Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The city is a low-density desert-resort community with resorts, golf courses, and country clubs within the Colorado Desert section of the Sonoran Desert. Nestled along the foothills of the Santa Rosa Mountains in the south, it is located several minutes east of Palm Springs. The city is adjacent to Cathedral City, Palm Desert, and unincorporated Thousand Palms. The population was 16,999 at the 2020 census, down from 17,218 at the 2010 census, though the seasonal population can exceed 20,000. Incorporated in 1973, Rancho Mirage is one of the nine cities of the Coachella Valley.
The Rat Pack was an informal group of entertainers, the second iteration of which ultimately made films and appeared together in Las Vegas casino venues. They originated in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a group of A-list show business friends, such as Errol Flynn, Nat King Cole, Mickey Rooney, Frank Sinatra and others who met casually at the Holmby Hills home of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. In the 1960s, the group featured Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford, among others. They appeared together on stage and in films in the 1950s and 1960s, including the films Ocean's 11 and Sergeants 3; after Lawford's expulsion, they filmed Robin and the 7 Hoods with Bing Crosby in what was to have been Lawford's role. Sinatra, Martin, and Davis were regarded as the group's lead members after Bogart's death.
The Desert Inn, also known as the D.I., was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, which operated from April 24, 1950, to August 28, 2000. Designed by architect Hugh Taylor and interior design by Jac Lessman, it was the fifth resort to open on the Strip, the first four being El Rancho Vegas, The New Frontier, the still-operating Flamingo, and the now-defunct El Rancho. It was situated between Desert Inn Road and Sands Avenue.
Mid-century modern (MCM) is a movement in interior design, product design, graphic design, architecture and urban development that was popular in the United States and Europe from roughly 1945 to 1969, during the United States's post–World War II period. The term was used descriptively as early as the mid-1950s and was defined as a design movement by Cara Greenberg in her 1984 book Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s. It is now recognized by scholars and museums worldwide as a significant design movement. The MCM design aesthetic is modern in style and construction, aligned with the Modernist movement of the period. It is typically characterized by clean, simple lines and honest use of materials, and it generally does not include decorative embellishments.
The Rat Pack is a 1998 American HBO made-for-television drama film about the Rat Pack. The movie stars Ray Liotta as Frank Sinatra, Joe Mantegna as Dean Martin, Don Cheadle as Sammy Davis, Jr., and Angus Macfadyen as Peter Lawford. Despite his membership in the Pack, Joey Bishop is given minimal screen time, while John F. Kennedy, depicted as an on-and-off friend of Sinatra's, is given a more central role.
The Palm Springs Walk of Stars is a walk of fame in downtown Palm Springs, California, where "Golden Palm Stars", honoring various people who have lived in the greater Palm Springs area, are embedded in the sidewalk pavement. The walk includes portions of Palm Canyon Drive, Tahquitz Canyon Way, La Plaza Court and Museum Drive. Among those honored are presidents of the United States, showbusiness personalities, literary figures, pioneers and civic leaders, humanitarians and Medal of Honor recipients.
Paradise Palms is a Mid-Century Modern housing community in Las Vegas, Nevada located between downtown and the city's University District. It was designated as a historic overlay district in 2021, the first such recognition in Clark County. The planned community, Las Vegas' first, was the brain child of Irwin Molasky in 1960 who hired the architectural firm of Palmer & Krisel to build a community within walking distance to his Boulevard Mall and when completed drew entertainers, mobsters and other members of the city's social scene. A house originally owned by Fred Glusman subsequently featured stays by Cher, Don Rickles, Diana Ross and other Vegas entertainers. The original homes off Cayuga Parkway debuted in 1960 and were developed by Molasky and Adelson's Paradise Homes. In 1963, other builders were added to the community, including California-based Americana Homes, Tropical Estates by Vallee Development, Stellar Greens by D.L Bradley, Miranti Homes and Fontainebleau Estates by Eastern Enterprises.
Palm Springs is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately 94 square miles (240 km2), making it the largest city in Riverside County by land area. With multiple plots in checkerboard pattern, more than 10% of the city is part of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians reservation land and is the administrative capital of the most populated reservation in California.
Frank Sinatra had many close relationships throughout his life. He was married four times and had at least six other notable relationships in between. He had three verified children, as well as more than one of questionable paternity.
Donald Allen Wexler was an influential Mid-Century modern architect whose work is predominantly in the Palm Springs, California, area. He is known for having pioneered the use of steel in residential design.
William Krisel was an American architect best known for his pioneering designs of mid-century residential and commercial architecture. Most of his designs are for affordable homes, especially tract housing, with a modern aesthetic.
The Palm Springs School of Architecture, often called Desert Modernism, is a regional style of post-war architecture that emerged in Palm Springs, California. Many of the architects who pioneered this style became world-renowned later in their own careers. Numerous buildings and homes by these architects remain in the Coachella Valley. Additionally, this style of architecture is showcased annually at the Modernism Week event in Palm Springs.
Desert Fashion Plaza, formerly known as Desert Inn Fashion Plaza, was an enclosed shopping mall located in Palm Springs, California. The mall was originally developed by Home Savings and Loan Association, which sold the shopping center to Desert Plaza Partnership. In the early 1980s, Desert Plaza Partnership sold the property to DeBartolo Corporation which expanded and revamped the mall to accommodate more shops. Subsequently, sales declined prompting major retailers to close down business at the Desert Fashion Plaza. In 2002, John Wessman of Wessman Development bought the property and proposed a significant redevelopment on the whole site. Demolition began to take place in 2013, and shops, restaurants, and a six-story hotel have opened on part of the site with more planned.
Throughout his life, Frank Sinatra, the musician and actor, was involved in many different political activities in the United States. He also held positive views toward African Americans at a time when much of the United States still had segregation.
363 Copa De Oro Road, often referred to as The Pink Palace, is a luxurious red-brick mock 18th-century French mansion on Copa De Oro Road in the affluent East Gate Bel Air neighborhood in the hills of Los Angeles, California. It lies in very close proximity to Château des Fleurs and Bel-Air Country Club and is noted for being the home of numerous celebrities including Dean Martin, Tom Jones and Nicolas Cage.
Twin Palms, also known as the Frank Sinatra House, at 1148 East Alejo Rd is a mid-century modern house in the Movie Colony–El Mirador neighborhood of Palm Springs, California. The house was designed by E. Stewart Williams, to a commission from the American singer and actor Frank Sinatra. The house was Williams's first residential commission.
A butterfly roof is a form of roof characterised by an inversion of a standard roof form, with two roof surfaces sloping down from opposing edges to a valley near the middle of the roof. It is so called because its shape resembles a butterfly's wings.
B Bar H Ranch, California is an unincorporated area with cultural and historical features and is a residential community in Riverside County, California. B Bar H Ranch is located between Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs in the Seven Palms Valley. California Home Town Locator states the B Bar H Ranch Latitude is 33.9102927 and Longitude is -116.4819566. The GNIS entry date is January 19, 1981. B Bar H Ranch sits at an elevation of 784 feet (239 m). B Bar H Ranch is approximately eight miles north of Palm Springs, California and approximately six miles south of Desert Hot Springs, California. B Bar H Ranch's approximate 240 acres are bordered by 18th Avenue to the north, Mountain View Road to the east, 20th Avenue to the south, and Bubbling Wells Road to the west. B Bar H Ranch consisted of approximately 899 residents as of the 2010 US Census.
Modernism Week is a 501(c)(3) organization which provides public education programming fostering knowledge and appreciation of modern architecture, the mid-century modern architecture and design movement, the Palm Springs School of Architecture, as well as contemporary considerations surrounding historic preservation, cultural heritage, adaptive reuse, and sustainable architecture. Modernism Week provides annual scholarships to local students pursuing college educations in the fields of architecture and design and supports local and state organizations' efforts to preserve and promote the region's modern architecture. The organization is centered in the greater Palm Springs, California area in the Coachella Valley which is home to a significant collection of extant residential and commercial buildings designed in the mid-century modern vernacular.
