historical Resources Commission
The mission of the Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) and the State Historical Resources Commission (SHRC), in partnership with the people of California and governmental agencies, is to preserve and enhance California’s irreplaceable historic heritage as a matter of public interest so that its vital legacy of cultural, educational, recreational, aesthetic, economic, social, and environmental benefits will be maintained and enriched for present and future generations.
http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/

Historic Preservation, Department of Planning Services, City of Palm Springs
http://www.palmspringsca.gov/government/departments/planning/historic-resources

Chapter 8.05, Historic Preservation, Palm Springs Municipal Code
http://www.qcode.us/codes/palmsprings/

California Preservation Foundation
Founded in 1977, the California Preservation Foundation is the only statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of California’s diverse cultural and architectural heritage through advocacy, education and technical assistance.
http://www.californiapreservation.org/

Online resource for historic preservation, building restoration and cultural resource management
http://www.preservationdirectory.com/

Tax Credits

Enacted in 1972, the California Mills Act legislation grants participating local governments (like Palm Springs) authority to enter into contracts with owners of qualified historic properties who actively participate in the restoration and maintenance of their historic properties while receiving property tax relief.

For more information on the California Mills Act click here…

Other Links of Interest

Palm Springs Historical Society
The Palm Springs Historical Society is a non-profit organization founded in 1955 to record, preserve and display historical artifacts of the Palm Springs area.
http://www.pshistoricalsociety.org/

Palm Springs Modern Committee
The Palm Springs Modern Committee is a non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to maintaining the heritage of modern architecture and historic neighborhoods in Palm Springs and the entire Coachella Valley.
http://www.psmodcom.com/

Modernism Week
Modernism Week is celebrated annually in February to promote public awareness of the desert’s mid-century modern design and architecture.
http://www.modernismweek.com/

Eichler Network
Since 1993, the Eichler Network has been dedicated to supporting the lifestyle of Eichler and other Eichler-like (Streng Brothers, Alexander, Cliff May, etc.) homeowners in California. The Eichler Network also publishes CA-Modern, a quarterly magazine which contains a mix of features on California’s rich legacy of mid-century modern homes and the people that live in them, home maintenance solutions, and other features that focus on the modern home and its lifestyle.
http://www.eichlernetwork.com/index.html

Preservation News of Local Interest

February 27, 2018, Desert Sun (“Every house is important in the story of Palm Springs”)
Fall 2017, Vol. 20, No. 4, Eden: Journal of the California Garden & Landscape History Society (“The Founding Mothers of Palm Springs”)
Fall 2017, Vol. 20, No. 4, Eden: Journal of the California Garden & Landscape History Society (“The Landscape of the Palm Springs Woman’s Club”)
Summer 2017, Vol. 20, No. 3, Eden: Journal of the California Garden & Landscape History Society (“The Willows and Its Historic Gardens; Tahquitz River Estates”)
February 1, 2017, Palm Springs Life (“To Preserve and Protect”)
October 2016 Issue, Palm Springs Life (“Incredible Hulks”)
June 9, 2016, Curbed LA (“What Comes After Midcentury Modern?”)
September 2015 Issue, Palm Springs Life (“Genius at Play”)
Winter 2015 Issue, Preservation (“Creative Space”)
May 6, 2015, Desert Sun (“Palm Springs voters: Judge your officials based on their actions”)
April 19, 2015, Desert Sun (“Our Civic Leaders Must Act to Protect Our Sense of Place”)
February 22, 2015, Palm Springs Life (“Barry Berkus Left Midcentury Architectural Impact in Palm Springs”)
June 2014 Issue, Desert (“Where the Willows Bloom”)
April 20, 2014, Desert Sun (“Behind the Facade: Iconic Modernist Homes in Disrepair”)
February 11, 2014, Desert Sun (“Saving the City’s Iconic Look”)
Winter 2014 Issue, Modern (“Palm Springs: The Future of Preservation”)
February 2013 Issue, Palm Springs Life (“Most Endangered Modernism”)
October 24, 2012, Le Temps (“Ligne, horizon”)         
April 2011 Issue, Palm Springs Life (“From the Top Down”)
January 2, 2011, Desert Sun (“Giving New Life to Old Buildings”)
August 20, 2010, Desert Sun (“Conrad Takes Pride in Preservation”)
October 2009 Issue, Dwell (“Lowering the Bar”)
July 29, 2009, Desert Sun (“Council is too eager to treat historic buildings as commodities”)
April 2009, A+DC THE FOLD (“The Future of the Present: Lost Generations of Palm Springs Architects”)
March 2008, National Trust for Historic Preservation (“Teardowns by State & Community”)