Architecture, Interior Design & Preservation
Mid Century Modern
Business Directory, Classified Ads and the Events Calendar are free to publish.
Architects – Why did a handful of American and European architects decided to disrupt the centuries-old, ornamented Greco-Roman habit? Mid Century Modern architects’ exciting new ideas ensured the middle classes could enjoy beautiful surroundings. Read about their courage and vision here.
Architecture – Mid Century Modern architecture rejected the use of buildings to delineate class and wealth. Instead, modern standards included creative use of new materials to create clean lines, organic shapes and the integration of the building into the surrounding environment. Understand the Mid Century Modern standards once and for all here.
Artists – Mid Century Modern artists like Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso Jackson Pollock abstracted their subjects even more than their Impressionist predecessors. Focusing on shape, movement and even the “Fourth Dimension of Art,” they worked harder to evoke intense emotion and thought more than delight the eye.
Designers – Visionaries like Gio Ponti, Harry Bertoia, and Charles and Ray Eames removed weight, ornamentation and material from furniture, decor and other household items, focusing instead on shape and color to please the eye. See how they combined shape, texture and size to stun homeowners across America.
Interior Design – Mid Century Modern interior design is on fire. Make sure you understand all the tenets of the modern decor style so your living space coheres beautifully. We make it simple here.
Auctions – Know the top auction houses so that you can bid on your favorite artists and furniture designers either in person, via email or via an auction house representative.
Events – Scores of Mid Century Modern events exist to delight modern enthusiasts. Consider making these conferences and shows the centerpiece for your next vacation. Some offer hundreds of activities over a week-long period.
Tours – Looking for a great Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or other activity for your Mid Century Modern enthusiast spouse or friend? Most cities stage either self-guided or guided walking tours conducted via various local societies. No better way to understand how to pull all your pieces together than seeing how the pros do it up close.
Preservation – Mid Century Modern enthusiasts ready to join the battle to save the sophisticated buildings of 1945 – 1970 can get started on our preservation page. Incredible organizations like the Palm Springs Modern Committee, the Los Angeles Conservancy Modern Committee and the DC Preservation League have saved scores of homes and buildings with historic value.
Shows – Shows focusing strictly on Mid Century Modern art, architecture and design appear in museums as they travel across the country. Get an extra bonus when you attend a Mid Mod show in a Mid Mod building! We list a selection here.
Hidden Paradise – Show Biz Legends Hideaway
The Mesa is a beautiful secluded neighborhood with a fascinating assortment of eclectic architecture. It boasts one of Palm Springs’ most stunning architectural anomalies, the Santorini House.
Celebrity Haven – Unique Boutique Resorts
It was the “The Atomic Age” and Palm Springs captured the futuristic mood like no other place on earth. Nestled in the foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains is this famed Palms Springs Tennis Club Neighborhood. This area has an eclectic mix of boutique hotels and private sanctuaries that became hideaways for the stars like Errol Flynn, Lucille Ball, Doris Day and Gloria Swanson. Today Hollywood hipsters like Robert Downey Jr. and Reese Witherspoon enjoy these unique resorts.
See close-up the inns and resorts that were, and remain today, havens for the stars. Many were designed and built after WWII when America’s appetite for Modern design was the rage.
https://midcentury.org/event/celebrity-haven-unique-boutique-resorts/
Frank Sinatra’s Neighborhood – The Movie Colony
The Movie Colony neighborhood began in the 1930s with the beautiful El Mirador Hotel as its centerpiece. After WWII Frank Sinatra made it “his” neighborhood when his home, known as “Twin Palms,” became party central. Neighbors Jack Benny, Tony Curtis, Cary Grant and many other stars enjoyed this charming and prestigious area.
This tour affords a visual feast blending classic Spanish Colonial Revival with the sleek midcentury Modern designs by the renowned E. Stewart Williams, Donald Wexler and William Cody.
Golden Era – Hollywood Homes
This neighborhood began its development in the late 1920s and has one of the highest concentrations of celebrity homes anywhere. Throughout the decades stars like Elizabeth Taylor, Kirk Douglas, Cary Grant, Judy Garland, and Leonardo DiCaprio, plus many others have made their homes here.
In old Las Palmas, Spanish Colonial architecture abounds alongside classic examples of dramatic midcentury architecture. Docents share tales of the stars who lived and martini-ed here.