Palm Springs Weekend: The Architecture and Design of a Midcentury Oasis

Streamlined modernist design arrived on the West Coast in the early '20s with architects weaned on the Prairie School, and spawned a new type of city. In Palm Springs Weekend: The Architecture and Design of a Midcentury Oasis, San Jose Mercury News architecture critic Alan Hess (Rancho Deluxe) and veteran magazine art director Andrew Danish document, in 260 color and b&w photos, the process by which giant sand lots in the shadow of Mt. San Jacinto became sets of private, family-sized resorts. From the giant roadside Cabezon dinosaurs to the rustic Smoke Tree Ranch (repeatedly visited by Cary Grant), the House of Tomorrow (a retreat for the newly married Elvis and Priscilla) and the slender-columned Robinson's department store, this grand (and environmentally dubious) architectural experiment continues to retain its unique character. ( Apr.)