ATTACHMENT C
(Application)
Hal Forrest Residence
608 S. Indian Trail
Palm Springs, California
Historic Resource Report
January 2026
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report Executive Summary
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Palm Springs (City) retained GPA Consulting (GPA) to prepare this Historic Resource Report (HRR) for 608 S. Indian Trail (Assessor Parcel Number 508-152-001) (property).
The property is a one- and two-story single-family residence constructed in 1937 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. In 2018, the property was identified in a historic resources survey conducted by Historic Resources Group (HRG). Due to its lack of visibility from the public right -of-way, the property was assigned California Historical Resource Status Code 7R, “identified in Reconnaissance Level Survey or in an Area of Potential Effect (APE):
Not evaluated.”1 As such, it is a City of Palm Springs Class 3 historic building.
As part of the process for reviewing permits for Class 3 historic buildings, the purpose of this HRR is to support a Historic Site Preservation Board (HPSB) determination of whether the property possesses sufficient historic significance to warrant possible re-designation to a Class 1 or Class 2 historic resource.
GPA conducted research and fieldwork to evaluate the property within the Influence of the Entertainment Industry theme and Depression-Era Single Family Residential Development sub -theme of the Palm Springs Between the Wars context detailed in the City of Palm Springs Citywide Historic Context Statement and Survey Findings report prepared by Historic Resources Group (HRG) in December 2018.
GPA concludes that 608 S. Indian Trail appears individually eligible as a Class 1 historic resource under City of Palm Springs Criterion ii for its direct association with the career of aviator and comic strip artist, Hal Forrest ; under Criterion iii as an excellent example of 1930s residential development and as a good example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style; and under Criterion v for presenting the work of Brewster & Benedict. The property retains all seven aspects of integrity from the period of significance, 1937 to 1943, encompassing the initial year of construction to the year Forrest sold the property.
The recommended status code is 5S3, “Appears to be individually eligible for local listing or designation through survey evaluation.”2
1 California State Office of Historic Preservation, “California Historical Resource Status Codes,” March 1, 2020, accessed January 2026, https://ohp.parks.ca.gov/pages/1069/files/Resource-Status-Codes.pdf 2 “California Historical Resource Status Codes.”
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................................................................... 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................................... 1
1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Purpose ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Methodology .................................................................................................................................................................................. 1
1.3 Qualifications of Preparers ................................................................................................................................................. 2
2. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK .......................................................................................................... 3
2.1 Palm Springs Historic Preservation Ordinance .................................................................................................. 3 Class 1 and Class 2 Historic Resource Eligibility Criteria ..................................................................... 4 Class 3 and Class 4 Buildings .............................................................................................................. 5 Integrity .............................................................................................................................................. 5
3. ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING ............................................................................................................ 6
3.1 Physical Description of the Property ......................................................................................................................... 6
3.2 History of the Property ....................................................................................................................................................... 10 Ownership and Construction History ................................................................................................. 10
3.3 Previous Surveys and Designations ......................................................................................................................... 12
4. Historic Contexts ................................................................................................................................. 13
4.1 Single-Family Residential Development between the Wars (1919-1941) .................................. 13 Eligibility Criteria and Registration Requirements.............................................................................. 15
4.2 The Influence of the Entertainment Industry (1919-1941) ........................................................................ 17 Eligibility Criteria and Registration Requirements.............................................................................. 18
4.3 Spanish Colonial Revival Architecture in Palm Springs ............................................................................19 Eligibility Criteria and Registration Requirements.............................................................................. 20
4.4 The Work of Architects Benedict & Brewster .................................................................................................. 21
4.5 The Life and Work of Hal Forrest .............................................................................................................................. 22
5. Evaluation of Eligibility .................................................................................................................... 24 Criterion i .......................................................................................................................................... 24 Criterion ii ......................................................................................................................................... 24 Criterion iii ........................................................................................................................................ 25 Criterion iv ........................................................................................................................................ 26 Criterion v ......................................................................................................................................... 27 Criterion vi ........................................................................................................................................ 27 Criterion vii ....................................................................................................................................... 27 Statement of Significance ................................................................................................................. 28 Integrity ............................................................................................................................................ 28 Character-Defining Features ............................................................................................................. 29
6. CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 31
7. SOURCES ................................................................................................................................................. 32
Appendix A – Résumés
Appendix B – Building Permit Records
Appendix C – DPR Form
Appendix D – Historic Contexts
Appendix E – Sample Work of Brewster & Benedict
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 1
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Purpose
The purpose of this Historic Resource Report (HRR) is to evaluate a property in the c ity of Palm Springs for individual eligibility under City’s Class 1 and Class 2 historic resource criteria . The subject property comprises three parcels (Assessor Parcel Number [APN] 508-152-001, -016, and -017) associated with the address 608 S. Indian Trail ( the property) (see Figure 1). It is improved with a single-family residence constructed in 1937, and an in-ground swimming pool.
Figure 1: Location of the property.
1.2 Methodology
In preparing this report, GPA performed the following tasks:
1. Conducted a field inspection to ascertain the general condition and physical integrity of the property.
Digital photographs were taken during this field inspection.
2. Conducted research into the history of the property. Sources referenced included previously completed reports and survey data such as the City of Palm Springs Citywide Historic Context Statement and Survey Findings report prepared by Historic Resources Group (HRG) in December 2018, which includes a detailed historic context statement (2018 Historic Context Statement) and the findings of a historic resources survey (2018 Survey). Conducted additional research at repositories containing building permit records, city directories, newspaper archives, and historical photographs, maps, and aerials.
3. Reviewed and analyzed ordinances, statutes, regulations, bulletins, and technical materials relating to federal, state, and local historic preservation designations, and assessment processes and programs to evaluate the property for significance and integrity.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 2
1.3 Qualifications of Preparers
Audrey von Ahrens, Senior Architectural Historian, was responsible for the preparation of this report with assistance from Phoebe Rayburn, Architectural Historian I . Ms. von Ahrens was responsible for reviewing this report for quality assurance and quality control. Ms. von Ahrens and Ms. Duane fulfill the qualifications for a historic preservation professional outlined in Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 61. Their résumés are included as Appendix A.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 3
2. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
2.1 Palm Springs Historic Preservation Ordinance
The City of Palm Springs (City) administers a local designation program in which individual properties and concentrations of properties can be designated as historic resources and historic districts. The designation of significant properties is governed by Title 8, Chapter 8.05 (Historic Preservation) of the Palm Springs Municipal Code, referred to hereafter as “Historic Preservation Ordinance.” The Historic Preservation Ordinance establishes and authorizes a seven member Palm Springs Historic Site Preservation Board ( HSPB) to issue decisions regarding applications to alter or demolish designated or potentially eligible resources and for new construction in historic districts; make recommendations to City Council regarding designation of historic resources; advise the City Council and/or Planning Commission in all matters concerning historic preservation; and educate and inform the community on his toric preservation matters.
3 To facilitate this process, the Historic Preservation Ordinance establishes requirements that a property or properties must meet in order to qualify for designation as a historic resource or historic district.
The City of Palm Springs classifies individual historic resources and potential historic resources into four different categories, as defined in Article I of the Historic Preservation Ordinance (General Provisions):4 Landmark/Class 1 historic resource - Any site, structure, building or object not located on Tribal Trust or Allotted Trust Land designated by resolution of the City Council as having historic, architectural, archaeological, cultural or aesthetic significance that contributes to an understanding and awareness of the community’ s history. A Class 1 historic resource may include a structure, building or object on the site, or may include all or a portion of the site itself.
Class 1 historic resources are eligible for the execution of a Mills Act historic property preservation agreement, as determined by the City Council.
Historic Merit/Class 2 historic resource - A site, structure, building or object not located on Tribal Trust or Allotted Trust Land that does not qualify for Class 1 historic resource designation under this chapter, but is otherwise deserving of official recognition as having historic, architectural, archaeological, cultural or aesthetic significance and is designated as a Class 2 historic resource by resolution of the City Council. A Class 2 historic resource may lack some aspects of historic integrity, or may include a site where the structure, building or object of historic significance has been lost, damaged or removed. Class 2 sites on which the historic resource still exists are eligible for the execution of a Mills Act historic property preservation agreement, as determined by the City Council.
Potentially Eligible/Class 3 building - Any building which is not a Class 1 or Class 2 historic resource, but is identified in a City historic resources survey as eligible for designation as a historic resource. A building may be a Class 3 building regardless of the construction date or the improvements thereon. Class 3 sites are not eligible for the execution of a Mills Act historic property preservation agreement.
Class 4 building - Any building which is not a Class 1 or Class 2 historic resource or a Class 3 building, and on which the building or improvements thereon were constructed before January
3 City of Palm Springs Municipal Code, 8.05.030.
4 City of Palm Springs Municipal Code, 8.05.020.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 4 1, 1978, or whose age cannot be determined. The City Council shall review this date and update it as it deems appropriate through amendment to this chapter.
Class 1 and Class 2 Historic Resource Eligibility Criteria Article III of the Historic Preservation Ordinance (Procedures for Designation of Historic Resources and Historic Districts) defines the following criteria for designating Historic Resources (Class 1 and Class 2 historic resources) in the City:
5 1. Class 1 Historic Resources. A site, structure, building or object may be designated as a Class 1 historic resource, provided one or more of the following criteria in subsections a” and b” are met:
a. The site, structure, building or object exhibits exceptional historic significance and meets one or more of the criteria listed below:
i. The resource is associated with events that have made a meaningful contribution to the nation, state or community; or
ii. The resource is associated with the lives of persons who made a meaningful contribution to national, state or local history; or
iii. The resource reflects or exemplifies a particular period of national, state or local history; or
iv. The resource embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction; or
v. The resource presents the work of a master builder, designer, artist, or architect whose individual genius influenced his or her age, or that possesses high artistic value; or
vi. The resource represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction, as used in evaluated applications for designation of historic districts, for parcels on which more than one entity exists; or
vii. The resource has yielded or may be likely to yield information important to national, state or local history or prehistory.
b. The site, structure, building or object shall be evaluated for integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association according to the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service’ s National Register Bulletin titled: “How to apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation” as revised from time to time.
2. Class 2 Historic Resources. A site, structure, building or object may be designated as a Class 2 historic resource, provided the site, structure, building or object exhibits significance and meets one or more of the criteria listed above. A Class 2 historic resource shall not be required to meet the findings for integrity as described above.
5 City of Palm Springs Municipal Code, 8.05.070.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 5 Class 3 and Class 4 Buildings
As noted above, the City of Palm Springs defines Class 3 buildings as those previously identified as eligible in a historic resources survey, and Class 4 buildings as those that are not Class 1 or Class 2 historic resources or a Class 3 building, but were constructed before January 1, 1978 , or whose age cannot be determined. The Ordinance does not provide separate eligibility criteria for Class 3 and Class 4 buildings, but notes any Class 3 or 4 building may be designated as a Class 1 or Class 2 historic resource if they meet the eligibility criteria listed above.6
Integrity
As noted above, in order for a property to qualify as a City of Palm Springs Class 1 Historic Resource, it must not only be significant under one or more of the above evaluative criteria but also retain integrity, which the National Park Service defines in National Register Bulletin 15 a s "the ability of a property to convey its significance.” 7 Within the concept of integrity, the National Register recognizes the following seven aspects or qualities that in various combinations define integrity: feeling, association, workmanship, location, design, setting, and materials. Integrity is based on si gnificance: why, where, and when a property is important. Thus, the significance of the property must be fully established before the integrity is analyzed.
6 City of Palm Springs Municipal Code, 8.05.080.
7 Patrick Andrus and Rebecca Shrimpton, eds., (National Register Bulletin 15) How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation (US Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Cultural Resources: 1997), 44-45, accessed October 2024, https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/NRB-15_web508.pdf.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 6
3. ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING
608 S. Indian Trail is part of the Indian Trail Tract Planning District (also seen as Desert Trail Tract) in the City of Palm Springs which is densely developed with one -story single -family residences primary constructed in the 1930s and 1950s.8 The subject property is located near the center of the tract at the north end of the block bound by E. Camino Parocela ono the north, S. Indian Trail on the west, E. Sunny Dunes Road on the south, and S. Vista Oro on the east (see Figure 1).
Figure 2: Location of the property.
3.1 Physical Description of the Property
The property consists of three rectangular shaped parcels (see Figure 2). A one- and two-story Spanish Colonial Revival style single-family residence is constructed on the western parcel (APN 508-152-001), oriented towards the northwest corner with shallow setbacks on the north (facing E. Camino Parocela) and west (facing S. Indian Trail) (see Figure 3 and Figure 4). A concrete driveway is located south of the house providing access from S.
Indian Trail and a masonry wall surrounds the property boundary . Near the center of the property, in the rear yard, is an in-ground swimming pool, which spans all three parcels.
The residence is irregular in plan with a multi-gable roof comprising a one -story volume with cross -hipped roof flanked by two-story wings with hipped and hexagonal roofs. The roofs are clad in red clay tiles and have open, overhanging eaves with exposed rafter tails. The exterior walls are clad with smooth stucco. The elevations are
8 Historic Resources Group (HRG), City of Palm Springs Citywide Historic Context Statement & Survey Findings (Final Draft for City Council Approval 2018), App D-94.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 7 asymmetrically arranged with f enestration primarily consisting of multi-light steel casement windows, fixed multi-light windows, single-light fixed windows, and wood-paneled and multi-light wood doors.
The primary elevation faces northwest and has a full-width porch with scored concrete slab and stucco -clad rectangular columns. A curving, scored concrete walkway leads to the main entrance on the north end of the porch where a wood plank door is within a slightly recessed opening. South of the main entrance is a large opening with multi -light wood tripartite window that is centered on the elevation, and on the south end is a smaller window opening with paired multi-light steel casements (see Figure 5).
The west elevation faces S. Indian Trail and overlooks the scored concrete driveway (see Figure 4). The one - story volume has a wood slab door with single light that is flanked by a steel casement window (north) and a large window opening with grouping of four single lights with wood mullions and sill (south). The two-story south wing is set back at an angle from the one-story volume, creating the appearance of a hexagonal tower rising from one- story roof. A secondary entrance with simple hollow slab wood door is center ed on the southwest-facing plane of the two -story wing which otherwise comprises steel casement windows of various sizes and groupings (see Figure 6).
The north elevation consists of the one - and two -story east wing which has asymmetrically arranged steel casement windows of various sizes and groupings. The west end of the wing has a round tower that rises above the roof of the main one -story volume (see Figure 7). The east elevation has a one -story shed roof volume with three narrow, fixed single -light wood windows (see Figure 8). The second story is set back by a roof deck and has a recessed corner porch with single-light wood door on the north end of the elevation.
The rear elevations overlook the large rear yard with in -ground swimming pool. The main one -story volume and east wing have a full-width, projecting, one-story porch with stepped shed roof supported by simple wood posts and beams (see Figure 9). An exterior brick chimney with stone veneer fireplace surround is centered beneath the porch of the southeast -facing plane of the one -story volume. On the south end of the elevation, the south wing has a second-story balcony with wrought iron railings and carved wood posts and outriggers (see Figure 10). There are multiple entrance openings with multi-light wood single and double doors, and windows of various sizes and types, asymmetrically arranged across the elevation (see Figure 11).
Figure 3: View of primary (northwest) elevation, looking southeast from intersection of Parocela and Indian Trail. Source:
GPA, December 2025.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 8
Figure 4: View of west elevation, looking east from Indian Trail. Source: GPA, December 2025.
Figure 5: Primary (northwest) elevation, view looking southeast. Source: GPA, December 2025.
Figure 6: West and south elevations, main one-story volume (left) and south wing (right), looking northeast from Indian.
Source: GPA, December 2025.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 9
Figure 7: North elevation, east wing, looking south. Source:
GPA, December 2025.
Figure 8: South and east elevations, east wing, looking northwest from rear yard. Source: GPA, December 2025.
Figure 9: View of rear elevations, looking west from rear yard. Source: GPA, December 2025.
Figure 10: Rear elevation, south wing, looking southwest.
Source: GPA, December 2025.
Figure 11: Rear elevation, one-story volume (center) and east wing (right), looking north. Source: GPA, December 2025.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 10
3.2 History of the Property
Ownership and Construction History
The property was purchased by Harry P. (Hal) Forrest and Charlotte Ousley -Forrest in 1935. 9 They commissioned the architectural firm , Brewster & Benedict , in 1936 to design the one-story single -family residence with second -floor studio for cartoonist Hal. C onstruction was completed in 1937. 10 According to Desert Sun newspaper article s, erection of a stone wall around the residence and construction on a “large addition” to the house was underway in 1938 (see Figure 12).11 The Forrest family lived at 9108 S. Olin Street in Los Angeles and used the Palm Springs property as a second home.12 The Forrests sold the property to Gilbert Smith of Pasadena in 1943 and Smith filed an application for another addition that year.13 The property was the Smith family winter home until at least 194 7.14 Film studio executive Joseph Schenck purchased the property and installed an in -ground pool in 1948 (see Figure 13).15 Later that year, Schenck sold the property to brother and sister Morris Teitelbaum and Pauline DeMartini (née Teitelbaum), two prominent New York City labor attorneys.16 The Teitelbaum family owned the property and used it as a winter home until at least 1972.17
9 “Desert Sunbeams,” The Desert Sun, April 26, 1935, 5, Newspapers.com, accessed December 2025, https://www.newspapers.com/image/747255297/.
10 “Brewster&. Benedict Design Beautiful New Residence,” The Desert Sun, December 18, 1936, 5, Newspapers.com, accessed December 2025, https://www.newspapers.com/image/747259132/; “Unique New Homes Are Planned by Brewster & Benedict,” The Desert Sun, February 19, 1937, 6, Newspapers.com, accessed December 2025, https://www.newspapers.com/image/747259695/?match=1&terms=%22Hal%20Forrest%22; “Brewster & Benedict Design Fine New Structures,” The Desert Sun, May 7, 1937, 1, Newspapers.com, accessed December 2025, https://www.newspapers.com/image/747260373/.
11 The stone wall was built using stones Forrest personally collected from the desert; “Doin’ The Town…With Evelyn,” The Desert Sun, December 23, 1938, 4, Newspapers.com, accessed December 2025, https://www.newspapers.com/image/747236580/; “608 S Indian Tr: Forrest/Schenck Residence,” California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) Form Set, Historic Resources Group (HRG), Palm Springs, California, December 2016; “Desert Sun Beams.”
12 United States Census Bureau, “1940 United States Federal Census: Palm Springs, Riverside, California, 33-22A,” Ancestry, accessed December 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/m-t0627-00277- 00120.
13 “Realty continues to Sell Briskly in Palm Springs,” The Desert Sun, July 23, 1943, 8, Newspapers.com, accessed December 2025, https://www.newspapers.com/image/747220812/; “Gilbert Smith’s Back For Another Season,” The Desert Sun, September 10, 1943, 4, Newspapers.com, accessed December 2025, https://www.newspapers.com/image/747220848/; “Building Permits,” The Desert Sun, November 12, 1943, 8, Newspapers.com, accessed December 2025, https://www.newspapers.com/image/747220946/. 14 City Directory, Palm Springs, 1947, 177, Ancestry.com, accessed December 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/3104791?usePUB=true&_phsrc=GXt266&pId=11686 26812.
15 City of Palm Springs, Building Permit No. 3431, March 23, 1948; “Joe Schenck: Noted Film Producer Again a Villager,” The Desert Sun, February 24, 1948, Newspapers.com, accessed December 2025, https://www.newspapers.com/image/747217633/.
16 “DeVorzon Sells Schenck Estate to New Yorkers,” The Desert Sun, February 24, 1948, Newspapers.com, accessed December 2025, https://www.newspapers.com/image/747217633/. 17 “Patio Party Hosted by Teitelbaums,” The Desert Sun, May 2, 1955, 2, Newspapers.com, accessed December 2025, https://www.newspapers.com/image/747254157/; “Navy Lt. David Teitelbaum,” The Desert Sun, September 16, 1972, 2, Newspapers.com, accessed December 2025, https://www.newspapers.com/image/747563870/.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 11
Figure 12: 1939 historical aerial photograph showing
property shortly after initial construction. Source: Flight C_5750, Frame 227-34, January 1, 1939. Courtesy of
UCSB Santa Barbara.
Figure 13: 1953 historical aerial photograph showing
property with addition of swimming pool. Source: Flight AXM_1953B, Frame 10K-17, January 1, 1953. Courtesy of
UCSB Santa Barbara.
Figure 14: 1962 Sanborn Fire Insurance map showing property with footprint reflecting its existing condition. Source:
Sanborn Map Company, Palm Springs, Sheet 7, February 1929 revised to June 1962. Courtesy of Fire Insurance Maps online (FIMo).
By 1974, a permit for enclosing and remodeling the detached garage lists William Price as the owner .18 Price owned the property until at least 1991 when the residence was reroofed.19 More recently , in 2019, owner Michael McMahan restored the rear patio colonnade which was enclosed at an unknown date .20 As part of this work, the tile front porch flooring was replaced with scored concrete and original light fixtures were replaced.
18 Building Permit No. B-7549, May 16, 1974.
19 Building Permit No. B 20585, August 2, 1991.
20 Building Permit No. 2019-1988, July 3, 2019; Building Permit No. 2021-1237, March 25, 2021.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 12 TABLE 1: BUILDING PERMIT HISTORY (alterations visible from exterior only) Date Permit No. Description Contractor Owner/Applicant Value 1948/03/23 3431 20’ x 40’ swimming pool granite as
per plan.
Paddock Eng. Mr. Jos Schenck $6,300
1974/05/16 B-7549 Enclosed existing 20’ x 22’ garage
to create new dining room. Frame,
stucco, and glass.
Spencer Const. William Price $2,600
1991/08/02 B 20585 Removed and replaced clay tile
with new 40# underlayment over
living room, dining room, and den
areas. 4’ x 6’ minimum roof rafters
24” on center, span approx. 8”.
Owner William Price $2,000
2019/07/03 2019-1988 Remodeled kitchen and bathroom
and reverted unpermitted living
space back to an open patio.
Owner Michael
McMahan
$10,000
2021/03/25 2021-1237 Constructed a new spa. Owner Michael McMahan
$2,000
3.3 Previous Surveys and Designations
608 S. Indian Trail was previously identified in the 2018 Survey conducted by HRG, and was assigned California Historical Resource Status Code of 7R , “identified in Reconnaissance Level Survey or in an Area of Potential Effect (APE): Not evaluated” (see Appendix C ).21 The Citywide Historic Resources Inventory states:
[The property is] significant as an example of 1930s residential development, when important figures in entertainment, finance, and business flocked to the desert in the winter, helping to cement the village's reputation as one of the nation's top winter resort destinations ; and as a good example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture by Brewster & Benedict. 22 As such, it is a City of Palm Springs Class 3 historic building .
As part of as part of the process for reviewing permits for Class 3 historic buildings, the City requested this HRR to support a HSPB determination of whether the property possesses sufficient historic significance to warrant possible re-designation to a Class 1 or Class 2 historic resource. 23
21 “California Historical Resource Status Codes.”
22 HRG, App C.
23 City of Palm Springs Department of Planning Services, “[…] Approval of a Major Alteration of a Class 3 Site Located at 608 South Indian Trail and Associated Review for Potential Re-Designation […] to a Class 1 or Class 2 Historic Resource,” November 5, 2023, accessed January 2026,
https://www.palmspringsca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/92698/638974135348800000.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 13
4. HISTORIC CONTEXTS
The significance of a property must be evaluated within its historic context(s). Historic contexts are those patterns or trends in history by which a specific property is understood. The most relevant contexts and themes from the 2018 Historic Context Statement for evaluating the property at 608 S. Indian Trail are as follows:
• Context: Palm Springs Between the Wars (1919-1941)
o Theme: Single-Family Residential Development (1919-1941) Sub-Theme: Depression-Era Single-family Residential Development (1930-1941) o Theme: The Influence of the Entertainment Industry (1919-1941) • Context: Architectural Styles & Local Practitioners
o Spanish-Colonial Revival Style
o Benedict & Brewster
Additional historic contexts developed as part of this report include the Life and Work of Hal Forrest.
4.1 Single-Family Residential Development between the Wars (1919- 1941)
The Palm Springs Between the Wars (1919- 1941) context includes the theme of Single-family Residential Development between the Wars (1919-1941) (see Appendix D). The theme addresses Palm Springs’ transition from resort to residential development and discusses select residential subdivisions within two sub -themes:
Single-Family Residential Development (1919 -1929) and Depression-Era Single -Family Residential Development (1930- 1941). The most applicable sub-theme, Depression-Era Single -Family Residential Development, and the Indian Trail Tract are described as follows:
Depression-Era Single-Family Residential Development
The popularity of Palm Springs with the Depression-proof movie industry surely provided more economic stability for real estate than in most other cities in the United States. There were also plenty of vacant lots available in existing tracts for those who wished to invest or build a house.
New subdivision development, however, did not resume in earnest until the mid -1930s, and when it did, it tended to be smaller tracts than those developed in the 1920s. Like other cities in the country, economic recovery from the Great Depression, and residential development and expansion in Palm Springs, were halted by the advent of World War II. 24 Indian Trail Tract
This three-street subdivision from 1933 consists of the east side of Calle Palo Fierro, Indian Trail, and Vista del Oro between Ramon Road and Sunny Dunes Road. The following development history was excerpted from Appendix B: Overview of Tract Development of the 2018 Historic Context Statement.
24 HRG, 77.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 14 Development History
Indian Trail (a.k.a. Desert Trails Tract in news accounts of 1936) was subdivided by Pearl McManus and her husband Austin McManus into 90 parcels. The tract map for the development shows the design of a bridle path on the median along Indian Trail and larg e frontage lots along the street. Pearl McManus was a lifelong horsewoman who was a member of the Desert Riders, and incorporating a bridle path into the development was consistent with her vision of the Palm Springs lifestyle.
The initial marketing by McManus Realty declared that “Sunshine and health await you at Indian Trail tract.” The McManuses endeavored to bring distinction to the tract not only through its palm-lined main thoroughfare but also in the siting of the corner properties, with houses built in a “boomerang” layout, stretching across the lots. The McManuses would follow this same design pattern more than a decade later with their Tahquitz River Estates tract, located to the south. Most development in Indian Trail o ccurred in the years leading up to World War II with Spanish Colonial architecture predominant. Original lot prices in 1936 ranged from $550- $950. Several homes in the tract were designed by significant Palm Springs architects of the 1930s, including Lee Miller, Brewster & Benedict, and W.C. Pennell, as well as at least one design by prominent Los Angeles architectural designers Meyer & Holler.
In its first decade, the tract became something of a mini movie colony with an impressive list of important Hollywood figures owning or leasing winter homes in Indian Trail. Cartoonist Hal Forrest; novelist and screenwriter Leslie Charteris, creator of the popular The Saint novels; three-time Academy Award -nominated cinematographer Ray Binger; radio star Cal Pearce; producer/director John M. Stahl; Easter Parade director Charles “Chuck” Walters; and 20th Century Fox chief Joseph M. Schenck all lived within a block of each other on Indian Trail. In 1936 McManus had contractor/civil engineer Lee Miller construct what is now referred to as the “Casablanca Adobe” (HSPB-68), a vernacular style adobe home that was occupied in the 1940s by the Casablanca screenwriter Howard E. Koch.
While Hollywood was well represented in the tract so too were important figures in other fields including landscape artist Bathasar Kundert; Winfield and Grace Song Line, experts on Korean and Asian culture and affairs; and Tracy B. Williams, noted designer of Winton automobile and boat motors; among others. The tract was also home to prominent members of the local community such as the Village Pharmacy’s Harry Brott; optometrist Dexter Blau; O’Donnell golf pro George Howard Jr. and architect Howard P. Lapham.
25 Indian Trail Tract Planning District
The Indian Trail Tract is one of four pre-World War II subdivisions that were identified in the 2018 Survey that do not retain sufficient integrity for designation as historic districts but represent an early period of the city’s residential development and contain important features that should be considered for local planning purposes. 26 As explained in the survey findings, standard practice is not to identify contributors and non -contributors; instead, the overall character of the neighborhood and any important planning features were described for future consideration, as excerpted below:
25 HRG, APP B – 43-44.
26 HRG, APP-C-D-3.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 15 This planning district consists of Indian Trail between Sunny Dunes Road and Ramon Road.
This boundary encompasses the most intact portion of the tract, and includes the landscaped median/bridle path.
Indian Trail is composed primarily of one-story, single-family residences in the Spanish Colonial Revival and Hacienda Ranch styles. A significant amenity of the tract is the bridle path (now a landscaped median with mature palm trees along S. Indian Trail), which was included in the original plans for the tract. Many properties in the district have historic masonry walls, which is a unifying feature.
The Indian Trail Tract does not retain sufficient integrity for designation as a historic district.
However, due to its early period of development, sense of time and place, association with Pearl McManus, and concentration of pre -World War II residences, it may warrant special consideration in local planning. The district retains the feel of its original 1930s subdivision with its distinctive wide median down the center of the street, flanking single -family homes with a uniform one -story height, angled “bo omerang”-shaped houses on most corner lots, and unifying masonry walls around many properties. It retains the character of an early 20th century residential development in Palm Springs. Significant individual properties have been identified as eligible for local designation.
27 There is one designated resource within the tract boundary: 590 S. Indian Trail. Properties identified as eligible for local designation within the tract boundary are: 504 S. Indian Trail, 537 S. Indian Trail, 538 S. Indian Trail, 590 S. Indian Trail, 591 S. Indian Trail, 608 S. Indian Trail (subject property), 609 S.
Indian Trail, 523 S. Vista Oro, 539 S. Vista Oro, 587 S. Vista Oro, and 665 S. Vista Oro.28 Eligibility Criteria and Registration Requirements
Eligibility Criteria and Integrity Considerations
According to the 2018 Historic Context Statement, a single-family residence evaluated within the Single-Family Residential Development Between the Wars (1919 -1941) theme may be individually eligible for historic designation under one or more of the following criteria:
A/1/iii (Pattern/Period) As a good and intact example of 1920s or 1930s residential development reflecting an important period of growth and transition in the city. Due to development patterns in Palm Springs, there are few tracts developed during this period that are eligible for historic designation; therefore, intact examples that are scattered throughout the prewar neighborhoods are eligible for individual designation.
29 A property that is significant for its historic association is eligible if it retains the essential physical features that made up its character or appearance during the period of its association with the important event, historical pattern, or person(s). A residential property from this period eligible under Criteria A/1/iii should retain integrity of location, design, workmanship, materials, and feeling, at a minimum, in order
27 HRG, App D – 94-95.
28 HRG, App D – 96.
29 HRG, 90.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 16 to reflect the important association with the city’s residential development during this period. A property that has lost some historic materials or details can be eligible if it retains the majority of the features that illustrate its style in terms of the massing, spatial relationships, proportion, pattern of windows and doors, texture of materials, and ornamentation. There is a relatively large number of prewar single -family residences, particularly from the 1930s, scattered throughout the early residential subdivisions. Therefore, individually eligible examples identified in the survey typically retain all or most of their original windows, particularly on the primary façade, original wall cladding, and do not have additions that are visible from the public right-of-way.
30 B/2/ii (Person) For its association with a significant person. Significant persons within this theme include members of the community who may have been influential in the development of Palm Springs, or who gained significance within their profession. Homes associated with people in the entertainment industry are evaluated under a separate context.
Properties eligible under this criterion are typically those associated with a person’s productive life, reflecting the time period when he or she achieved significance.
31 A residential property significant under Criterion B/2/ ii (Person) should retain integrity of location, design, workmanship, and feeling, at a minimum, in order to convey the historic association with a significant person.32
C/3/iv, v33 (Arch.) As an excellent or rare example of an architectural style or method of construction from the relevant period , or as the work of a master builder, designer, artist, or architect. 34
A residential property significant under Criterion C/3/ iv,v (Architecture) should retain integrity of design, workmanship, materials, and feeling, at a minimum, in order to be eligible for its architectural merit. A property that has lost some historic materials or details can be eligible if it retains the majorit y of the features that illustrate its style in terms of the massing, spatial relationships, proportion, pattern of windows and doors, texture of materials, and ornamentation. The property is not e ligible, however, if it retains
30 HRG, 92.
31 HRG, 90.
32 HRG, 92.
33 A discrepancy currently exists between the local criteria applicability presented in the 2018 Historic Context Statement and the City’s “Technical Assistance for Applicants: How to Apply the Criteria for Historic Designation” (last revised December 6, 2021), which states: “Use Criterion iii (“Period”) when evaluating a site relative to a series of events, a particular period in history or an architectural style or trend that exemplifies a particular period” (emphasis added). 34 HRG, 90-91.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 17 some basic features conveying massing but has lost the majority of the features that once characterized its style. 35
Registration Requirements
To be eligible under this theme, a property must:
• date from the period of significance; and
• represent important patterns and trends in residential development from this period, including representing 1920s and 1930s development and settlement patterns; an association with an important developer; an association with Palm Springs as an artists’ enc lave; an association with tourism in Palm Springs; or
• represent an excellent, rare, or influential example of an architectural style, property type, or method of construction; or be associated with a significant architect or designer; and • display most of the character-defining features of the property type or style; and • retain the essential aspects of historic integrity. 36
4.2 The Influence of the Entertainment Industry (1919-1941) The Palm Springs Between the Wars (1919- 1941) Context includes the theme of The Influence of the Entertainment Industry (1919-1941) (see Appendix D), excerpted below:
This theme explores the influence of the Hollywood film industry on the development and growth of Palm Springs in the 1920s and 1930s. Hollywood first discovered Palm Springs as early as 1915, when author -turned-director Edmund Mitchell filmed a silent ada ptation of his 1901 novel The Lone Star Rush, the first motion picture to be filmed in Palm Springs.
Throughout the 1910s and 1920s the desert around Palm Springs was used for location shooting of numerous silent films set in Middle Eastern or North Africa n locales, including Salome (1922) starring Theda Bara and, according to some sources, The Sheik (1921) with Rudolph Valentino in his most famous role.
The movie industry brought additional attention to Palm Springs in 1922, when Valentino honeymooned at the Palm Springs Hotel with his second wife, Natacha Rambova, only to be arrested for bigamy because his divorce from his first wife was not yet fin al. Syndicated gossip columnist Louella Parsons dispatched a number of columns from the Desert Inn during a 1926 visit, drawing wider attention to Palm Springs. By the end of the decade the isolated desert village had become a favored winter weekend retreat for the burgeoning film industry, offering privacy and relaxation, warm winter sunshine and stunning natural beauty, just a few hours’ drive from Los Angeles. This allowed actors to get away while complying with the studios’ famous “two-hour rule,” the contractual obligation to be available on short notice for filming or publicity purposes.
Perhaps the earliest house associated with movie people was the Reginald Pole adobe (1916, 175 S. Cahuilla Road; HSPB -59), which was said to have been visited by Charles Chaplin and exotic Russian silent screen star Nazimova. It was one of the few homes as sociated with
35 HRG, 92.
36 HRG, 93.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 18 entertainment figures in Palm Springs in the teens and twenties, as almost everyone else congregated at the various hotels.
In the 1920s the film stars and studio moguls stayed primarily at the Desert Inn or the Oasis; beginning in 1928 they flocked to the extravagant Hotel El Mirador as well… A number of movie people who did not take houses, but wanted a more permanent place to stay while wintering in the desert, rented apartments.
37 As Palm Springs grew in popularity with members of the entertainment industry, hotels, sports facilities, restaurants, nightclubs and retail establishments were developed to accommodate the demand for recreation and diversion. Some of these establishments were owned by celebrities.38
Many of the Hollywood celebrities and executives who vacationed in Palm Springs eventually rented or bought seasonal homes there. So many of them settled in the area south of the Hotel El Mirador that the neighborhood became known as the Movie Colony. Old Las Palmas (Las Palmas Estates) was another popular Hollywood enclave in Palm Springs . 39 Eligibility Criteria and Registration Requirements
Starting in the early 20th century, Palm Springs was a get -away for members of the entertainment industry, including movie stars, directors, composers, and other members of the upper echelon of the industry. Members of the entertainment industry became par t of the fabric of the city. Properties significant under this theme include residents and commercial establishments with specific associations with the entertainment community. Commercial establishments may be eligible for a known association with the Hollywood social scene in Palm Springs. There are also identified concentrations of residential properties that are associated with famous residents, including the “Movie Colony” potential historic district. Many residences associated with people in the entertainment industry, in the Movie Colony and other neighborhoods, are not visible from the public right-of-way. 40 Eligibility Criteria and Integrity Considerations
According to the 2018 Historic Context Statement, a single-family residence evaluated within The Influence of the Entertainment Industry (1919 -1941) theme may be individually eligible for historic designation under one or more of the following criteria:
B/2/ii (Person) For its association with an important person(s) in the entertainment industry. Properties eligible under this criterion are those associated with a person’s productive life, reflecting the time period when he or she achieved significance. Properties associ ated with living persons are usually not eligible for landmark designation. Sufficient time must
37 HRG, 150-152.
38 HRG, 153.
39 HRG, 155.
40 HRG, 156.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 19 have elapsed to assess both the person’s field of endeavor and his or her contribution to that field.41
A residential property significant under Criterion B/2/ ii (Person) should retain integrity of location, design, workmanship, and feeling in order to convey the historic association with a significant person. 42 Registration Requirements
To be eligible under this theme, a property must:
• date from the period of significance; and
• represent a known association with an important person or persons in the entertainment industry; because Palm Springs is a resort destination, eligible properties associated with people in the entertainment industry in the city will likely be second homes; for commercial properties, represent a known association with the Hollywood social scene in Palm Springs; a film location must represent an early or iconic location; and • display most of the character-defining features of the property type or style; and • retain the essential aspects of historic integrity
43 4.3 Spanish Colonial Revival Architecture in Palm Springs The following context was excerpted from the Architectural Styles & Local Practitioners context of the 2018 Historic Context Statement:
The Spanish Colonial Revival style attained widespread popularity throughout Southern California following the 1915 Panama-California Exposition in San Diego, which was housed in a series of Spanish Baroque-inspired buildings designed by chief architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue. The style lent itself to monumental public edifices, churches, and exuberant commercial buildings and theaters, but was less suited to residential or smaller scale commercial architecture. For those, architects drew inspiration fro m provincial Spain, particularly the arid southern region of Andalusia, where many young American architects were diverted while World War I prevented their traditional post -graduate “grand tour” of Great Britain, France, Italy, and Germany. The resulting style was based on infinitely creative combinations of plaster, tile, wood, and iron, featuring plaster -clad volumes arranged around patios, low-pitched tile roofs, decorative details of iron, wood, and glazed ceramic tile, and a sprawling, horizontal orie ntation. It was a deliberate attempt to develop a “native” California architectural style and romanticize the area’s colonial past, though it drew directly from
41 Eligibility under Criterion B for listing in the National Register of Historic Places requires that: “Each property associated with an important individual should be compared to other associated properties to identify those that best represent the person’s historic contributions. The best representatives usually are properties associated with the person's adult or productive life. Properties associated with an individual's formative or later years may also qualify if it can be demonstrated that the person's activities during this period were historically significant or if no properties from the person's productive years survives. Length of association is an important factor when assessing several properties with similar associations. A community or State may contain several properties eligible for associations with the same important person, if each represents a different aspect of the person's productive life”; HRG, 157. 42 HRG, 158.
43 HRG, 93.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 20 Spanish and other Mediterranean precedents and bore little resemblance to the simple missions and rustic adobe ranch houses that comprised the state’s actual colonial -era buildings.
In Palm Springs in the 1920s and 1930s the Spanish Colonial Revival style was often simplified and reduced to its most basic elements for residential, commercial, and institutional buildings.
The result was a simpler, more rustic style reminiscent of traditional southwestern adobes and haciendas that was believed to be better suited to the desert climate and casual, resort lifestyle.
These tended to be informal one- or two -story buildings finished in plaster, with simple rectilinear plans, low-pitched gable or hipped roofs clad in barrel tile or wood shakes, wood or steel sash windows, and little or no ornamentation. This minimalist Spanish trend continued into the post-World War II years; the city has houses and commercial buildings from the 1940s that feature red clay tile roofing and steel casement windows.
Examples of high -style Spanish Colonial Revival residential architecture in Palm Springs include The Willows (1924, HSPB -34) and Ojo del Desierto (1925, HSPB -19). Commercial examples include the El Paseo Building (1930, HSPB-27) and the La Plaza Center and Theatre (1936, HSPB -22). Examples of the more typical simplified Spanish Colonial Revival style include the Crawford Apartments (1945, now the Village Inn) at 855 N. Indian Canyon Drive, and the single-family residence (c. 1930) located at 545 S. Calle Santa Rosa.
Character-defining features include:
• Asymmetrical façade
• Irregular plan and horizontal massing
• Varied gable or hipped roofs with clay barrel tiles; occasionally flat roofs • Plaster veneered exterior walls forming wide, uninterrupted expanses • Wood-sash or steel casement or double-hung windows, typically with divided lights • Round, pointed, or parabolic arched openings
• Arcades, colonnades, or corridors
• Decorative grilles of wood, wrought iron, or plaster
• Balconies, patios or towers
• Decorative terra cotta or glazed ceramic tile work
44 Eligibility Criteria and Registration Requirements
Eligibility Criteria and Integrity Considerations
According to the 2018 Historic Context Statement, a single -family residence evaluated within Architectural Styles & Local Practitioners Context may be individually eligible for historic designation under the following criterion:
44 HRG, 344-345.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 21 C/3/iv, v45 (Arch.) As a good or excellent example of an architectural style or method of construction from the relevant period, or as the work of a master builder, designer, artist, or architect. 46
A property that is eligible for designation as an excellent example of its architectural style retains most - though not necessarily all - of the character-defining features of the style, and continues to exhibit its historic appearance. A property that has lost some historic materials or details can be eligible if it retains the majority of the features that illustrate its style in terms of the massing, spatial relationships, proportion, pattern of windows and doors, texture of materials, and ornamentation. The property is not eligible, however, if it retains some basic features conveying massing but has lost the majority of the features that once characterized its style. A property important for illustrating a particular architectural style or constructio n technique must retain most of the physical features that constitute that style or technique.47
4.4 The Work of Architects Benedict & Brewster
The subject property was designed by the architectural firm Brewster & Benedict, a partnership between Floyd E. Brewster and Hiram H. Benedict , from late 1935 through early 1938. Though they only collaborated for a relatively short time between late 1935 and early 1938, the firm completed a large number of projects in Palm Springs.48 See Appendix E for a sample list of the works of Benedict & Brewster in Palm Springs.
Floyd Emery Brewster was born in Lake Placid, New York in 1888 and received his graduate degree in architecture from Cornell University in 1913. After graduating, he moved frequently and held a series of jobs at architectural firms in Washington and New York. In 1916, he married his wife Hazel Hunt and joined the American Institute of Architects (AIA). In 1917, the Brewsters moved to Riverside and Floyd worked as Head of the Drawing Department at the Polytechnic High School in Riverside California, between 1917 and 1918. 49 In 1918, Brewster and his wife moved to Santa Barbara where he opened a small independent practice. A pivotal point in his career came in 1923 when he began working with George Washington Smith, a prominent architect known for his Spanish Colonial Revival style designs. The two collaborated until Smith’s passing in 1930.
Brewster returned to his independent practice, but amid the Great Depression, work was slow. He took a Los Angeles-based position with the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) soon after the agency was established in 1934. A former Riverside Polytechnic High School student, Hiram Hudson Benedict, was also working at the FHA before leaving for Palm Springs. In 1935, Benedict contacted Brewster and convinced him to come to Palm Springs.
50 45 A discrepancy currently exists between the local criteria applicability presented in the 2018 Historic Context Statement and the City’s “Technical Assistance for Applicants: How to Apply the Criteria for Historic Designation” (last revised December 6, 2021), which states: “Use Criterion iii (“Period”) when evaluating a site relative to a series of events, a particular period in history or an architectural style or trend that exemplifies a particular period” (emphasis added). 46HRG, 339.
47 HRG, 339.
48 Steven Keylon, Nomination Application for City of Palm Springs Class 1 Historic Site: “Casa Adaire” The Walter Kirschner Residence, 417 Hermosa Place, Palm Springs, CA 92262, (Palm Springs Preservation Foundation, n.d.), 11. 49 Keylon, “Casa Adaire,” 82.
50 Keylon, “Casa Adaire,” 90.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 22 Hiram Hudson Benedict was born in Riverside, California in 1900 and graduated from Riverside Polytechnic High School around 1920. During the 1920s, B enedict worked as a draftsman or designer for a series of distinguished architects in California and New York, including brief stints with James Osborne Craig; John C.
Austin; George Washington Smith; Marston, Van Pelt & Maybury; James Gamble Rogers; and Walker & Eisen.
During the early years of the Great Depression, Benedict worked as a designer in Detroit before finding work at the Los Angeles FHA office alongside his former teacher and mentor, Floyd E. Brewster.
In 1935, Benedict moved to Palm Springs and opened an office affiliated with Los Angeles-based architect Gene Verne. Soon after, he convinced Brewster to join him in Palm Springs, and they formed the partnership of Brewster & Benedict. They collaborated on a series of high -profile projects, including an exhibition house for Bullocks Department Store, the Pacific Building, the Cork ‘n Bottle, and the Bacon L. Clifton Building, as well as residential projects for wealthy clients. Their designs spanned the popular styles of the era, including Spanish Colonial Revival, Hollywood Regency, Ranch, and Streamline Moderne. 51 Their short partnership came to an end in 1938, and Brewster returned to Los Angeles to work for the FHA. He passed away in Monrovia, California in 1971. 52
Benedict moved to Phoenix for a short time before serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II as the principal architect for the 13th Naval District headquartered in Seattle. After the war, he worked at the Seattle firm of Bain, Overturf, Turner & Associates before returning to Palm Springs in 1946. There, he designed the Thunderbird Country Club and a Girl Scout Youth Center. Benedict returned to Pho enix to work with the firm Lescher & Mahoney, and soon thereafter officially obtained his architecture lice nse in 1956. He had a prolific career in Arizona before retiring to Washington. He passed away in Nordlan, Washington in 1984. 53 4.5 The Life and Work of Hal Forrest
Harry Paul (Hal) Forrest was an American comic artist and the creator of the first aviation comic strips in history:
Artie the Ace (1926-1927) and Tailspin Tommy (1928-1942). He was born in 1892 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When he was 16, he drew his first comic strip, Percy the Boy Scout, for the Philadelphia Telegraph.
While Hal attended the Art Institute of Chicago between 1911 and 1915, he worked as an illustrator at The Chicago Tribune and was active in Boy Scouts. After graduating , Forrest drew a s eries of comics for The Philadelphia Record.54
At the onset of World War I in 1917, Forrest was drafted to the Army. He was assigned to the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps —an early predecessor to the U.S. Air Force —and stationed at Camp Kelly in San Antonio, Texas. During the war, Forrest applied his artistic skills to create posters and cartoons for the war effort, including comics for the Camp Kelly newspaper.
After the war, Forrest served in the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve. While he was stationed at Clover Field in Santa Monica between 1926 and 1927, he drew Artie the Ace , an aviation -themed comic strip distributed in local military magazines. Around this time, Charles Lindbergh’s first successful transatlantic flight sparked a period of widespread public interest in aviation. Seeking to capitalize on the sudden popularity, Forrest and newspaper writer Glenn Chaffin were hired by a comic strip syndicate, Bell Syndicate, to create a comic strip with an aviation theme: Tailspin Tommy.
51 “608 S Indian Tr: Forrest/Schenck Residence”; Keylon, “Casa Adaire,” 80. 52 Keylon, “Casa Adaire,” 91.
53 Keylon, “Casa Adaire,” 93.
54 “Hal Forrest,” RoGallery, 2025, accessed December 2025, https://www.rogallery.com/artists/hal-forrest/.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 23 The first Tailspin Tommy comic strip was published on May 21, 1928, and by the early 1930s, the comic was syndicated in hundreds of daily and Sunday newspapers. Forrest collaborated with Chaffin until 1933, then both wrote and illustrated the comic until 1936 when he hired an assistant, Reynold Brown, as an inker.
Tailspin Tommy inspired several similar comic strips, including Scorchy Smith, Skyroads, Smilin' Jack, Barney Baxter, and a comic with a female protagonist, Flyin' Jenny. The main character of Tailspin Tommy would go on to appear in books, magazines, a radio series, episodic movie serials, and four feature-length films; however, by the late 1930s, interest in Tommy Tailspin was beginning to wane. Forrest moved to a new syndicate, United Feature, to generate more interest, but the strip ultimately ended in 1942.55 Forrest passed away in Culver City in 1959.56
55 “Hal Forrest,” RoGallery; “Hal Forrest and Tailspin Tommy,” Collectair Aviation Art and Artifacts, accessed December 2025, http://www.collectair.com/tailspin.html; “Hal Forrest,” Lambiek Comiclopedia, accessed January 2026, https://www.lambiek.net/artists/f/forrest_hal.htm.
56 “’Hal’ Forrest, ‘Tailspin’s’ Creator, Dies,” Los Angeles Evening Citizen News, November 24, 1959, 3, accessed January 2026, https://www.newspapers.com/image/684055803.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 24
5. EVALUATION OF ELIGIBILITY
As explained in Section 3. 3, t he property was previous ly identified as a Class 3 building but has not been intensively evaluated for individual eligibility as a Class 1 Historic Resource . Following is an evaluation of the property under each of the criteria for listing on the Palm Beach Historic Resource Inventory to determine whether the property qualifies as either a Class 1 or Class 2 Historic Resource. The applicable historic contexts within which the property was evaluated are included in Section 4 with the relevant eligibility requirements for each.
Criterion i
To be eligible under Criterion i, a property must have an association with events that have made a meaningful contribution to the nation, state or community.
608 S. Indian Trail does not meet the eligibility criteria or registration requirements to be eligible for individual listing under this c riterion. Research confirmed that no significant events took place at the property, and that the property was not constructed as a result of any one important event that made a meaningful contribution to the nation, state, or community. R ather, the subject property reflects the Depression-Era single-family residential development patterns within the Palm Springs Between the Wars context , which are best evaluated under Criterion iii.
As such, 608 S. Indian Trail does not appear eligible as a Class 1 historic resource under City of Palm Springs Criterion i.
Criterion ii
To be eligible under Criterion ii, a property must be associated with the lives of persons who made a meaningful contribution to national, state or local history.
The most applicable context for evaluating the property under Criterion ii is the Influence of the Entertainment Industry theme. The 2018 Historic Context Statement indicates that an individual single-family residence may be eligible under t his theme if it represent s a known association with an important person or persons in the entertainment industry.57
As explained in Section 3.2, the single-family residence at 608 S. Indian Trail was initially constructed for and owned by comic strip artist, Hal Forrest. The property served as a vacation home for him and his family, including his wife Charlotte Ousley -Forrest and daughter Elizabeth , from 1937 through 1943. By this time , Forrest was established as a well-known comic strip artist with the success of Tailspin Tommy, a popular aviation comic strip that ran in hundreds of newspapers between 1928 and 1942 and was adapted into books, magazines, and movies. Tailspin Tommy also inspired several similar comic strips during this period of intense public interest in the field of aviation. .58
Forrest has a known association with other residences in Southern California during this period, including 9018 S. Olin Street in Los Angeles as early as 1931 and late as 1942. The Forrests moved in to the Los Angeles house after it was constructed for a previous owner and added an addition for a servants’ quarters above the existing garage.59 In comparison , the residence at 608 S. Indian Trail was commissioned by the Forrest family and
57 HRG, 156.
58 “Hal Forrest and Tailspin Tommy.”
59 “World War II Draft Cards (4th Registration) For the State of California,” 1942, Ancestry.com, accessed January 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1002/records/13618243; 1940 census, Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety Permit Nos. 1930LA07419 and 1931LA18162.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 25 designed to include a second-story studio for Hal’s work, indicating that it has a direct association with his work and contributions to comic strip history. 60
The property was later purchased by Joseph Schenck, a prominent film studio executive; however, Schenck’s ownership was brief —lasting less than a year —and is therefore unlikely to have an important association with his significant contributions to film his tory when compared to other properties, such as a film studio, office, or longer-term residence.
As such, 608 S. Indian Trail appears to be individually eligible as a Class 1 historic resource under City of Palm Springs Criterion ii for its association with aviator and popular comic strip artist, Hal Forrest during a significant and prolific period in his career.
Criterion iii
To be eligible under Criterion iii, a property must reflect or exemplify a particular period of national, state, or local history. The most applicable contexts for evaluating the property under Criterion iii are the Palm Springs Between the Wars historic context, specifically within the Depression-Era Single -Family Residential Development sub- theme and the development of the Indian Trail tract, as well as Spanish-Colonial Revival style architecture.61 608 S. Indian Trail is associated with the trend of residential development in Palm Springs between World War I and World War II. In the 1920s, business tycoons, industrialists, and other wealthy businessmen, along with the Hollywood elite, discovered the desert and began to transform Palm Springs into an international resort.62 While the movie stars primarily stayed at the resort hotels when visiting Palm Springs, other wealthy residents and seasonal visitors started commissioning architect-designed estates and drawing increased attention to the growing resort town.
63 This trend continued into the 1930s as more celebrities , and professionals in other industries largely untouched by the Great Depression, made it their winter weekend getaway. 64 Residential tracts developed during this period were largely concentrated on land immediately surrounding the existing village and the resorts.65
Constructed in 1937, 608 S. Indian Trail meets the eligibility requirements for individual listing under Criterion ii as a good and intact example of 1930s residential development reflecting an important period of growth and transition in the city. Specifically, it is an example of a single-family residence within the sub-theme, Depression- Era Single -Family Residential Development , representing the continued growth and development in Palm Springs during the Great Depression. Furthermore, it is an excellent example of this period of development when many early homes were constructed on multiple parcels with ample space for landscaped private gardens.
It also appears to be one of the earlier residences constructed within the Indian Trail Tract. Although the tract was initially recorded in 1933, the earliest extant residences date to 1935 with only a few constructed by the end of the 1930s. Additionally, the design and orientation of the residence on its corner lot exemplifies the McManuses (the developer) attempt to “bring distinction to the tract not only through its palm -lined main
60 “Brewster&. Benedict Design Beautiful New Residence.” 61 Per the City’s “Technical Assistance for Applicants: How to Apply the Criteria for Historic Designation” (last revised December 6, 2021), “Use Criterion iii (“Period”) when evaluating a site relative to…an architectural style or trend that exemplifies a particular period.”
62 HRG, 50.
63 HRG, 50.
64 HRG, 50.
65 HRG, 62.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 26 thoroughfare but also in the siting of the corner properties, with houses built in a “boomerang” layout, stretching across the lots.”66 This design pattern would be followed in later tracts developed by the McManuses.
Figure 15: 1933 Tract Map. Source: Riverside County
Assessor.
Figure 16: 1939 aerial photograph of Indian Trail
tract. Source: Flight C_5750, Frame 206-30, January
1, 1939. Courtesy of UCSB Library Geospatial
Collection.
The single-family residence is a good example of the Spanish-Colonial Revival style. The property embodies the distinctive characteristics of the style through its irregular plan, one - and two -story horizontal massing, asymmetrically arranged fenestration with steel casement windows and wood doors, clay barrel tile roofing, and stucco cladding.
For all of the above reasons, 608 S. Indian Trail appears individually eligible as a Class 1 historic resource under City of Palm Springs Criterion iii.
Criterion iv
A property is eligible under Criterion iv if it embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction.
Unlike the National Register criterion concerning construction, the Palm Springs evaluation of construction addresses the type (of construction), the period (of construction) and the method (of construction). It appears that the 608 S. Indian Trail was built using standard construction techniques, methods, and materials that were widely employed during the period it was constructed.
66 HRG, APP B – 43-44.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 27 Therefore, 608 S. Indian Trail is not eligible as a Class 1 historic resource under City of Palm Springs Criterion iv.
Criterion v
A property is eligible under Criterion v if it presents the work of a master builder, designer, artist, or architect whose individual genius influenced his or her age, or that possesses high artistic value. 608 S. Indian Trail is one of several single-family residences designed by the architectural firm of Brewster & Benedict in Palm Springs. National Register Bulletin 15 defines a “master” as “a figure of generally recognized greatness in a field, a known craftsman of consummate skill, or an anonymous craftsman whose work is distinguishable from others by its characteristic style and quality.” 67 Brewster & Benedict are recognized as prolific and master architects in Palm Springs and designed a substantial number of commercial and residential properties during the short time the firm was a ctive, from late 1935 through early 1938. See Appendix E for a list of known examples of their single-family residential work.
Based on research and analysis into the architectural firm and their body of work, the property exemplifies the work of Brewster & Benedict as a custom -designed Spanish Colonial Revival residence in Palm Springs .
Compared to similar examples of their work in Palm Springs, the property is highly expressive, incorporating a sprawling plan and variety of shapes and volumes to create organic, asymmetrical massing that aligns with the McManuses’ vision for residential design in the Indian Trail Tract.
Therefore, 608 S. Indian Trail appears individually eligible as a Class 1 historic resource under City of Palm Springs Criterion v.
Criterion vi
A property is eligible under Criterion vi if it represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction.
Criterion vi is generally applied to historic districts. As explained in Section 4.1, the Indian Trail Tract was evaluated as ineligible as a historic district in the 2018 Survey due to a lack of integrity and this finding remains valid.
Therefore, 608 S. Indian Trail does not appear eligible as a Class 1 historic resource under City of Palm Springs Criterion vi.
Criterion vii
A property is eligible under Criterion vii if it has yielded or may be likely to yield information important to national, state or local history or prehistory.
The potential to yield information important to history or prehistory generally applies to archeological resources, but may apply to a built resource in instances where the resource may contain important information about such topics as construction techniques or human activity. In any case, the resource must be the principal source of information,68 which does not appear to be the case for 608 S. Indian Trail.
Therefore, 608 S. Indian Trail does not appear eligible as a Class 1 historic resource under City of Palm Springs Criterion vii.
67 National Register Bulletin 15, 20.
68 National Register Bulletin 15, 21.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 28 Statement of Significance
608 S. Indian Trail appears individually eligible as a Class 1 historic resource under City of Palm Springs Criterion ii within the Palm Springs Between the Wars context and Influence of the Entertai nment Industry theme for its direct and important association with the career of aviator and comic strip artist, Hal Forrest . It also appears eligible as a Class 1 historic resource under City of Palm Springs Criterion iii within the Palm Springs Between the Wars context and Depression-Era Single -Family Residential Development sub -theme as an example of 1930s residential development reflecting an important period of growth and transition in the city that continued during the Great Depression , and as a good example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style . Lastly, the property appears individually eligible as a Class 1 historic resource under City of Palm Springs Criterion v as an example of work of the architectural firm Brewster & Benedict . The period of significance is 1937 , the year of construction, to 1943, the year Forrest sold the property.
Integrity
To qualify as a City of Palm Springs Class 1 Historic Resource, properties must retain their physical integrity from the period in which they gained significance. Integrity is a property’s ability to convey its historic significance through its physical features. “National Register Bulletin #15” defines seven aspects of integrity: location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. In order to c onvey significance, a property must retain some combination of these aspects of integrity from its period of significance. In the case of architecturally significant properties, the period of significance is normally the date of construction. For historically significant properties, the period of significance is usually measured by the length of the associations.
Additionally, s ome factors of integrity are more important than others depending on the significance of a property. The 2018 Historic Context Statement provides integrity considerations for each context, theme, and property type (see Section 4).
Following is an analysis of 608 S. Indian Trail under each of the seven aspects of integrity from the period of significance, 1937 to 1943.
Location – The place where the historic property was constructed or the place where the historic event occurred.
The property retains integrity of location as the building has not been moved since it was initially constructed in 1937.
Design – The combination of elements that create the form, plan, space, structure, and style of the property.
The property retains integrity of design. Documentary evidence found through research, such as historical aerial photographs and Sanborn Fire Insurance maps (see Section 3.2), indicate that the overall scale, massing, form, and fenestration pattern reflect their historic appearance from 1943, the end of the period of significance. The only alterations, such replacement of windows on secondary elevations, are minor and compatible with the historic character of the property in terms of style and materials. As such, the property retains sufficient integrity of design to convey its historical and architectural significance.
Setting – The physical environment of a historic property.
The property retains integrity of setting overall. The broad setting of a low-density single-family residential area remains intact despite some infill development. Original elements of the Indian Trail Tract that are extant and contributor to the integrity of broad setting include the palm tree-lined median along Indian Trail. Few changes have occurred to the site and immediate setting other than hardscaping improvements and the addition of an in-ground pool, which do not detract from the historic character of the property.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 29 Materials – The physical elements that were combined or deposited during a particular period of time and in a particular pattern or configuration to form a historic property.
The property retains integrity of materials. Key features and their materials extant from the period of significance include: clay tile roofing, stucco cladding, steel windows, wood doors, rafters, posts, beams, and trim, as well as site features such as the stone property walls with metal gates.
Workmanship – The physical evidence or the crafts of a particular culture or people during any given period in history or prehistory.
The property retains integrity of workmanship for the same reason s it retains integrity of design and materials .
Extant original features, materials , and finishes provide physi cal evidence of workmanship from the period of significance.
Feeling - A property’s expression of the aesthetic or historic sense of a particular period of time.
Integrity of feeling is intact as the property continues to evoke the feeling of a custom -designed single-family residence constructed in the 1930s.
Association - The direct link between an important historic event or person and a historic property.
The property retains integrity of association because its physical integrity and integrity of feeling are sufficient to convey its historic association with Hal Forrest, 1930s residential development patterns in Palm Springs, and Spanish Colonial Revival style, as well as the work of Brewster & Benedict.
Summary of Integrity Analysis
The property retains all seven aspects of integrity necessary to convey its individual historical significance from 1937 to 1943.
Character-Defining Features
Character-defining features are the architectural components that contribute to a building’s sense of time and place. Character-defining features can generally be grouped into three categories: the overall visual character of a building, the exterior mater ials and craftsmanship, and the interior spaces, features, and finishes. The relative importance of character-defining features depends on the level of craftsmanship, visibility, and integrity.
In addition, some character -defining features are more importa nt than others in conveying the significance of the building. The character -defining features identified below are considered the most essential elements contributing to the significance of the property and generally include features that date from the per iod of significance, directly relate to the original use, type, and style, display craftsmanship, are highly visible, and retain integrity.
The following is a list of character-defining features for 608 S. Indian Trail.
Overall Visual Character
• Orientation to northwest corner
• Irregular-shaped plan
• One- and two-story height
• Horizontal massing
• Circular towers with conical roofs
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 30 • Low pitched, hipped and cross-gabled roofs
• Open eaves with exposed rafter tails
• Asymmetrically arranged elevations
• Front and rear porch colonnades
Exterior Features and Materials
• Hand-troweled, lightly textured stucco cladding
• Red clay barrel tile roofing
• Exterior brick chimney
• Balconies/roof decks
• Wood rafter tails, posts, beams, and trim
• Original window and door openings
• Multi-light steel casement windows
• Wood plank main entrance door
• Single and multi-light wood doors
• Stone property walls with wrought iron pedestrian entrance gate Non-contributing elements:
• Single-light wood windows
• Scored concrete front porch flooring and concrete slab driveway and rear yard patio and walkways • Light fixtures
• In-ground swimming pool and concrete pool deck
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 31
6. CONCLUSIONS
As part of the process for reviewing permits for Class 3 historic buildings, GPA was retained to prepare this HRR for property at 608 S. Indian Trail to support an HPSB determination of whether the property possesses sufficient historic significance to warrant possible re-designation to a Class 1 or Class 2 historic resource.
GPA conducted research and fieldwork to evaluate the property within the Influence of the Entertainment Industry theme and Depression-Era Single Family Residential Development sub -theme of the Palm Springs Between the Wars context.
GPA concludes that 608 S. Indian Trail appears individually eligible as a Class 1 historic resource under City of Palm Springs Criterion ii for its direct association with the career of aviator and comic strip artist, Hal Forrest ; under Criterion iii as an excellent example of 1930s residential development and as a good example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style; and under Criterion v for presenting the work of Brewster & Benedict. The property retains all seven aspects of integrity from the period of significance which is 1937, the year of construction, to 1943, the year Forrest sold the property.
The recommended California Historical Resource Status Code is 5S3, “ Appears to be individually eligible for local listing or designation through survey evaluation.”
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report 32
7. SOURCES
“608 S Indian Tr: Forrest/Schenck Residence.” California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) Form Set. Historic Resources Group (HRG), Palm Springs, California, December 2016.
Ancestry.com. Various Records. Various Dates. https://www.ancestry.com/.
California State Office of Historic Preservation. “California Historical Resource Status Codes. ” March 1, 2020.
Accessed January 2026. https://ohp.parks.ca.gov/pages/1068/files/Resource-Status-Codes.pdf.
City of Palm Springs. Building Permits. Various Dates.
City of Palm Springs. “City Charter, Municipal Code and Regulations.” Accessed January 2026. https://ecode360.com/PA4982.
City of Palm Springs Department of Planning Services. “[…] Approval of a Major Alteration of a Class 3 Site Located at 608 South Indian Trail and Associated Review for Potential Re -Designation […] to a Class 1 or Class 2 Historic Resource.” November 5, 2023. Accessed January 2026. https://www.palmspringsca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/92698/638974135348800000.
Collectair Aviation Art and Artifacts. “Hal Forrest and Tailspin Tommy.” Accessed December 2025. http://www.collectair.com/tailspin.html.
Fire Insurance Maps online (FIMo). Various Dates. Accessed January 2026. http://www.historicalinfo.com.ezproxy.sfpl.org/fimo/.
Historic Resources Group (HRG). City of Palm Springs Citywide Historic Context Statement & Survey Findings.
Final Draft for City Council Approval 2018).
How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation (National Register Bulletin 15). Edited by Patrick Andrus and Rebecca Shrimpton. US Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Cultural Resources: 1997. Accessed January 2026. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/NRB - 15_web508.pdf.
Keylon, Steven. Nomination Application for City of Palm Springs Class 1 Historic Sit e: “Casa Adaire” The Walter Kirschner Residence, 417 Hermosa Place, Palm Springs, CA 92262. Palm Springs Preservation Foundation. N.D.
Lambiek Comiclopedia. “Hal Forrest.” Accessed January 2026. https://www.lambiek.net/artists/f/forrest_hal.htm.
Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. Building Permits. Various Dates.
Newspapers.com. Various Dates. Accessed December 2025. https://www.newspapers.com/.
ParcelQuest. Riverside County Assessor Data. Accessed December 2025. https://pqweb.parcelquest.com.
RoGallery. “Hal Forrest.” 2025. Accessed December 2025. https://www.rogallery.com/artists/hal -forrest/.
UCSB Geospatial Collection. Various Dates. Accessed December 2025. https://mil.library.ucsb.edu/.
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report Appendix A
APPENDIX A – RÉSUMÉS
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report Appendix A
AUDREY VON AHRENS
Audrey von Ahrens is a Senior Architectural Historian at GPA. She has been involved in the field of historic preservation since 2013. Audrey graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Master of Science in Historic Preservation and City Planning where she focused on preservation planning and community economic development. She has since worked in private historic preservation consulting in California. Audrey joined GPA in 2017 and her experience has included the preparation of environmental complia nce documents in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act; historic context statements; Secretary of the Interior’s Standards analysis; large -scale historic resources surveys; and ev aluations of eligibility for a wide variety of projects and property types throughout Southern California. Audrey is also experienced in coordinating with property owners and local governments in the preparation and review of Mills Act Property Contract ap plications and the inspection and reporting of properties applying for or with existing contracts.
Educational Background: Selected Projects:
• M.S., Historic Preservation, University of Pennsylvania, 2016
• Master of City Planning, University of Pennsylvania,
2016
• B.A., Architectural Studies and Urban Studies,
University of Pittsburgh, 2013
• 200-202 W. Ojai Avenue, Secretary of the Interior’s
Standards Compliance Memorandum, Ojai, 2022
• 2830 E. Wardlow Road, CEQA Historical Resources
Evaluation Report, Long Beach Airport, 2022
• 31382 Monterey Street, Secretary of the Interior’s
Standards Memorandum, Laguna Beach, 2022
• 325 S. Boyle Avenue, CEQA Historical Resources
Technical Report, Los Angeles, 2022-2023
• 3605 Spring Street, CEQA Historical Resources
Evaluation Report, Long Beach Airport, 2023
• 3917 Long Beach Boulevard, CEQA Historical
Resources Evaluation Report, Long Beach, 2019
• 556 Broadway, CEQA Historical Resources Evaluation
Report, Chula Vista, 2021-2022
• 7740-7770 McGroarty Street, CEQA Historical
Resources Evaluation Report, Los Angeles, 2021
• Acres of Books, Historic Mitigation Measure
Implementation, Long Beach, 2023
• Georgian Hotel, Secretary of the Interior’s Standards Compliance Memorandum, Santa Monica, 2021
• Long Beach Armory, Historic American Building
Survey Documentation, Long Beach, 2019
• Long Beach Historic District Design Guidelines, 2017- 2019
• North Hollywood Southern Pacific Railroad Depot,
Secretary of the Interior’s Standards Compliance
Memo, Los Angeles, 2021
• Villa Riviera, Secretary of the Interior’s Standards
Memorandum, Long Beach, 2019
• Whittier Citrus Packing House, Historic Property
Treatment Plan, Whittier, 2022-2023
Professional Experience:
• GPA Consulting, Senior Architectural Historian, 2024- Present
― Associate Architectural Historian, 2021-2024
― Architectural Historian II, 2017-2021
• Heritage Consulting, Inc., Intern, 2015-2016
• Tacony Community Development Corp., Intern, 2014
• Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, Intern,
2013
• University of Pittsburgh, Teaching Assistant, 2012-
2013
• Pittsburgh Planning Department, Intern, 2012
• Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, Intern, 2011
Qualifications:
• Meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional
Qualification Standards for history and architectural
history pursuant to the Code of Federal Regulations, 36 CFR Part 61, Appendix A.
Professional Activities:
• Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council,
Planning and Land Use Committee (DLANC), 2018-
2024
• DLANC, Board of Directors, Alternate, 2019-2024
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report Appendix A
AMANDA DUANE
Amanda Duane is a Senior Architectural Historian at GPA. She has been involved in the field of historic preservation since 2011. Amanda graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design with a Bachelor of Fine Art degree in Historic Preservation. She has since worked in local government and private historic preservation consulting in California. Amanda joined GPA in 2012 and her experience has included the preparation of environmental compliance documents in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act; Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record recordation; large-scale historic resources surveys; Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit and Mills Act applications; National Register Place nominations; local landmark applications; historic context statements; and evaluations of eligibility for a wide variety of projects and property types throughout California. She is experienced in expertly guiding property owners thro ugh the process of securing local and federal historic tax credits and working with local governments to develop design guidelines for administering local design reviews. Amanda is also highly skilled in graphic design as well as interpretation and exhibition design.
Educational Background: Selected Projects:
• B.F.A, Historic Preservation, Savannah College of Art and Design, 2011
• 1413 Michigan Avenue, Nikkei Hall, CEQA HRTR,
Santa Monica, 2020
• 1500 W. Adams Boulevard, CEQA HRTR, Los Angeles,
2022-2023
• 3443 Sepulveda Boulevard CEQA HRER, Los Angeles,
2018
• 400-432 S. San Vicente Boulevard, CEQA HRER, Los
Angeles, 2023
• 402-404 Pasadena, CEQA HRTR, San Clemente, 2023-
2024
• 4360 Dozier Avenue, Historical Resources Technical
Report, Los Angeles County, 2016
• 867 10th Street CEQA HRER, Los Angeles, 2018
• 956 Seward Street, CEQA HRER, Los Angeles, 2023
• African American Historic Context Statement, Los
Angeles, 2017
• Bank of Italy Building, Tax Credit Certification, Los Angeles, 2015-2019
• Berths 148-151 CEQA HRER, Port of Los Angeles,
2019
• Exotic Revival Historic Context Statement, Los Angeles, 2015
• Jewish History of Los Angeles Context Statement, Los
Angeles, 2016
• Las Palmas Senior Center, CEQA HRER, Los Angeles,
2023-2024
• Mar Vista Gardens, Los Angeles, National Register
Nomination, 2018
• MGM Scenic Arts Building, CEQA HRER, Culver City,
2019
• Times Mirror Square, Historic Structure Report, Los
Angeles, 2017
Professional Experience:
• GPA Consulting, Senior Architectural Historian, 2021- Present
― Associate Architectural Historian, 2017-2021
― Architectural Historian II, 2014-2017
― Architectural Historian I, 2012-2014
• Architectural Resources Group, Intern, 2012
• City of Los Angeles, Office of Historic Resources,
Intern, 2011-2012
Qualifications:
• Meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional
Qualification Standards for architectural history
pursuant to the Code of Federal Regulations, 36 CFR
Part 61, Appendix A.
• National Preservation Institute, Section 106: An
Introduction
Professional Activities:
• California Preservation Foundation Conference
Programs Committee, 2017
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report Appendix A
PHOEBE RAYBURN
Phoebe Rayburn is an Architectural Historian I at GPA. She has been involved with the field of historic preservation since 2024. Phoebe graduated from the College of Charleston with a bachelor’s degree in historic preservation and community planning and a minor in art history. At GPA, she assists the architectural historian team with the preparation of environmental compliance documents in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards (SOIS). Prior to GPA, Ms. Rayburn was a preservation intern at the Historic Charleston Foundation, where she performed historic property inspections, coordinated inspection schedules, prepared and mailed in spection reports, and performed archival research on endangered historic properties for presentation. She is proficient in a number of software programs, including AutoCAD, Adobe InDesign, SketchUp, Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, and Microsoft Office. She uses these skills to add depth to her analyses and reports in the form of maps, illustrations, and graphics.
Educational Background: Selected Projects:
• B.A., Historic Preservation and Community Planning,
Minor in Art History, College of Charleston, 2024
• 12482 Putnam Street, CEQA Historical Resource
Evaluation Report, Whittier, 2025
• 1323 South Pacific Street, CEQA Historical Resources
Evaluation Report, Oceanside, 2025
• 145 S. Earlham Street, Design Standards Memo,
Orange, 2025
• 405 E. Toluca Street, Design Standards Memo, Orange,
2025
• 442 S. Shaffer Street, Design Standards Memo,
Orange, 2025
• 5679 Corso di Napoli, CEQA Historical Resource
Evaluation Report, Long Beach, 2025
• 8910-8924 Ardendale Avenue, CEQA Historical
Resource Evaluation Report, San Gabriel, 2025
• El Nido Fire Station Replacement, Section 106 Historic Property Survey Report, Merced County, 2025
• Henningsen-Lotus Road Multi-Use Trail, Section 106
Historic Property Survey Report, El Dorado County,
2025
• I-405 Auxiliary Lanes from I-110 to Wilmington, Section 106 Historic Property Survey Report, Los Angeles
County, 2025
• Kensington Historic District, National Register of
Historic Places Nomination Form, San Diego, 2025
• Lodi Downtown Specific Plan, Historic Resources
Inventory, Lodi, 2025
• Telegraph Road over San Gabriel River Bridge, Section 106 Historic Property Survey Report, Pico Rivera, 2025
• Washington Boulevard Bridge over Rio Hondo Channel,
Section 106 Historic Property Survey Report, Pico
Rivera, 2025
Professional Experience:
• GPA Consulting, Architectural Historian I, February
2025 – Present
• Historic Charleston Foundation, Preservation Intern,
January 2024 – May 2024
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report Appendix B
APPENDIX B – SELECT BUILDING PERMITS
(Includes only those permits pertaining to the construction of the existing building on the property and visible exterior alterations)
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report Appendix C
APPENDIX C – DPR FORM SET
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608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report Appendix D
APPENDIX D – HISTORIC CONTEXTS
FINAL DRAFT – FOR CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL
City of Palm Springs
Citywide Historic Context Statement & Survey Findings
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP
Context: Palm Springs between the Wars (1919-1941)
O’Donnell House, Ojo del Desierto, 447 W. Alejo Road, 1925. Listed in the National Register; HSPB-
19. Source: Steve Vaught, Paradise Leased.
48 FINAL DRAFT – FOR CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL
City of Palm Springs
Citywide Historic Context Statement & Survey Findings
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP
El Mirador Hotel, photographed c. 1933. Source: Security Pacific National Bank Collection, Los Angeles Public Library.
CONTEXT: PALM SPRINGS BETWEEN THE WARS (1919-1941)
Overview
This context explores the transformation of Palm Springs from a modest spa town into a luxury winter resort in the years between the First and Second World Wars. By 1918 Nellie Coffman and her sons, George Roberson and Earl Coffman, understood the town’s potential, not as a health spa for asthmatics and consumptives, but as an exclusive winter resort for the well-to-do, and set about transforming their sanatorium into the luxurious Desert Inn, one of the most renowned hostelries in the country. Their success inspired the development of two equally spectacular hotels in the 1920s and cemented the town’s growing reputation as one of the country’s premier luxury winter resorts. These were the Oasis Hotel (121 S. Palm Canyon Drive; HSPB -10), designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Jr. (known as Lloyd Wright) and opened in 1925 by Pearl McCallum McManus;97 and the grand Hotel El Mirador (1150 N.
Indian Canyon Drive), designed by Walker and Eisen in a sumptuous Spanish Colonial Revival style and opened in 1927.98
97 The Oasis Hotel opened on a provisional basis in 1924, but the official opening was in 1925. 98 There was a New Years’ Eve party held at El Mirador on December 31, 1927; the hotel officially opened for business on January 1, 1928.
Burton L. Smith, “Miracle Hotel Graces Desert,” Los Angeles Times, January 2, 1928. 49 FINAL DRAFT – FOR CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL
City of Palm Springs
Citywide Historic Context Statement & Survey Findings
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP
Automobile tourism played an early and important part in the success and growth of Palm Springs as a resort destination. In 1914, highway bonds were passed in Riverside County for extensive road improvements and construction of new routes. As part of these efforts, the highway connecting Los Angeles and Palm Springs was completed in October 1916.99 Pavement of the highway through to Indio was completed in 1924, allowing travelers to drive all the way from Los Angeles to Palm Springs in less than 4 hours, all on paved roads.
100
The first residential subdivisions were recorded in the early 1920s on tracts largely concentrated on land immediately surrounding the existing village and the resorts. Several tracts were subdivided by Prescott T. Stevens, along with other prominent early Palm Springs settlers including Pearl McManus, Raymond Cree, and Harriet Cody. There are extant properties from this period associated with some of the village's most prominent citizens, including Ted Fulford, Carl G. Lykken, Zaddie Bunker, Alvah Hicks, Harold Hicks, Katherine Finchy, Earle Strebe, Phil Boyd, and many others.
In the 1920s, business tycoons, industrialists, and other wealthy businessmen, along with the Hollywood elite, discovered the desert and began to transform Palm Springs into an international resort. While the movie stars primarily stayed at the resort hotels when visiting Palm Springs, other wealthy residents and seasonal visitors started building architect -designed estates and drawing increased attention to the growing resort town. Wealthy capitalists who came to Palm Springs in the 1920s include King Camp Gillette; Carrie Humphrey Birge, widow of George K. Birge, the wallpaper & Pierce- Arrow magnate; businessman and philanthropist William Mead; Frederick W. Stevens of the American Locomotive Company; Chicago capitalist John Burnham; steel magnate Louis R. Davidson; and cereal king S.K.
Kellogg, who began wintering in Palm Springs as early as 1926.
The 1930s saw Palm Springs blossom, as more and more celebrities made it their winter weekend getaway, and more development sprang up to house and entertain them. By the start of World War II, Palm Springs had so long been thought of as a movie star's playground that some of the neighborhoods were described as "Beverly Hills in the desert." One section was so filled with film notables, the neighborhood was ultimately dubbed the "Movie Colony."
In the 1930s important figures in finance and business continued to flock to the desert in the winter, helping to cement the village's reputation as one of the nation's top winter resort destination s.
Internationally famous names such as Walter P. Chrysler; Alfred Vanderbilt; Herbert F. "Hib" Johnson of the S.C. Johnson Co.; John Jakob Raskob, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, head of finance for both General Motors and Dupont de Nemours , and builder of th e Empire State Building; auto magnate Walter Marmon; Julia S. Carnell of National Cash Register; Arthur K. Bourne of Singer Sewing Machine fortune; Franklyn Hutton, James S. Kemper and his brother Hathaway of the 99 Steve Lech, “Back in the Day: Jackrabbit Trail was a first link between Moreno and Redlands,” The Press Enterprise, February 27, 2014. 100 Steve Lech, “Back in the Day: Jackrabbit Trail was a first link between Moreno and Redlands,” The Press Enterprise, February 27, 2014. 50 FINAL DRAFT – FOR CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL
City of Palm Springs
Citywide Historic Context Statement & Survey Findings
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP
insurance giant, Kemper Insurance Group; Ru ssell Vought of Vought Aircraft; and Lawrence Mario Giannini, who made the Bank of America into one of the world's largest financial institutions.
Architecturally, the Spanish and Mediterranean Revival styles were the town’s dominant architectural expression during this period. In addition, there are examples of simplified Ranch houses featuring rustic details and board -and-batten exterior walls. Beginning in the 1930s, prominent Modernist architects began making significant contributions to the architectural landscape in Palm Springs. 101 This context examines influences on the built environment in Palm Springs between World War I and the onset of World War II. The first section provides an overview of the important developments in architecture during this period and a brief discussion of some of the significant architects. Following the introductory section are the themes and sub-themes, divided by property type: single-family residential development, multi-family residential development, commercial development, and civic and institutional development. At the conclusion of each theme are registration requirements for evaluating resources under that theme.
101 Discussion of Modern architectural trends in Palm Springs largely derived from Alan Hess, “Historic Context of Modern Architecture:
Residential, Commercial and Civic Architecture,” for Historic Resources Group, January 23, 2015 and revised June 9, 2015. 51 FINAL DRAFT – FOR CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL
City of Palm Springs
Citywide Historic Context Statement & Survey Findings
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP
Early aerial view of Palm Springs, showing sparse development in 1920s. Photograph is taken above present-day Tennis Club. Indian Avenue (now Indian Canyon) is the tree-lined street at the top of the photo; the perpendicular street is Arenas Road. The open space on the left is the Desert Inn Mashie Golf Course. Source: Palm Springs, CA: Images of America, p. 68.
THEME: SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT BETWEEN THE WARS (1919-1941)102 Residential Architecture (1919-1941)103
This sub-theme explores the important role of architecture in the development of single-family housing in Palms Springs, and discusses buildings that are significant examples of particular architectural styles or the work of important architects. In the early 1920s the utilitarian structures built to serve the basic needs of early settlers began to give way to more stylish housing designed for the pleasure of seasonal residents and visitors. There are a range of architectural styles seen in the residential neighborhoods of Palm Springs from this period, including period revival, Ranch, and early Modernist works. 102 Multi-family residential development is discussed in a separate theme, below. 103 This section includes an overview discussion of the predominant architectural styles from this period. A more detailed description of each style, including character-defining features, is included in the Architectural Styles section. 52 FINAL DRAFT – FOR CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL
City of Palm Springs
Citywide Historic Context Statement & Survey Findings
HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP
Early 20th Century & Period Revival Styles
There is a small number of 1920s and 1930s “California bungalows” influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement in Palm Springs. Although these examples are rare, tenets of the style reflect the lifestyle of Palm Springs (rugged/rustic setting, use of natural materials, connection to outdoors), and the modest, one-story, bungalow type is seen throughout the early neighborhoods, albeit with varying stylistic details.
The California bungalow was a simple, garden -oriented house uniquely suited for the climate and lifestyle of the region. The term bungalow typically refers to a modest, one- or one-and-a-half-story house with an informal floor plan. The exteriors were generally simple, to fit with the rugged lifestyle of the inhabitants, and the use of natural materials was important to the design aesthetic. Wide, overhanging eaves not only emphasized the horizontal emphasis of the small bungalow, but were also practical in shading the house from the hot California sun. Structural members were exposed, particularly at the roof line. Brick or stone foundations supported the wood frames, which were clad either in wood shingles or stucco, and heavy supports define the deeply recessed front porch.
Residential design in the 1920s displays an eclectic array of period revival styles, inspired in part by the Panama-California Exposition and the burgeoning film industry. As the focus on regional expression through architecture evolved, period and exotic revival styles took hold throughout California.
Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival examples prevailed, in large measure due to the Panama-California Exposition, held in San Diego in 1915. The lead architect was Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, who was assisted by Carleton Winslow. Goodhue chose an eclectic Spanish style for the exposition buildings, setting it apart from the more formal European Renaissance and Neoclassical styles which were being employed at the San Francisco World’s Fair the same year. Goodhue’s architecture featured stylistic references to the Catholic missions and churches of Southern California and Mexico, as well as to grand palaces of Mexico, Spain, and Italy. Well suited to the region’s warm, dry climate, the Spanish Coloni al and Mediterranean Revival styles in particular appealed to many Southern California residents for their exotic appearance and sense of history. “Here were two styles supported by the regional myth of California as the Mediterranean shores of America and even, in the case of Spanish Revival, supported by a slight degree of historical justification.” 104
In the 1920s and 1930s a number of architects and designers from Los Angeles and elsewhere worked in Palm Springs, designing Spanish and Mediterranean Revival-style residences primarily as winter homes for seasonal residents. Many of these were constructed of cast -in-place concrete, likely in response to the desert climate. Architects working in Palm Springs during this period included: Paul R. Williams, the talented and prolific “Architect to the Stars” and first African American member of the American Institute of Architects; Gerard Colcord, a Beverly Hills architect best known for his sprawling “Country Colonials;” Wallace Neff, whose highly refined, distinctive interpretations of traditional styles made him one of Southern California’s most sought-after residential architects; John Porter Clark, a young designer who, 104 Starr, Material Dreams, 191.
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after working in Pasadena for Garrett Van Pelt, moved to Palm Springs and worked under the l icense of Van Pelt and Lind until securing his own certification; and William Charles Tanner, an artist and draftsman based first in Riverside and then Hollywood, who was not a licensed architect but who managed to secure some of the most important project s in Palm Springs in the 1920s, including the revamped Desert Inn and the house called Ojo del Desierto (“Eye of the Desert”).
Ojo del Desierto (447 W. Alejo Road, HSPB-19 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places ), the winter home of oilman Thomas O’Donnell, a Desert Inn regular, and his wife Dr. Winnifred Willis Jenney, is one of the best examples of the Spanish and Mediterranean Revival in Palm Springs.
Constructed in 1925 on the hillside above the Desert Inn, Ojo del Desierto was designed by Tanner, who was simultaneously working on the Desert Inn, and built by Alvah Hicks on land that had been owned by Nellie Coffman. The house was built of reinforced concrete, clad in plaster to resemble adobe, and topped with a clay tile roof. Cantilevered wood balconies shield the house from the sun, and French doors open to tiled patios and a large stone terrace with a commanding view over the city. The interior features tile floors, hooded fireplaces, exposed wood trusses, wrought iron balconies, and Mudejar-style
paneled wood doors.
Other high-style examples include The Willows ( 412 W. Tahquitz Canyon Way, HSPB-34), originally constructed in 1925 as the winter home of businessman, philanthropist, and Los Feliz developer William Mead and designed by architect William J. Dodd of Dodd & Richards.105 It is built into the lower slopes of Mt. San Jacinto at the west end of Tahquitz Canyon Way. The house is a cluster of simple rectangular volumes finished in plaster, wi th clay barrel tile roofs, wrought iron balconies supported on elaborate plaster brackets, and an elevated, arched loggia with a plaster groin vault. The interior features plaster walls, polychrome coffered ceilings, and tiled fireplaces. That same year, Dodd & Richards designed a twin of The Willows for Roland P. Bishop (468 W. Tahquitz Canyon Way) . Bishop was a prominent Los Angeles businessman who headed Bishop & Co., Southern California's largest confectioner and purveyor of baked goods, which was acquired by the National Biscuit Co. (NABISCO) in 1930.
One of the most exotic Mediterranean-inspired houses in Palm Springs is Dar Marroc (now the Korakia Pensione, 257 Patencio Drive), the home of Scottish-born painter Gordon Coutts, who after a lifetime of wandering the world spent his last years in Palm Springs. Coutts was born in Aberdeen in the mid - 1860s and studied art at the Académie Julian in Paris, where he distinguished himself with his landscapes and portraits; he later spent ten years as an art ins tructor in New South Wales, Australia, and some of his works now hang in the Australian National Art Gallery, the Adelaide National Gallery, and the 105 “The History,” The Willows Historic Palm Springs Inn, https://thewillowspalmsprings.com/press-history-of-the-willows/ (accessed June 23, 2015).
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Melbourne Art Gallery. 106 Coutts moved to San Francisco with his American wife Alice about 1900; after their divorce in 1917, he spent several years living in Spain and North Africa with his second wife, Gertrude.107 In the early 1920s ill health ended Coutts’ travels and brought him to Palm Springs, then a budding artists’ colony whose climate and light reminded him of North Africa. He built Dar Marroc in 1924, complete with crenellated walls, horseshoe arches, tiled patios, and tinkling fountains. Coutts settled there with his wife and daughters and hosted a bohemian salon of artists that included American
Gothic painter Grant Wood, the great English portrait artist Sir John Lavery, and film stars like Errol Flynn and Rudolph Valentino. 108 Coutts died in Palm Springs in 1937. 109 After his death, Dar Marroc was converted into an apartment building.110
In
1929 photographer Stephen H. Willard built an exceptional Spanish Colonial Revival house at 1701 S. Palm Canyon Drive. Willard was raised in Corona and learned photography in high school. After graduating in 1912 he made photographic trips through the Sierra Nevada s and the deserts of the Southwest. In 1922 he and his wife Beatrice settled in Palm Springs and opened a studio and gall ery, and Willard continued his travels to photograph the Colorado and Mojave deserts. His photos, donated 106 Anne Sullivan, “There’s A Real Castle in the Desert,” The Desert Sun, May 12, 1978, D1. 107 “Biography,” Gordon Coutts (1865-1937) Painter, http://www.gordoncoutts.com (accessed July 21, 2015). 108 Thomas Carney, “Korakia Dreaming,” Architectural Digest, May 1996, 144-45; and Niemann, 114. 109 Sullivan, D1.
110 Carney, 144. Dar Marroc was purchased by designer G. Douglas Smith in 1989 and rehabilitated as the Korakia Pensione.
L: Dar Marroc (1924), one of the most exotic designs in Palm Springs, was the home of painter Gordon Coutts. Source: Los Angeles Public Library. R: Willard House (1929). Source: http://twinlakesgallery.com/history/willards-story/. 55 FINAL DRAFT – FOR CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL
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L: Arthur Bourne House (1933, Wallace Neff). Source: Alson Clark, Wallace Neff: Architect of California’s Golden Age, p. 163. R: The Richards House in Smoke Tree Ranch reflects the rustic Ranch-style seen in Palm Springs. Source: Palm Springs Historical Society. to the Palm Springs Desert Museum in 1999, are “not only valuable artistic masterpieces but also a historic record of the desert and mountain environments.” 111 The Willards lived in the house, with its sprawling plan, exterior staircase, and second -story wood balcony, until 1947. 112 The property is now part of the Moorten Botanical Garden.
H
igh style Spanish and Mediterranean Revival examples such as The Willows , Ojo del Desierto, and Dar Marroc are comparatively rare in Palm Springs, where the simpler, more rustic style of traditional southwestern adobe, hacienda, and wood ranch vernacular types were believed to be better suited to the desert climate and casual lifestyle. These tended to be informal one-story houses finished in plaster, brick, or board-and-batten siding, with irregular or rambling plans, low-pitched tile or wood shake roofs, wood or steel windows, and minimal ornamentation. The Ranch-style house proved particularly popular both before and after the war, combining as it did modernist ideas of space and function with traditional elements of working ranches and Spanish ranchos. This minimalist trend continued into the post-World War II years; the city has a collection of 1940s bungalows that feature red clay tile roofing and steel casement windows. The Arthur Bourne House (1933, 486 S. Patencio Road; altered) by Wallace Neff is a Spanish-style hacienda built around a central courtyard and swimming pool, but the simplicity of its forms and its integration of indoor spaces with exterior terraces reflects this important architect's attempt to “fuse the Mediterranean Revival with the modern style.” 113
111 Palm Springs Art Museum, “Stephen H. Willard Photography Collection & Archive,” Palm Springs Art Museum, https://www.psmuseum.org/palm-springs-art-collection/photography/stephen-h-willard-photography-collection-and-archive/ (accessed August 17, 2015).
112 Niemann, 111.
113 Alson Clark and Wallace Neff, Wallace Neff, Architect of California’s Golden Age (Santa Barbara, CA: Capra Press, 1986), 162. 56 FINAL DRAFT – FOR CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL
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Sub-Theme: Single-Family Residential Development (1919-1929) If [Herodotus] were to visit this modern ‘ Occidental Araby’ at Palm Springs which is becoming world famous for its beauty and wonderful winter weather conditions…he would find flora and fauna of infinite variety and kind….he would find that me n of wealth had preceded him to enjoy the natural beauty, the perfect winter climate, the rejuvenating elevation and the curative spring waters by building fine homes and establishing here a winter community.119
From the start, Palm Springs owed much of its residential development to tourism. Guests who stayed at the Desert Inn (able to accommodate 200 guests by 1925), the Oasis Hotel (officially opened in 1925), and El Mirador (opened with a New Year’s Eve Party in 1927) came for the warm desert air and positive health effects. 120 Those same guests began to consider the value of residency in Palm Springs and as author Lawrence Culver points out, “…Hollywood vacationers-turned-residents portended the future of the resort.”121
Pre-World War II residential development was largely concentrated on land immediately surrounding the existing village and the resorts: “the sheltered area.” 122 Development to the west of Palm Canyon Drive at the base of the foothills provided shelter from wind and blowing sand as well as vistas of the surrounding mountains and desert landscape. Less expensive tracts clustered on the east side of the Palm Canyon/Indian Canyon spine that bisected the village. However, the developments south of El Mirador catered to guests of the hotel that cultivated a distinctly Hollywood clientele. 123 Many hotel guests later bought homes in the area around El Mirador.
The other major area of prewar residential development in Palm Springs was to the south along the spine of South Palm Canyon Drive around Tahquitz Creek. With the exception of Smoke Tree Ranch, south Palm Springs remained largely undeveloped until the late 1950s and 1960s. Before World War II, there was no development east of Sunrise Way.
In addition to the rise of the automobile, the prewar residential development of Palm Springs was influenced as well by the Los Angeles press . During the 1920s , the society pages of the Los Angeles
Times and other newspapers extensively covered the arrivals and departures of wealthy industrialists from all over the country who opened their homes for the season or took up winter residency in Palm Springs. Social occasions in Palm Springs were also widely covered—be they parties in private homes or one of the many public events (e.g., the Desert Circus, dog shows, fashion shows, or other events). With 119 Brochure for the Araby Tract, 1925.
120 The development of these hotels is discussed in greater detail in the Commercial Development theme; they are mentioned here as catalysts for residential development during this period. 121 Lawrence Culver, The Frontier of Leisure (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), 156. 122 “Ad for Austin G. McManus,” Palm Springs California Magazine, 1929, 27. 123 The El Mirador was the only one of the Palm Springs hotels that welcomed Jewish guests. This and purposeful cultivation of Hollywood through publicist and free accommodations for the press made it popular with actors, writers, directors, and other Hollywood notables. 61 FINAL DRAFT – FOR CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL
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the arrival of the Hollywood actors, writers, producers and directors, photographs of stars enjoying the desert playground were distributed nationally.
Development in all of Palm Springs’ pre-World War II residential tracts was sparse, and in-fill construction continued in virtually all of them throughout the postwar period. As a result, the period revival style residences from before World War II often sit side-by-side with Ranch and Mid-century Modern designs from later periods. Many early homes were constructed on multiple parcels with ample space for landscaped private gardens.
Residential Subdivisions from the Period
Following is a discussion of select residential subdivisions that were recorded in the 1920s. The narrative discussion is intended to provide an overview of residential development during this period, includ ing the earliest recorded tracts, those that were particularly significant in the development of Palm Springs, or those that were associated with an important developer. The subdivisions are listed chronologically by the date they were initially recorded. The Overview of Tract Development in Appendix B includes a list of the residential subdivisions in Palm Springs that were studied as part of the survey effort , including any information compiled about additional tracts not included in the narrative . The information included in the table is intended to provide additional data about residential development in Palm Springs and inform future researchers about this facet of Palm Springs history; a complete history of each tract is outside the scope of this project.
FIGURE 2: RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISIONS RECORDED IN THE 1920S
NAME DATE DEVELOPER
Las Hacienditas 1923 J.J. Kocher
Vista Acres 1923 Prescott T. Stevens
Tahquitz Park 1923 Pearl McCallum McManus
Palm Canyon Mesa 1924 Edmond T. Fulford
Araby Tract 1925 H.W. Otis and Son
Merito Vista 1925 Prescott T. Stevens
Las Palmas Estates 1926 Prescott T. Stevens
Palm Springs Estates 1927 Prescott T. Stevens
Vista Santa Rosa 1927 Raymond Cree & John Chaffey
Palos Verdes Tract 1928 Harriet Dowie Cody and Reta McDowie 62 FINAL DRAFT – FOR CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL
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Sub-theme: Depression-Era Single-Family Residential Development (1930-1941) The popularity of Palm Springs with the Depression -proof m ovie industry surely provided more economic stability for real estate than in most other cities in the United States. There were also plenty of vacant lots available in existing tracts for those who wished to invest or build a house. New subdivision development, however, did not resume in earnest until the mid-1930s, and when it did, it tended to be smaller tracts than those developed in the 1920s. Like other cities in the country, economic recovery from the Great Depression , and residential development and expansion in Palm Springs , were halted by the advent of World War II.
Residential Subdivisions from the Period
Following is a discussion of select residential subdivisions that were recorded in the 1930s. The narrative discussion is meant to provide an overview of residential development during this period . The subdivisions are listed chronologically by the date they were initially recorded. The Overview of Tract Development in Appendix B includes a list of the residential subdivisions in Palm Springs that were studied as part of the survey effort , including any information compiled about additional tracts not included in the narrative. The information included in the table is intended to provide additional data about residential development in Palm Sprin gs and inform future researchers about this facet of Palm Springs history; a complete history of each recorded tract is outside the scope of this project.
FIGURE 3: RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISIONS RECORDED 1930-1941
NAME DATE DEVELOPER
Smoke Tree Ranch 1931 L. Mac Blankenhorn
Indian Trail Tract 1933 Pearl and Austin McManus
La Rambla 1934 John R. Chaffey
Chino Canyon Mesa 1935 Rufus J. Chapman
Vista Del Monte 1935 Charlie Farrell and Ralph Bellamy
El Mirador Estates 1935 Sallie Stevens Nichols and Culver Nichols Desert Sands 1935 Edmond F. Lindop
Racquet Club Colony 1935 Walter N. Marks
Little Tuscany 1936 Alvah Hicks
Palm Springs Village 1936 John Munholland
Palm Springs Desert Estates 1936 Mason Case and Company Palm Highlands 1936 Robert Ransom
Ramon Tract 1937 John W. Williams
Palm Springs Palisades 1937 Frank Meline Company
Warm Sands 1937 None listed
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Theme: The Influence of the Entertainment Industry (1919-1941) This theme explores the influence of the Hollywood film industry on the development and growth of Palm Springs in the 1920s and 1930s. Hollywood first discovered Palm Springs as early as 1915, when author-turned-director Edmund Mitchell filmed a silent adaptation of his 1901 novel The Lone Star Rush, the first motion picture to be filmed in Palm Springs. 399 Throughout the 1910s and 1920s the desert around Palm Springs was used for location shooting of numerous silent films set in Middle Eastern or North African locales, including Salome (1922) starring Theda Bara and, according to some sources, The Sheik (1921) with Rudolph Valentino in his most famous role.400 The movie industry brought additional attention to Palm Springs in 1922, when Valentino honeymooned at the Palm Springs Hotel with his second wife, Natacha Rambova, only to be arrested for bigamy because his divorce from his first wife was not yet final. 401 Syndicated gossip columnist Louella
Parsons dispatched a number of columns from the Desert Inn during a 1926 visit, drawing wider attention to Palm Springs.402 By the end of the decade the isolated desert village had become a favored winter weekend retreat for the burgeoning film industry, offering privacy and relaxation, warm winter sunshine and stunning natural beauty, just a few hours’ drive from Los Angeles. This allowed actors to get away while complying with the studios’ famous “two -hour rule,” the contractual obligation to be available on short notice for filming or publicity purposes.
Perhaps the earliest house associated with movie people was the Reginald Pole adobe ( 1916, 175 S.
Cahuilla Road; HSPB-59), which was said to have been visited by Charles Chaplin and exotic Russian silent screen star Nazimova.
403 It was one of the few homes associated with entertainment figures in Palm Springs in the teens and twenties, as almost everyone else congregated at the various hotels.
In the 1920s the film stars and studio moguls stayed primarily at the Desert Inn or the Oasis; beginning in 1928 they flocked to the extravagant Hotel El Mirador as well. Irving Berlin and Shirley Temple (with her parents) were Desert Inn regulars; Loretta Young favored the uppermost room in the Oasis’ tower. 404
Hollywood’s patronage saved El Mirador from bankruptcy at the onset of the Great Depression. In just its first two months of operation, the hotel’s guest list included such Hollywood luminaries as Lillian Gish, Pola Negri, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, and Gloria Swanson. 405
399 Niemann, 168.
400 Niemann, 169-169 and Starr, 25. Other sources claim that exterior locations of The Sheik were filmed in other places including Guadalupe Dunes in Santa Barbara County and the Walking Dunes on Long Island. 401 Gloria Greer, “Bringing Fame to Palm Springs,” Palm Springs Life, January 2013, http://www.palmspringslife.com/Palm-Springs- Life/January-2013/Bringing-Fame-to-Palm-Springs/ (accessed January 22, 2015). Valentino was acquitted after Dr. Florilla White testified that the couple had not shared a bed at her hotel.
402 Greer, “Bringing Fame to Palm Springs.”
403 Steve Vaught, correspondence with project team, September 29, 2015. 404 Niemann, 64 and 68.
405 Niemann, 123.
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A number of movie people who did not take houses, but wanted a more permanent place to stay while wintering in the desert, rented apartments. There were several high-end apartments catering to well-to- do visitors, beginning with the Casa Palmeras in 1928. Casa Palmeras residents included Clifton Webb; Ann Sothern; Joe Penner; Bert Wheeler; Oscar-winning cinematographer Karl Struss; Harold Lloyd; and Joan Leslie. The El Encanto (completed in 1929), located across from the Tahquitz Vista and Hotel Del Tahquitz; the Colonial House (1936), and the Key Club (1938; demolished) were also popular apartment rentals for the Hollywood set.
Th
ere was an early influx of significant radio personalities during this period as well, some of whom took their shows on the road and broadcast from Palm Springs. Each winter for several years, radio stars Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll broadcast their popular program Amos n’ Andy from a small studio in the El Mirador Hotel’s iconic tower (HSPB-1).406 Radio giants Eddie Cantor and Al Jolson both started coming to the Desert Inn in the 1920s and then constructed more permanent winter homes in the 1930s.
406 Dennis McDougal and Mike Meenan, “It’s Check-Out Time for Palm Springs’ El Mirador,” Los Angeles Times, November 27, 1977, P120, http://www.proquest.com (accessed July 29, 2012).
Esther Williams on the cover of the Palm
Springs Villager, September 1955. Source:
Palm Springs Historical Society.
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Other Hollywood notables associated with Palm Springs during this period include Harold Lloyd; Adolphe Menjou; William Powell; studio chief Joe Schenck; producer Bryan Foy; Richard Arlen; Robert Woolsey; Tarzan author Edgar Rice Burroughs; George Bancrof t; Reginald Owen; William Gargan; Chuck Morrison; Charles Butterworth; Paul Lukas; Ralph Bellamy; and Charles Farrell.
Publicist Tony Burke fostered the hotel’s air of Hollywood exclusivity with photos of celebrities lounging and sunning themselves amidst El Mirador’s lush grounds – Lucille Ball, Claudette Colbert, Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich, Clark Gable, Paulette Goddard, Olivia de Havilland. 407 Johnny Weissmuller, surfer Duke Kahanamoku, and Esther Williams – swimming champions turned film stars – swam and posed for photographers in El Mirador’s pool. Frank Bogert, manager of the El Mirador Hotel and future Mayor of Palm Springs, also supplied and widely distributed images of stars at play in Palm Springs. The fame of these celebrity visitors inevitably made the town itself famous. “Through radio broadcasts, fan magazine layouts, movies and publicity shots,” writes historian Alan Hess, “Palm Springs was defined by the media in the national consciousness to a degree out of proportion with its size or the n umber of people who had actually visited it.”
408 On winter weekends in the 1930s the village’s streets were jammed with ordinary day tourists from Los Angeles, hoping to catch a glimpse of a movie star.409 407 Niemann, 126, and Bob Colacello, “Palm Springs Weekends,” Vanity Fair, June 1999, 205. 408 Alan Hess and Andrew Danish, Palm Springs Weekend (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2001), 38-39. 409 Starr, 27.
L: Photograph of New York Governor Herbert Lehman and Shirley Temple having lunch at the El Mirador, arranged by Frank Bogert and distributed to over 1,200 newspapers. R: Charles Correll and Freeman Gosden broadcasting Amos n’ Andy from the El Mirador tower (HSPB-1). Source for both: Palm Springs Life, “Bringing Fame to Palm Springs.” 152
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Del Tahquitz Hotel, 1928. Photograph c. 1933. Source: Los Angeles Public Library.
As Palm Springs grew in popularity with members of the entertainment industry, hotels, sports facilities, restaurants, nightclubs and retail establishments were developed to accommodate the demand for recreation and diversion. Some of these establishments were owned by celebrities. In 1928 silent film actress Fritzi Ridgeway built the Del Tahquitz Hotel at the southeast corner of what is now South Palm Canyon Drive and Baristo Road. Ridgeway’s film career did not survive the advent of talking pictures, and she sold the Del Tahquitz in 1931. The Pueblo Revival- style hotel featured wide balconies, a courtyard swimming pool, and the Saddle Bar Cocktail Lounge, with saddles as barstools. The Del Tahquitz was demolished in 1960 to make way for the Santa Fe Federal Savings and Loan building (HSPB-54)
.410
I
n 1933 actors Charlie Farrell and Ralph Bellamy built two tennis courts at the north end of town, on a plot of land that they had purchased from Alvah Hicks. 411 The courts proved so popular with their Hollywood friends that the following year Farrell and Bellamy built additional courts, a swimming pool, dining room, and guest bungalows and offered memberships in the new Palm Springs Racquet Club 410 Niemann, 248-249. See also IMDb, “Fritzi Ridgeway Biography,” IMDb, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0725904/bio?ref_=nm_of_bio_sm (accessed January 26, 2015). 411 Niemann, 132.
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(2743 N. Indian Canyon Drive; HSPB -83). The club’s Bamboo Bar became the social center of Palm Springs, with four seats permanently reserved for Farrell and his friends Clark Gable, William Powell, and Spencer Tracy.412
Pearl McManus opened her competing Tennis Club (Ormsby and Steffgren, 701 W. Baristo Road) at the south end of town in February 1938, on a boulder-strewn hillside at the west end of Baristo Road.
Charter members included actors Ray Milland, Frank Morgan, Reginald Owen, and MGM musical star Jeanette MacDonald.413 Pearl was heavily involved in the design of the Tennis Club, which was originally modeled after the Hotel Cappuccini, a former Capuchin monastery on the Amalfi coast from which she drew the inspiration for the stone-walled terraces above the club’s elegant oval swimming pool. 414
T
he village’s most popular and most famous nightclub, the Chi Chi, opened in 1935 on Palm Canyon Drive, just north of the Desert Inn, on land leased from Zaddie Bunker. Beginning as a waffle house, it was converted by its owner, Irwin S. Schuman, first into a restaurant called the Desert Grille, and then into a full-fledged nightclub with dining, dancing, and live entertainment. It was expanded in 1938 and again in 1950 with the addition of the 750- seat Starlight Room. The Chi Chi (217 N. Palm Canyon 412 Colacello, 205.
413 Greer.
414 Steve Vaught, Sentinels in Stone: Palm Springs’ Historic Tennis Club Neighborhood and its Iconic Walls (Palm Springs, CA: Palm Springs Preservation Foundation, 2015), 13.
L: Racquet Club built by Charlie Farrell and Ralph Bellamy. Photographed in 1955. Source: Los Angeles Public Library.
R: Photograph of the world-famous Palm Springs Tennis Club pool, as it appeared in the 1950s. Source: Los Angeles Public Library. 154
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L: The Chi Chi nightclub, opened in 1935 on Palm Canyon Drive. Source: Palm Springs Life, “In the Swing.” R: Designed in 1927 by architect John Byers, this was the longtime residence of Cary Grant, who purchased it in 1954 (928 Avenida Palmas, HSPB-75).
Source: Los Angeles Public Library.
Drive; demolished) was the premier nightspot of the Hollywood crowd into the 1960s, and its headliners were frequently interchangeable with its clientele – Louis Armstrong, Desi Arnaz, Pearl Bailey, Milton Berle, Nat “King” Cole, Vic Damone, Sammy Davis, Jr., Duke Ellington, Lena Horne, Eartha Kitt, Gypsy Rose Lee, Peggy Lee, Liberace, Jerry Lewis, Tony Martin, the Mills Brothers, Patti Page, Louie Prima and Keeley Smith, Sophie Tucker, and Mae West.
415
Many of the Hollywood celebrities and executives who vacationed in Palm Springs eventually rented or bought seasonal homes there. So many of them settled in the area south of the Hotel El Mirador that the neighborhood became known as the Movie Colony. 416 Old Las Palmas (Las Palmas Estates)
was another popular Hollywood enclave in Palm Springs.417 415 Niemann, 255-258. The Chi Chi closed in 1966 and, after a decade of failed attempts at a revival, the building was demolished in 1977. 416 The “Movie Colony” was not a tract development, rather a neighborhood name that developed later to describe the high concentration of Hollywood personages residing in the area around the El Mirador Hotel. Although a wider area is sometimes claimed, the boundaries of the Movie Colony as recognized by the City of Palm Springs, the Palm Springs Board of Realtors, and the Movie Colony Neighborhood Association are: Tachevah Road on the north, Alejo Road on the south, Avenida Caballeros on the east, and Indian Canyon Drive on the west (source: The Movie Colony Neighborhood Association, http://www.themoviecolony.org/history.php). For purposes of this report, tract names are used to discuss development patterns and “Movie Colony” is used when referring to the broader social history of the area. 417 The development of these neighborhoods is discussed in the theme Single-Family Residential Development between the Wars (1919- 1941). Specific properties associated with the entertainment industry are identified in the survey findings. 155
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report Appendix E
APPENDIX E – SAMPLE WORK OF BREWSTER & BENEDICT
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report Appendix E
SAMPLE WORKS OF BREWSTER & BENEDICT
Name/Address Year
Built Condition Status
Code Photo (if available)
Lloyd and
“Tootsie” Simon
Residence, 388
East Valmonte
del Norte
1935 Extant 5S3
339 Vereda Sur 1936 Extant
Alvah F. and
Theresa Hicks
Residence, 404
Camino del Sur
1936 Extant 7R
Milton Hicks
Residence, 523
Camino Sur
1936 Extant 5S3
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report Appendix E
SAMPLE WORKS OF BREWSTER & BENEDICT
Name/Address Year
Built Condition Status
Code Photo (if available)
Hal Forrest
Residence, 608
South Indian
Trail (subject
property)
1937 Extant 7R
388 West
Stevens
1937 Extant 6Z
591 West
Stevens
1937 Extant 5S3
201 Vereda del
Norte
1937 Extant
608 S. Indian Trail, Palm Springs – Historic Resource Report Appendix E
SAMPLE WORKS OF BREWSTER & BENEDICT
Name/Address Year
Built Condition Status
Code Photo (if available)
532 West
Wawona
1937 Extant
1725 North
Tuscan Road
1937 Extant
1350 East
Tachevah
1937 Demolished 6Z
388 East Mel 1937 Demolished 6Z
Frank Pershing
Residence, 453
West Santa Rosa
1938 Extant 5S3
Residence of H.
Dalziel Wilson,
561 Camino
Norte
1944 Extant 5S3