PALM SPRINGS MODERN TOURS

After visiting Palm Springs numerous times over the years, I finally decided to sign up for the Palm Springs Modern Tour. The tour includes the history of Palm Springs, the people who lived, worked and vacationed here, the Hollywood stars who played and built homes here and the architects, builders and designers who, from the late 1930s through the early 1970s, developed the "desert modernism" style for which Palm Springs has become famous.

We saw distinctive homes by noted architects, celebrity hideaways, familiar film locations, revolutionary modern tract developments, beautifully preserved commercial buildings and civic buildings that influenced public architecture throughout the world.

Robert, the super knowledgeable and quirky tour guide, was the perfect host. He shared indepth knowledge of the architecture while entertaining us with trivia, local gossip, and tales form bygone eras. We learned about the history and the people who created the Palm Springs Modern lifestyle. I will probably remember the details and the tales more than the architect's names, as the history is rich with stories of love, fantasy and dreams.