ATTACHMENT C
(Application)
THE BURGESS RESIDENCE 1957, HUGH KAPTUR, AIA
AND ADDITIONS 1967-1993, ALBERT FREY, FAIA
1 550 PALISADES DRIVE, PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA 92262
DECEMBER 19, 2025
CLASS I HISTORIC RESOURCE NOMINATION
PREPARED BY PHILIP MONAGHAN
CHAIR, HISTORY COMMITTEE OF PRESERVATION MIRAGE
ACKNOWLEGMENTS
The author would like to thank the following individuals and organizations for their contributions to this report: Brad Dunning, James Crump and Ronnie Sassoon, Todd Hayes, Steven Keylon, Frank Lopez, Luke Leuschner, Melissa Riche, Craig Traupane and Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center.
2 TABLE OF CONTENTS
CLASS 1 HISTORIC RESOURCE DESIGNATION FORM 4
DPR 7
SUMMARY 11
BACKGROUND AND HISTORIC CONTEXT 11
CHAIN OF TITLE 17
THE ARCHITECTS OF THE BURGESS RESIDENCE 21
EVALUATION 49
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE 54
APPENDICES
I Owner’s Letter of Support 58
II Brad Dunning’s Endorsement 59
III Assessor’s Map and Aerials 59
IV Building Permits 60
V Phases of Construction 64
VI Contemporary Photographs 65
VII Grant Deeds 71
VIII Albert Frey Correspondence 80
IX Bibliography 87
X Press Clippings 88
3 4
5 6
7 8
9 10
SUMMARY
The Burgess residence is a custom built home in the Palisades neighborhood of Palm Springs. The home originated in 1957 when builder Joseph Pawling and yet-to-be licensed architect Hugh Kaptur presented plans for a modern weekend home to entice William and Clara Burgess to purchase two cliffside lots on Palisades Drive. The design of the home is an excellent example of Midcentury Modern.
In 1967 the Burgesses expanded the home with architect Albert Frey. Frey maintained the original Midcentury Modern design and enhanced it with his familiar concepts, incorporating boulders in the interiors and exteriors by perforating glass around them. The original home by Hugh Kaptur and these additions and alterations by Albert Frey exhibit numerous characteristics that place it in the historical context of the Post World War II Palm Springs (1945-1969) period, specifically under the theme of Post-World War II SingleFamily Residential Development (1945-1969). !n 1978, Albert Frey began a new program of buildings on the property that eventually included sunshades, a gazebo, a guest house and a garage. These structures departed from the Midcentury Modern style and are unique examples of his later work in the Late Modern style.
BACKGROUND AND HISTORIC CONTEXT
PALM SPRINGS PALISADES
On February 26, 1937, the front page of The Desert Sun carried a story about a new development called “Palm Springs Palisades” comprising 320 acres of hillside land above the village by The Palm Springs & Land Development Company. John Robertson, Arthur Ellis and Ray C. Smith, who acquired the land, also purchased the Dana Burke holdings on the hillside above the Desert Inn. Mr. Burke had started construction of a road up the hill years earlier but he abandoned the project. Now work would begin again on a gated hillside drive that would connect a fifty room hotel and fine homesites. A huge neon sign with 15 foot tall letters would promote the project spelling out “Palm Springs Palisades” on land above the O’Donnell golf course. Frank L. Meline Company, a broker based in Los Angeles who had sold extensive property in Beverly Hills, was announced as the exclusive sales agent. By April, it was announced that plans for the sign were abandoned due to requests of numerous residents. The Palm Springs Land & Development Company was concurrently involved in a development in San Pedro.
11 12
Palm
Sprins
Palisades
Tract
Map,
Courtesy
of Palm
Springs
Historical
Society.
This 1937 Palm Springs Palisades tract map shows a dramatically scaled back plan from the announced development that would have extended from O’Donnell Golf Club to Ramon Road. This map lists Trans-Pacific Exploration Company as the developer. Aside from incorporating in Delaware on April 3, 1937, no further record can be found of this company. It is not clear if this company succeeded Palm Springs Land & Development Company as that entity does not appear again after the announcement of the project. Of interest to this nomination is the route of the road that begins at Tahquitz Drive (formerly Spring) and winds up the mountain in the manner of the contemporary Palisades Drive. A 1939 arial photograph shows the first phase of Palisades Drive. 13 In 1946, Palisades Drive appears on the map in the Palm Springs Telephone Book for the first time.
In 1949, the city closed off the section of Tahquitz Drive (formerly Spring Street) that was adjacent to Lot B of Palm Springs Palisades. A 1953 arial photo shows Palisades Drive completed, but home construction had not yet begun. 14 While the physical evidence of the development of Palisades Drive is evident, little has been discovered about what became of the original development company. According to Steven Keylon, who researched this area extensively for his 2019 book The Modern Architecture of Hugh Kaptur, the development of this area was a failed venture due to the Depression and WW II. Keylon goes on to say that after the war, Joseph S. Pawling acquired the lots, finished the road and installed the utilities.1
JOSEPH S. PAWLING
Joseph Pawling (1921-2002), a native of Palm Springs, returned from World War II to assist in the building of a home on a site next door to his family’s. By 1948, he was developing and building on his own. He gained a reputation for building distinctive and creative homes with top designers.
“In 1957, builder Joe Pawling purchased the partially improved road and several parcels (of Palm Springs Palisades). He completed the half-built circuitous road up to the potential home sites and started dynamite blasting to create the lots.
He sold the first lot to William and Clara Burgess, keeping one site for himself.
He worked with Burgess on some preliminary plans for the house, but Pawling, who appreciated good architecture, called upon Kaptur to design both the Burgess Residence … and a spec house.”2
Although Pawling was instrumental in development of the area and brought Hugh Kaptur in to design the Burgess House at 550 Palisades Drive, Pawling was not the builder, according to the permit history (see Appendix IV). William Burgess filed the permits himself and hired “day labor” to build the home.
Following this, Joe Pawling commissioned Kaptur to design a “spec” house in 1958 on the lot (660 Palisades Drive) above the Burgess property and built it himself. This home would be purchased by tribal leader Peter Siva (1937-2003) and his wife Marlyne. In 1959, Joe Pawling sold a third lot (672 Palisades Drive) to Robert Leaver (1921-2012) and his wife Marianne. At Pawling’s suggestion, they hired Hugh Kaptur to design their home. According to Steven Keylon’s 2019 book, Kaptur said, “That was the nicest piece of architecture that I did up there and that was because I had a client, it wasn’t just a builder.” The post and beam Steven Keylon’s comments were made during a telephone conversation with this author December 3, 2025. 1 Keylon, Steven. The Modernist Architecture of Hugh Michael Kaptur, Palm Spring: Palm Springs Preservation Foundation, 2019, 2 pp. 52-61
15 construction of the house was supported by steel I-beams which were visible from the exterior. The house was true to Kaptur’s belief that the structure should always be revealed.
Pawling would go on to build many noteworthy homes in the Palm Springs area, including William Krisel’s 1960 Alexander House, known as the House of Tomorrow. He and his wife were Palm Springs social figures and civic leaders.
He left the area in 1967 to pursue business opportunities in Hawaii. “Civic League Officials,” The Desert Sun, May 8, 1952, p.1.
The timeframe of the development of Palisades Drive, beginning with the Burgess Residence (1957) culminating in Frey House II (1963) is explained in The City of Palm Springs Citywide Historic Context Statement & Survey Findings, page 170:
16 In the 1950s, with the town’s expansive growth, Palm Springs architects were able to explore a wide range of residential architectural ideas with willing clients interested in modern design. These respond in various ways to the demands of the location: Controlling the sun’s heat, respecting the natural landscape, and creating homes of pleasure and recreation. Palm Spring’s residential architecture of this period included affordable, mass- produced housing, along with sizable budgets. The distinctive solutions of several local architects show a high quality of concept and execution that matches the quality of the more publicized Los Angeles Modern architects of the same period.
CHAIN OF TITLE
Primary resources show the chain of ownership for the Burgess Residence (Lots 1, 2 and 3, Palm Springs Palisades as recorded in Map Book 19, Page 23 of Maps, Records of Riverside County)
4-15-1957 (Lots 1 and 2) Joseph S. Pawling and Joyce C. Pawling, husband and wife, to William Henry Burgess and Clara Woodward Burgess, husband and wife, as community property
3-16-1959 (Lot 3) Melvern McMonies and Faye McMonies, husband and wife, to William H. Burgess, a married man
12-17-1998 William H. Burgess and Clara W. Burgess, as trustees under declaration of Burgess Estate Trust dated January 10, 1991, to Harold J.
Meyerman and Dorothy C. Meyerman, husband and wife, as joint tenants 4-20-2024 David M. Wilson, as Successor Trustee of the Meyerman Family Trust dated August 2, 1989, to Rhonda Sassoon, as Trustee of the Rhonda Sassoon Revocable Trust, dated April 21, 2014, as amended
17 THE OWNERS
William and Clara Burgess at home in Pasadena and Palm Springs.
Brown, Conrad, “What’s it like to make a million?” Ladies’ Home Journal, October, 1961.
1. William Henry Burgess (1917-1999) and Clara Woodward Burgess (1918-2014) built the home and owned it from 1957-1999. The Burgesses met and married in Minneapolis. William, a self-made man, received his MBA from Harvard Business School and joined the Electronic Specialty Company of Los Angeles in 1946. He eventually took over the company which made a device called Shavex that increased the speed of electric shavers. National publications sought his opinions and followed his career. In 1968 Electronic Specialty was taken over by the International Controls Company, funded by the notorious investor Robert Vesco who ousted Burgess and the rest of the board. Vesco was later implicated in election fraud related to Richard Nixon’s 1972 reelection campaign as well other financial improprieties and fled the country in 1973, leaving tens of millions of dollars in debt. International 18 Controls Company recovered and Burgess became Chairman from 1984 to 1987. Clara graduated from the University of Minnesota and moved from Minneapolis to Washington, DC following her marriage and then to Pasadena with her family. She worked for the Pasadena Police Department, took courses at USC and was listed in a Who’s Who of American Women. Clara Burgess joined more than 50 organizations in Pasadena, Los Angeles, Palm Springs and New York City, ranging
from the arts to childcare and social
clubs. Together, the Burgesses were
a formidable pair appearing
together at charitable events, in the
social pages as well as the national
press, including an October 1961
profile about their Palm Springs
home in “Ladies’ Home Journal.”
Their home was set up for
entertaining and the press covered
their Mediterranean menus. The
couple advocated healthy diets and
were very athletic, playing tennis
and swimming. The Clara Burgess
trail in Palm Springs is named for
her. The Burgesses were acquainted
with the future owners of their
home, the Meyermans, and
entertained them at their home.
Ahead of William Burgess’s death,
the home was sold to the
Meyermans.
Dosti, Rose, “Celebrating The Joffrey” Los Angeles Times, April 3, 1986, p.
2. Harold J. Meyerman ( 1913-2015) and Dorothy C. Meyerman (1932-2022) were the second owners of the Burgess house from 1999 to 2024. Harold Meyerman was born in the Netherlands. He and his family moved to Vancouver, Canada in 1957 where Meyerman began his banking career at the Canadian Bank of Commerce. He earned his Bachelors in 1967 and a law degree in 1970 from the University of British Columbia. In 1973 Meyerman joined Bankers Trust Company. He next joined First Interstate Bank in Los 19 Angeles as President and CEO. He later moved to Chase Manhattan Bank and retired from there in 1998. Dorothy Meyerman was born in London and raised in Wales. Following her education, she pursued a career at the British Consulate General. She met Harold Meyerman in New York City and they were married in 1973. The Meyermans
career took them to international and
domestic destinations, finally settling in
Pasadena where Dorothy was involved in
community organizations. In Palm
Springs, Dorothy joined the Art Museum
and convinced Harold to lend his
financial expertise to the institution in
2003. He became a Museum Trustee and
then Chair of the Board from 2006 to
2015. Under Meyerman’s leadership the
museum’s endowment more than
doubled and in 2011 the museum
acquired the Santa Fe Federal Savings
and Loan by E. Stewart Williams to be
repurposed as the Architecture and
Design Museum. The Meyerman’s home
was the scene of museum fundraising entertainments that were widely reported on. The Meyermans made only modest changes to the house and for all of their interest in the arts, never referred to the home’s architectural history. Following Harold’s death, Dorothy continued to live in the house until her death in 2022.
Ady, Barbara, “Art fundraiser proves a hit,” The Desert Sun, March 11, 2007.
Francis, Betty, “Meyermans receive star in front of art museum,” The Desert Sun, February 26, 2012.
20 THE ARCHITECTS OF THE BURGESS RESIDENCE
From The City of Palm Springs Citywide Historic Context Statement & Survey Findings, Theme: Post-World War II Single-Family Residential Development (1945-1969), page 167:
Following precedents started in the 1930s, the decade of the 1940s further influenced the prominence of Modern architecture in defining the growth of Palm Springs after World War II. This paralleled the trend throughout California; as prosperity returned with the war, and as the peacetime return of soldiers brought a demand for new development, a young generation of architects exposed to Modernism in their training or travels before and during the war wanted to put those ideas into practice. This new generation of architects combined a concern for landscape and site relationships, the use of natural materials, and innovative building technologies to create a new regional architecture.
This was also a period of exuberance and optimism that was directly reflected in the architecture. According to historian Kevin Starr, the theory that domestic architecture would not take up where it had left off before the war was fundamental.
HUGH KAPTUR
Hugh Kaptur (b.1931) is from Detroit, Michigan and briefly worked for Harley Earl at General Motors. He is a transplanted Californian, influenced by the American “Organic Style” of Frank Lloyd Wright as well as indigenous southwest architecture. Hugh Kaptur’s work has been well-documented by Steven Keylon in his monograph that accompanied the 2019 Kaptur exhibition at the Palm Springs Art Museum.
From The City of Palm Springs Citywide Historic Context Statement & Survey, page 174:
Among other locally-based architects and designers, builder Herbert Burns designed Late Moderne houses similar to his inns, which emphasized volumes and streamlined forms rather than structure, as seen 21 in the Crockett House (1956), 457 Arenas Road). Hugh Kaptur, trained in Detroit at The Lawrence Technological University, brought the simple frame construction he used in multiple housing tract designs to the William Burgess House (1958, 550 Palisades Drive). Walter White’s design for the Franz Alexander Residence (1956, 1011 W. Cielo Drive; listed in the national Register) has a dramatic, upswept curving roof.
It is surmised that in 1957 Joseph Pawling hired Hugh Kaptur, who had previously worked for Wexler and Harrison, to design a home for the site he was selling to William and Clara Burgess. Kaptur was not yet a licensed architect but his engineering background provided the skills necessary to build on the hillside lot. All that survives from this transaction is Kaptur’s presentation drawing of the home. It is an accurate depiction of the original house, as Burgess family photographs attest. The Mid Century Modern home with its post and beam construction, flat roof, floor to ceiling glass windows, painted white exterior and sliding doors punctuated by stacked stone piers was an elegant solution that capitalized on the panoramic views the site provided.
According to Frank Lopez, who conveyed the Hugh Kaptur archives to the Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center, no other documents exist related to the Burgess House. When Hugh Kaptur was asked what became of the documents related to the Burgess project he said, “I don’t know. Anything I did, the museum would have it.” Referring to the presentation drawing, he said, “It was conceptual… to show Burgess the next step.” On his relationship with William Burgess, Kaptur politely declined to comment other than to refer to payments. “It always comes down to money. When the project is done, the client doesn’t want to pay the final fee,” he said. In a later conversation with 3 Kaptur, this author confirmed these statements. William Burgess may have played another role in Kaptur’s indifference. When it came to his house, Burgess took credit for everything, rarely mentioning the architect. The published history of the house is equally confusing because Burgess would frequently claim authorship for himself.
Within Hugh Kaptur’s body of work, the Burgess House (the family called it their cabana) is a modest 1,200 square feet early project by an unlicensed “Building Designer” as they were called at the time. It pales in comparison to other projects of this era like the 1958 Impala Lodge (555 San Lorenzo Road, Palm Hugh Kaptur and James Crump interview, March 18, 2024. 3 22 Springs), the1959 Leaver Residence (672 Palisades Drive, Palm Springs, demolished), or the 1959 Kaptur Residence (1897 East Belding Drive, Palm Springs). In each of these cases, the structure was revealed as an important element of the design. In 1963, Kaptur was selected to design Fire Station No. 3 (90 East Racquet Club Road) in Palm Springs, infuriating other registered architects in the city. This marked a turning point for him and he applied himself, eventually become a licensed architect and an AIA member. The 1967 Ricciardi and Kaptur Palm Springs Municipal Golf Clubhouse (1885 Golf Club Drive, Palm Springs) marks a transition point with the introduction of stucco, which is associated with Kaptur’s more mature style, as in the 1970 Casa Blanca Motor Hotel (1352 South Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs) and the 1974 Tahquitz Plaza I (600-650 East Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs).
Today Hugh Kaptur has returned to Palisades Drive and is designing a new project, the Ostoich Guest House at 672 Palisades Drive, on the site of the Leaver House.
23 Photo of architect Hugh Kaptur from Newman Morris, “Modern Master” Palm Springs Life, January 13, 2014.
ALBERT FREY
Albert Frey (1903-1998) Born in Zurich, Frey received His architecture degree from the Institute of Technology in 1924. He worked for a number of firms from 1924 to 1928, including at Le Cobusier’s, who was a mentor and an influence for the rest of his career. He was a proponent of the European International Style. Assisted by Le Corbusier, he moved to New York in 1928 to work with architect A. Lawrence Kocher. Together they were the architects of the 1931 Aluminaire House, a concept for mass housing projects built out of industrial materials now located at The Palm Springs Museum of Art. In 1934 Frey was assigned to the Kocher-Samson Building in Palm Springs, considered to be the first strictly modern building in the city. Aside from a brief return to New York to contribute to the design of the Museum of Modern Art, he stayed in Palm Springs for the rest of his life. He adapted his style to the desert and developed a site-specific approach not present in his earlier work. Frey made many contributions to the establishment of The Palm Springs School, including the 1940 Bel Vista mass-produced housing tract by John Porter Clark and Albert Frey and, the 1940 Albert Frey I House by Clark and Frey, the 1946 Raymond Lowey House by Clark and Frey, the 1955 Cree House II by Clark and Frey, the 1949 to 1963 Tramway Valley Station by Williams, Clark, Frey and Chambers, the 1952-1957 Palm Springs City Hall by Clark, Frey and Chambers and Williams, Williams and Williams, the 1963 Frey House II and the 1965 Tramway Gas Station by Frey and Chambers,
According to Brad Dunning,
Frey interpreted International Style modernism into his own unique brand, a combination of the pragmatic and artistic. He defied taxonomy-his best work is seemingly uncategorizable. At different times, he could be described as a minimalist, a constructivist, an expressionist-yet he was always modern, embracing new materials at every turn. He had an unquestionable belief in the future and in beauty and utility.4 In 1963, Frey selected a lot at the top of Palisades Drive as the site for his new home, known as Frey House II. The home is considered one of Albert Frey’s masterworks. At some point, William Burgess and Albert Frey became acquainted and Burgess, ever tinkering with the design of his own homes, Dunning, Brad (ed.) Albert Frey Inventive Modernist. Radius Books. Palm Springs Art Museum, 2023. p.10. 4 24 retained Frey to update and reimagine the property at 550 Palisades Drive. As Burgess did with Kaptur, he frequently obfuscated and did not credit Albert Frey with the design. But the archives at The Palm Springs Art Museum reveal sketches, plans and correspondence that confirm Albert Frey’s attachment to the project over two and a half decades.
Portrait of Albert Frey by Bruce Weber, 1997.
25 OLAV ENGUM
Although Olav Engum (1918-1989) was not an architect, he played a significant role in the development of the Burgess House site. A Norwegian immigrant and stonemason, he was hired by William Burgess to carve out the hillside to build staircases, the pool, waterfalls, the outdoor grill designed by Frey, seating areas and the Frey-designed balustrade that eventually surrounded the property. His work transcends its prosaic nature due to his skillful craftsmanship. He worked on the Burgess House for 15 years and became a part of the family. Later he was a landscaper in the Palm Springs area. A member of Mensa, he left behind a record of editorials in the Desert Sun espousing his pacifist and environmental views. He was also a reflexologist and graphologist, according to his December 13, 1989 obituary in the Desert Sun. A true artist, he signed his work in the mortar of the outdoor grill he built for the Burgesses, “Olav, 62.” (L) Photo by James Crump; ( R) “Olav Engum, 71, Palm Springs resident,” Desert Sun, December 13, 1989. 26 THE ARCHITECTURE OF
THE BURGESS RESIDENCE
THE 1957 HOUSE BY HUGH KAPTUR
Hugh Kaptur’s 1957 Presentation Drawing for the Burgess House, Courtesy of the Hugh Kaptur Collection, Palm Springs Art Museum.
Hugh Kaptur designed a simple post and beam flat roofed house in a relaxed “V” shape that is composed of 8’ x 8’ bays. At 1,200 square feet, the house was modest, comprising a kitchen, bedroom and a sleeping alcove on the west side and a bathroom with a living room on the east side. A cantilevered 8’ deep overhang runs the length of the south elevation with two stacked rock piers separated by sliding glass doors. The south and east elevations are walls of glass.
27 The south elevation of the Burgess House showing the central position of the pool, Kaptur’s cantilevered overhang and rock walls, Burgess family photo.
According to William Burgess in his unpublished essay, “The Story of A Palm Springs Cabana,” located in the collection of the Palm Springs Historical Society:
We had to blast a shelf on the side of the mountain for our cabana… Now we had to get from the private road up to the rock shelf. Enter Olav Engum, a local laborer whom we employed to build fifty steps so that we could get all the materials for the cabana up to the rock shelf. Hugh Kaptur, the architect, drew a quick sketch and only four months later we had our cabana and pool.5
Burgess, William. “The Story of a Palm Springs Cabana,” Unpublished manuscript, undated, The Palm Springs Historical Society. 5 28 The north elevation is quite close to the mountain; windows admit light to the interior with mechanical closets tucked in between. The low profile of the home sited on the lot carved out cliff was a stunning effect, designed to maximize the valley views.
The Burgess House from the west showing the house prior to Frey’s expansion.
The home was built by Burgess using “day labor” and completed in 1958, along with a 15’ x 30’ pool on the south side of the house (Permit B-351 and 467). The Burgess family appreciated their simple “cottage,” although their daughter Mali Burgess dreaded hauling groceries up the 50 step stone staircase to the house.
The Burgesses gained more land when they acquired Lot 3 of 550 Palisades Drive from investors Melvern and Faye McMonies in 1959. In his essay, Burgess describes this transaction:
29 Joe (Pawling) unfortunately sold the lot next to us (to the McMonies) and they wanted to keep it. So I bought the very top lot of the twelve (686 Palisades Drive) and traded with them. When they later sold it, the famous architect Albert Frey… bought it for his steel and glass one-bedroom house. After we had the lot next door, Olav with his jackhammer dug back into the mountain for a driveway so that we could drive to the same level as the house. 6
As has been previously stated, the Burgess House is an early example of Kaptur’s low flat roof, post and beam construction homes. It was a spec house so it had a modest budget and had to get as much impact as possible from inexpensive materials. The two stacked rock walls on the south elevation (later removed by Frey) were elements Kaptur utilized in other projects of this era, such as the 1958 Miller “Spec” House, the 1958 McCauley Residence, the Griffing “Spec” House of 1962, among others. At the Burgess House, the rocks were already on site. Simple tongue and groove board clads the underside of the overhang that served to shade all the glass. The 8’ by 8’ modules that articulate the windows and sliding doors provide a visible structure to the overall design
so
characteristic
of Kaptur’s
work,
although
other
contemporary
homes such
as the 1959
Leaver
Residence
did so in a
much more
overt way.
The Burgess House,
Date unknown, Photo:
Anderson
Photography
Burgess, William, “The Story Of A Palm Springs Cabana,” Unpublished Manuscript, undated, The Palm Springs Historical Society. 6 30 Eventually, Bougainvillea were planted around the site. The Burgesses cleverly named their new home “Bougain Villa.”
Frey’s plans for the expansion of the 1967 home to the east. The stacked rock piers are indicated but were removed during the renovation. Courtesy of the Albert Frey Collection, Palm Springs Museum of Art.
THE 1967 ADDITION BY ALBERT FREY
The addition to the house, designed by Albert Frey in 1967 (Permit B-10632), was built by Burgess in 1968. The changes extended the flat roof post and beam structure consistent with the Kaptur design, adding a 554 Square Foot wing to the north that included a new primary bedroom and bath, along with an exterior porch. On the exterior, the two stacked rock piers on the south facade were removed and replaced with floor to ceiling reflective fixed glass panes. The original glass windows and sliding glass doors were replaced with stainless steel reflective glass ones. Reflective glass was applied to the surfaces of the north facade of the house.
31 32
I
In 1967 correspondence between Frey and Burgess, the details are discussed showing that Burgess was a very “hands on” client. The placement of the boulder in the living room, the ceiling height for the addition and other issues were discussed. Courtesy of the Albert Frey Collection, Palm Springs Museum of Art.
From The City of Palm Springs Citywide Historic Context Statement & Survey Findings, page 176:
Frey House II (1963, expanded 1967, 686 W. Palisades Drive; HSPB-33 and listed in the National Register), Albert Frey’s second home for himself, was an essay in minimalist steel and glass perched lightly on a mountainside boulder field, bringing together nature and modern technology. As did Lautner at the later Elrod House, Frey left a large, natural rock outcropping in place and used it to divide the main living space from the adjacent bedroom. (445) A similar treatment is also found in Hugh Kaptur’s nearby Burgess House from 1958.
While this is an accurate description of this treatment in the Burgess House, it is similar because these are part of the additions by Albert Frey.
Frey’s 1969 measurements of existing conditions on the patio and proposed changes, including the new balustrade on the south side of the patio. Courtesy of the Albert Frey Collection, Palm Springs Museum of Art.
Albert Frey’s 1967 additions to the Burgess House were steered by William Burgess as their correspondence shows. For example, Frey proposed a higher ceiling height for the added rooms. Burgess did not accept this proposal. As a 33 result, the exterior effect of the additions is minimized as it blends with the Kaptur design. The interior of the structure was built around boulders on the site in the manner of Frey House II.
Albert Frey’s measurements for the reglazing of the house. Courtesy of the Albert Frey Collection, Palm Springs Museum of Art.
The addition of reflective glass windows and cladding may have been a meeting of the minds of Burgess and Frey, although this cannot be substantiated.
Burgess was motivated by design trends and reflective glass was being used to skin office towers in Los Angeles (Teledyne Labs, Northridge, CA, Daniel, Mann, Johnson and Mendenhall, 1966). Frey did not use reflective glass on other projects to this author’s knowledge.
It is worth noting that in 1967 Frey and Chambers closed their office and Frey moved his office to his house at 665 Palisades Drive. This left him free to observe the work at the Burgess House located down the hill.
Over the years, Frey and Burgess corresponded about the project (See Appendix VII) and two things are clear: Frey and Burgess pushed each other to keep adding to the house and Burgess was very cost-conscious.
Large boulders were incorporated into the interior and exterior design of the house’s expansion that echo Frey’s own home. An 8’ x 10’ marble terrace on the 34 southeast corner where the existing house and the addition met was also built at this time.
In 1968, Frey designed an arched balustrade to be built of rocks from the property and would eventually surround all the patios and walkways. This arch would become a motif that Frey would later repeat in other structures on the property. Later, the same balustrade was built opposite the Burgess property on Palisades Drive.
Albert Frey’s 1968 drawings for the rock balustrade that would eventually be built by Olaf Engum. This wall would eventually surround the Burgess property and the adjacent west side of Palisades Drive. Courtesy the Albert Frey Collection, Palm Springs Museum of Art.
35 A view to the north showing the retaining wall and balustrade designed by Albert Frey and built by Olaf Engum. Burgess family photo.
In 1974, the house was expanded again (Permit B-7187), adding a 7 1/2’ x 12’ glass walled bedroom on the west end, known as “the grand children’s room,” and an 8 1/2’ x 18’ extension of the living area to the east. There are no drawings by Frey for these additions so it must be assumed there were done by the owner. Frey comments favorably on these additions in a 1987 letter to Burgess:
From my vantage point above you I am aware that the completed grandchildren’s sleeping room can be seen only from the two homes above you (and incidentally it looks great), and it is not discernable (sic) in any way from the valley floor.”7
Frey’s approach to additions and alterations was to blend them with the existing structure. There are other examples of projects like this. From 1991 to 1995, Frey designed additions to the 1936 Burham-Wells Residence by John Porter Clark at Smoke Tree Ranch. As Frey worked closely with Clark, he knew how he designed and was able to make sympathetic changes to the house. Although Frey and Kaptur never collaborated, the Burgess Addition is stylistically tied to the Kaptur design, matching the post and beam construction, the roofline, the glass walls and glass sliding doors as well as the extension of the 8’ overhang.
The use of materials is also the same, including the use of tongue and groove April 30, 1987 correspondence between Albert Frey and William Burgess. Courtesy of the Albert Frey Collection, Palm Springs 7 Museum of Art.
36 board, the white painted exterior and the use of painted square steel beams.
However, in the Burgess House, as previously noted, Frey used reflective glass and incorporated boulders in the interior of the house. 1978 TO 1993 STRUCTURES BY ALBERT FREY
In 1978, Frey began to draw plans for additions to the Burgess House which were a complete departure from Kaptur’s Midcentury Modern design. These designs may refer to work early in his career. In 1927 at the architectural firm of Leuenberger, Fluckiger in Zurich, a young draftsman named Albert Frey drew plans for a factory of steel and glass. The linear quality of these drawings may have been on Frey’s mind as he proposed the sunshades, gazebos, a guesthouse and a garage for the Burgess property. These bold expressionistic designs are unique in Frey’s body of work.
(Top) Albert Frey’s 1927 drawings for a factory of steel and glass, Rosa, Joseph. Albert Frey Architect (New York: Princeton Press, 1999) pp. 133. (Bottom) Albert Frey’s Burgess garage (1978) and sunshade (1984) Photos by the author. 37 One of the sunshades designed by Frey. The design is similar to the carport, built in 1980. Courtesy of the Albert Frey Collection, Palm Springs Art Museum
Frey designed a 28’ x 20’ carport for Burgess in 1978, which was built in 1979 (Permit B-3486). This was the first structure on the property not attached to the original house. The framework of black steel beams with a double arched roof is covered in stretched canvas. In 1979, Frey designed three 6’ x 4’ similar structures to act as sunshades. These were built in 1980 (a permit was filed but has no number). Brad Dunning has described the sun shades as, “unique and lyrical.” Some of the sunshades are freestanding, supported by square steel 8 posts; others are suspended by chains from trees or other structures.
Their neighbors to the north at 660 Palisades Drive in the “Spec” House by Hugh Kaptur must have approved of the sunshades because they hired Albert Frey to build sunshades on their property as well as what is thought to be the valley’s first “infinity” pool.9
The current owners of the Burgess House have restored the sunshades to original condition, with the exception of one located at one of the highest Excerpted from Brad Dunning’s support for the Burgess House Historical Designation found in Appendix II of this document. 8 Keylon, Steven. The Modernist Architecture of Hugh Michael Kaptur (Palm Springs: Palm Springs Preservation Foundation, 2019), 9 p. 56.
38 elevations on the hill. This is where William Burgess installed a hammock and was photographed by The Desert Sun.
Albert Frey’s plans for a carport that was constructed without a permit so the date is not known. Courtesy of the Albert Frey Collection, Palm Springs Art Museum.
In 1978 Albert Frey drew plans for a carport with three bays, two for automobiles and one bay for storage. The design called for 4” x 4” black square steel posts and beams with black 2’ X 2” square steel framework and white enamel steel walls, creating the same graphic effect as the sunshades. The arched roofline was a new stylistic element that echos the balustrade Frey designed for the property. Curvilinear elements were part of Frey’s design vocabulary, having used them at Frey House 1 with additions (1940) with its circular bedroom and metal porthole windows cut on the bias. The barrel roofline was a popular element in the evolution of design in the 1960s as an element of the New Formalism.
39 The building of this structure was most likely put on hold by Burgess at the time because he was facing financial constraints as he struggled to gain control of his company again. Permits for this structure were never opened and it is assumed it was built at later date, concurrent with the guest house project.
In 1980, the 8’ x 10’ marble patio at the southeast corner of the 1974 addition was enclosed with a roof and glass. The tongue and groove board that clad the Kaptur-designed cantilevered overhang as well as the steel post and wood beam construction was carried through on the southern elevation and wrapped around the western and northern elevations. The permit history shows two phases of this work, Permit B-1125 covers the construction and B-1863 (Albert Frey is listed as the architect) covers the enclosure and glazing. No plans can be located for this work.
Frey proposed a guest house, referred to as a “Mirrored Pavilion.” This plan was apparently rejected by the client. A new version of the guest house was designed by Frey in 1989 on the site of an escarpment above the main house.
The reflective glass, black square steel framework, white enameled steel skin, and arched roof are another departure from the main house and a stylistic match with the sun shades and the earlier design of the carport. The 495 square foot space comprises a living space, raised bed alcove and a bathroom. In this structure, Frey’s program for the Burgess House reaches its ultimate expression.
The framework of the guest house and roof is constructed using the same black 4” x 4” square steel posts and beams that match the sunshades and carport.
Black 2” x 2” square steel beams form the structure. The roofline is arched, matching the carport. The eaves of the roof are white enameled steel with the visible black steel framework. The black 4’ x 4’ beams that support the roof project out from the structure to the edge of the roofline. The roof extends out from the structure on all sides to provide shade from the sun. The upper half of the walls are mirrored glass windows or mirror cladding that reflects the pattern of the roof eaves, the sky and the mountain. The lower half of the walls are clad in rocks from the site that create the illusion that the structure is rising out of the mountainside. Frey’s creation takes advantage of the building’s location on the high escarpment that gives the illusion of flight, while simultaneously tying it to the mountainside. It is difficult to find a precedent in Frey’s body of work for the expressive and stylistic elements found in the Burgess Guest House. 40 1989-1993 Guest house plans by Albert Frey, Courtesy of the Albert Frey Collection, Palm Springs Museum of Art.
Because the plans were revised in 1993, it is assumed that the guest house, along with the previously referenced carport, were built around that time. No 41 permits were opened for either building, a situation was that remedied in 1998 when the structures were legalized.
(Right) Interior of the guest house by Albert
Frey showing the boulder incorporated into the
interior, a Frey signature. (Below) the exterior of
Frey’s guest house showing the enameled steel
frame and skin, the curvilinear roof, reflective
glass and boulders. Both photos: Robin Noble.
Rosa, Joseph, Albert Frey, Architect, Princeton
Press: New York, NY, 1999, pp. 135-136.
42 THE SITE OF THE BURGESS HOUSE
While Joe Pawling was responsible for the completion of Palisades Drive and selling the lots, William Burgess worked with Olav Engum to carve out the ledge for the homesite and construct the flight of stairs needed to deliver materials to build the house Kaptur had designed. Because Burgess had only purchased Lots 1 and 2, the only way to access the site was up a sheer cliff from the grade of Palisades Drive so 50 stones steps were called for along with a turnout for parking.
What began as a practical intervention evolved into a long and productive collaboration between Burgess and Engum, one that transformed the rugged mountainside into an integrated landscape of architecture, circulation, and outdoor habitation. Over the years, Engum undertook extensive blasting, drilling, jackhammering, carving, and fabrication, ultimately producing more than 300 feet of fortress-like stone walls, multiple terraced levels, and a continuous system of paths and stairs that traverse the entire site. The photographs reveal how these walls and platforms appear to grow organically from the rock itself, their irregular coursing and tight joints blurring the boundary between natural outcrop and human construction.
Among Engum’s most notable contributions are three waterfalls, an outdoor seating area organized around an Albert Frey–designed fire pit and barbecue, and an elaborate stone walking trail punctuated by elevated steps and landings. These routes lead to a series of intimate, stone-defined “plazas” or outdoor rooms—small, level clearings designed for hammocks, sunbathing, reading, and quiet contemplation. Each space is subtly differentiated by changes in elevation, wall height, and orientation, creating a sequence of experiences rather than a single monumental gesture.
Another stonemason, a Macedonian named Asan Asani, was involved in the later phase of the project. Asani also contributed to Frey House II and John Lautner’s Bob Hope Residence.10
From an E-mail conversation with Mark Ostoich, December 15, 2015. 10 43 (Clockwise from top, left) Burgess in a hammock at the hillside sunshade designed by Frey. “Burgesses bask at Bougain Villa,” The Desert Sun, August 1, 1992, Section E, p.1. The hillside sunshade awaiting restoration. Photo: James Crump. Albert Frey’s 1987 drawing for the Burgess Grill, Courtesy of The Palm Springs Museum of Art. The grill area; Olaf Engum’s signature is found here. Photo by the author.
44 (Clockwise from top, left) Albert Frey’s 1985 plan for an outdoor dining area at the Burgess House, Courtesy of the Albert Frey Collection, The Palm Springs Museum of Art, The outdoor dining area, An outdoor sink and preparation station built in to the hillside outside the guest house, A carved stone bar built in to the cliffside, Carved stone staircase that ascend the hillside. Photos by James Crump.
45 These views to the south show the north and west elevations of the Burgess House over the years. The top image shows Kaptur’s original 1957 design. The middle image shows Frey’s enclosure of the interior living space. The modified fascia board along the roofline is thought to be by Burgess as there are no Frey drawings for this. The bottom photo shows current conditions.
Burgess family photo, date unknown.
The Burgess Residence, Julius Shulman, 1984. Julius Shulman Photography Archive, 1936-1997, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, California.
Author’s photo, 2025.
46 CONTRIBUTING ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BURGESS HOUSE
The Hugh Kaptur original house (1957) and the Frey additions (1967-1974) present character-defining features of Midcentury Modernism to contribute to this nomination.
• Flat roofline with 8’ ceilings throughout
• Square steel post and wood beam construction
• Floor to ceiling fixed glass and aluminum frame sliding doors • Minimalism as expressed through clean lines and the geometry of the 8’ x 8’ bays
• Lack of ornamentation
• A swimming pool sited in front of the house as a central feature • Site integration as expressed by the stone masonry that surrounds the house as well as its close proximity to the hillside
• Building around boulders that function as room dividers, as in Frey II • Glazing that is cut around interior/exterior boulders, as in Frey II • Indoor-outdoor living spaces through the extensive use of glass sliding doors and exterior features such as patios and dining areas • Open floor plan that allows the kitchen and living areas to flow through glass sliding doors to the exterior patios
• 8’ deep cantilevered overhangs to provide shade from the sun • The house’s orientation towards the south and the east and the use of glass capitalizes on the views of the valley
The additional structures by Albert Frey (1978-1993) are unique and difficult to characterize, as is often the case with Frey. However, the characteristics fit within the definition of Late Modern. In his 1969 book American Architecture Since 1780, Marcus Whiffen describes Late Modern architecture in this way:
Nearly everything that has been said earlier of the International Style is true to some degree of Late Modern architecture. The essential difference is that while an International Style building is rational, or at least has a semblance of rationality, a Late Modern one tends to be rhetorical. That is to say, it will embody one or more of the rhetorical devices of exaggeration, repetition, and paradox - such as, in architectural terms, the 47 exaggeration of structure, the repetition of a single form to the point that it loses its individuality and becomes part of an overall pattern, the paradox of a building with glass walls and no windows. Then, whereas in an International Style building the scale is indicated by the openings, in a Late Modern one it might be highly ambiguous, for the articulation of a glass curtain wall is not controlled by the floor behind it, and the architect therefore has it in his power to increase or reduce the apparent size of the building at will. Curved surfaces, which in the International Style were occasional elements of contract, may determine the total form of the building, and the arch, avoided absolutely by the architects of the International Style, makes an occasional appearance in glazed barrel vaults whose ancestry may be traced to the London Crystal Palace of 1851. Axial symmetry, rare in the International Style, is common.
Late Modern characteristics present in Frey’s additional structures at the Burgess House:
• The black steel framework with its repetitive pattern is present in the sunshades, the carport, garage and guest house, creating further repetition
• The use of white in the enamel steel structures and canvas coverings provides contrast with the black steel frameworks, which in turn, amplifies the patterns
• The cumulative use of pattern makes it difficult to visually isolate individual structures
• The exterior use of mirror cladding and reflective glass glazing conceals where the windows are actually located, creating a paradox of ambiguity • The sunshades, carport and garage are symmetrical in plan, in a departure from the plan of the original house, which is asymmetrical • The rooflines are all arched in a rolling barrel vault arrangement, rather than the flat Midcentury Modern style
• The ceiling heights are taller than 8’ and vary due to the arched rooflines • The effect is Late Modern Expressionist, rather than the the rational Midcentury Modern International Style
• The roofline’s curved shapes in the guest house and garage are exaggerated gestures that increase the perceived size of the structure • The roof overhang framework is reflected in the mirrored wall surfaces, further blurring the distinctions between walls, windows and rooflines 48 • The structures have been well-maintained or restored to original condition
NON-CONTRIBUTING ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BURGESS HOUSE
• The 1957 Hugh Kaptur design incorporated rock walls that were replaced by fixed glass panels in the 1967 Albert Frey alterations • The roofline fascia on the southern elevation of the house, designed by Hugh Kaptur, was a simple painted wood trim board; at some point, this was replaced with an arched motif with a black painted design; no drawings exist for this change in the Albert Frey archives; it is assumed that the owner, William Burgess made this change; the current owners removed this detail to restore the fascia to the Kaptur design and wrapped it around the roofline on three elevations
• A spa was added to the pool deck in front of the house at some point; no permit or drawing can be found for this addition
• The “Grandchildren’s Room” and an extension of the living room do not have plans, but do have permits; they are thought to have been built by the owner and a contractor in 1974, therefore not the work of Frey
EVALUATION
CRITERION 1 — Significant Events - The resource is associated with events that have made a meaningful contribution to national, state or community: The Burgess Residence is not affiliated with significant events and does not qualify under Criterion 1.
CRITERION 2 — Significant Persons - The resource is associated with the lives of persons who made a meaningful contribution to national, state or local history: Although the Burgesses (the first owners) and the Meyermans (the second owners) were high profile business, social as well as philanthropic figures, their names were not known outside of these circles. The Burgess Residence is not affiliated with significant persons and does not qualify under Criterion 2.
ARCHITECTURE (Criteria 3 — 6)
49 CRITERION 3 - The resource reflects or exemplifies a particular period of national, state or local history: Palm Springs Palisades was announced in 1937 as a 320 acre development that would include a skyline drive, extending from Ramon Road to the O’Donnell Golf Club. A somewhat scaled back plan was previewed later that year with work beginning to build Palisades Drive to access the development. The Depression and World War II intervened and the tract remained dormant until Joe Pawling began developing the road and marketing the lots in the 1950s. The post-war building boom of tract housing development in Palm Springs led discerning buyers to seek the commanding views and privacy of sites at higher elevations. Joseph Pawling partnered with Hugh Kaptur to build an enclave of architecturally significant homes. The first home in this tract was the Burgess Residence, completed in 1958 with additions completed in 1969, exhibits many stylistic markers that place it directly in the historic context of the “Post World War II Palm Springs” period; of the theme of Single-Family Residential Development (1945-1969). The structure is a fine example of architect-designed custom site-specific second homes being built by affluent clients during this period. It qualifies for listing as a Class 1 Historic Resource on the local registry under Criterion 3.
CRITERION 4 - The resource embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction. The Burgess Residence is recognized in the Palm Springs Citywide Historic Context Statement & Survey Findings. It is a fine example of a custom-built home designed by two significant architects in a unique setting. The 1957 Hugh Kaptur design used materials that were typical at the time: square steel posts, wooden beams, fixed glass, full height stainless steel sliding doors and rock walls as decorative touches. The 1967 Albert Frey design stripped away the rock walls and introduced many of Frey’s signature touches such as building around on-site boulders to delineate spaces and glazing which cut around boulders. Frey introduced a new element, reflective glass and mirror cladding, perhaps at the urging of his style-conscious client William Burgess.
In the late 1950’s Kevin Roche, the design director at Eero Saarinen, developed the first mirrored glass for the 1958-1962 Bell Labs project in Holmdale, New Jersey. It is said he was inspired by mirrored aviator glasses. Roche and fellow Saarinen designer John Dinkerloo worked with the manufacturer to take this new material into production. The Bell Labs building survives and was recently used as the location for Apple TV’s “Severance.” Another designer at Saarinen, 50 Arthur Lumsden, left the firm and took the concept to Los Angeles-based Daniel, Mann, Johnson and Mendenhall where he used reflective glass to skin the 1966-1968 Teledyne Labs project in Northridge, California. Perhaps 11 Burgess and Frey became aware of these new buildings and added reflective glass to the Burgess House. The mirrored cladding and glazing continued through the next phase of work, the guest house and carport/garage by as the Burgess House evolved beyond Midcentury Modern to the Late Modern style.
Bell Labs, Holmdale, New Jersey, Eero Saarinen &
Associates, 1958-1962. Photo: Gerard Garcia, Getty
Images
This author does know of other examples of Frey using reflective glass other than the Burgess Residence, which is noteworthy for its type and method of construction. It qualifies for listing as a Class 1 Historic Resource on the local registry under Criterion 4.
CRITERION 5: 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. The original Burgess Residence, designed by Hugh Kaptur, is an example of his early work, although it is somewhat modified.
Kaptur’s engineering background provided the expertise to build on a very challenging site. The midcentury style of his design incorporated a flat roof with cantilevered overhangs, a white painted wood exterior, glass curtain walls, sliding glass doors and stacked rock piers. Kaptur would go on to become a leader of the second generation of architects that define the Palm Springs School. The 1967 addition to the Burgess Residence is designed by master architect Albert Frey. The use of boulders in the interiors to demarcate rooms, the generous use of glass to blur the boundaries between interior and exterior Biddle, Ouida Angelica. “A Short History of the Mirrored Glass Facade,” Pin-Up Magazine #17, Fall/Winter 2014/2015. 11 51 spaces and restrained minimalism are part of Frey’s design vocabulary, as seen in Frey II. The introduction of reflective glass surfaces to visually camouflage the structure was a new concept for Frey.
The elements that distinguish the Burgess House as an example of Kaptur and Frey’s Midcentury Modern work:
• Flat roofline with 8’ ceilings throughout
• Square steel post and wood beam construction
• Floor to ceiling fixed glass and aluminum frame sliding doors • Minimalism as expressed through clean lines and the geometry of the 8’ x 8’ bays
• Lack of ornamentation, other than on site materials
• A swimming pool sited in front of the house as a central feature • Site integration as expressed by the stone masonry that surrounds the house as well as its close proximity to the hillside
• Building around boulders that function as room dividers, as in Frey II • Glazing that is cut around the boulders, as in Frey II • Indoor-outdoor living spaces through the extensive use of glass sliding doors and exterior features such as patios and living areas • Open floor plan that allows the kitchen and living areas to flow through to the patios
• 8’ deep cantilevered overhangs to provide shade from the sun • The house’s orientation towards the south and east plus the use of glass capitalizes on views of the valley
Over time, Frey developed a completely new vocabulary for the project involving rolling vaulted roofs, enameled steel panels with black steel frameworks that are Late Modern. Among Albert Frey’s Late Modern characteristics that demonstrate high artistic value:
• The black steel framework with its repetitive pattern is present in the sunshades, the carport, garage and guest house, creating further repetition so that it becomes part of an overall pattern • The use of white in the enamel steel structures and canvas coverings provides contrast with the black steel frameworks, which in turn, amplifies the patterns
• The cumulative use of pattern makes it difficult to isolate individual structures
• The exterior use of mirror cladding and reflective glass glazing conceals where the windows are actually located, creating a paradox of ambiguity 52 • The sunshades, carport and garage are symmetrical in plan, in a departure from the plan of the original house, which is asymmetrical • The rooflines are all arched in a rolling barrel vault arrangement, rather than the flat Midcentury Modern style
• The ceiling heights are taller than 8’ and vary due to the arched rooflines • The effect is Late Modern Expressionism, rather than the the rational Midcentury Modern International Style
• The roofline’s curved shapes in the guest house and garage are exaggerated gestures that increase the perceived size of the structure • The roof overhang framework is reflected in the mirrored wall surfaces, further blurring the distinctions between walls, windows and rooflines The Frey additions to this resource are a part of his late work, are completely intact and represents a master architect’s level with high artistic values.
Therefore, the structures qualify as a Class 1 Historic Resource under Criterion 5 for their distinctive characteristics representing the Midcentury Modern style, Late Modern and high artistic values.
CRITERION 6: That represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction. This criterion was created to address the resources contained within a potential Historic District.
The resource represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction, as used in evaluating applications for designation of a Historic District, for parcels on which more than one entity exists. The Burgess Residence’s historic significance does not rely on other properties or related developments. Hence, the structure does not qualify under Criteria 6.
CRITERION 7: That has yielded or may be likely to yield information important to local history or prehistory. The Burgess Residence and Addition is not expected to yield information critical to the national, state or local history or prehistory. Hence, the resource does not qualify under Criterion 7.
SUMMARY: This evaluation finds The Burgess Residence eligible for listing as a Palm Springs Historic Resource under 8.05.070 (C.1.a) paragraphs (iii, iv, and v) of the local ordinance’s seven criteria.
53 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
Integrity Analysis (using Secretary of Interior Standards)
INTEGRITY
Integrity is the ability of a property to convey its significance. To be listed in the local registry, a property must not only be shown to be significant under the criteria, but it also must have integrity. The evaluation of integrity is sometimes a subjective judgement, but it must always be grounded in an understanding of a property’s physical Features and how they relate to its significance. Historic properties either retain integrity (that is, convey their significance) or they do not. The definition of integrity includes seven aspects or qualities. To retain historic integrity a property will always possess several, and usually most, of the aspects. The retention of specific aspects of specific aspects is paramount for a property to convey its significance. Determining which of these aspects are most important to a particular property requires knowing why, where and when the property is significant. The following sections define the seven aspects and explain how they combine to produce integrity.
DESIGN
Design is the combination of elements that create the form, plan, space, structure, and style of a property. It results from conscious decisions made during the original conception and planning of a property and applies to activities as diverse as community planning, engineering, architecture, and landscape architecture. Design includes such elements as organization of space, proportion, scale, technology, ornamentation and materials. A property’s design reflects historic functions and technologies as well as aesthetics. It includes such considerations as the structural system; massing; arrangement of spaces; pattern of fenestration; textures and colors of surface materials; type, amount and style of ornamental detailing. The Burgess Residence and Addition’s essential elements of form, space, structures, configuration, and style have remained intact. Similarly, the structural system. massing, the arrangements of spaces and the type, amount and style of detailing, with noted exceptions, have remained intact.
MATERIALS
54 Materials are the physical elements that were combined or deposited during a period and in a particular pattern or configuration to form a historic property.
The choice and combination of materials reveals the preferences of those who created the property and indicate the availability of types of materials and technologies. The Burgess Residence and Addition’s materials represent the best of Midcentury Modern design, with high-quality but simple wood, steel posts, glass, enameled steel and a restrained black and white color palette.
WORKMANSHIP
Workmanship is the physical evidence of the crafts of a culture or people’s time in history or prehistory. It is the evidence of artisans’ labor in constructing or altering a building, structure, object or site. Workmanship can apply to the property as a whole or to its individual components. It can be expressed in vernacular methods of construction and plain finishes or in highly sophisticated configurations and ornamental detailing. It can be based on common traditions or innovative period details. Workmanship is important because it can furnish evidence of the technology of a craft, illustrate the aesthetic principles of a historic or prehistoric detail and reveal individual, local regional or historic buildings, including tooling, carving, painting graining, turning and joinery. The Burgess Residence and Addition was built in phases from 1958 to 1969. As a custom-built home for a very discerning client, the simple steel post and wood beam construction does not rely on surface ornamentation. Instead, the design relies on straight forward construction techniques and materials. Clearing the site and arranging the underpinnings was done by Burgess and Engum, while Kaptur understood the engineering needs to build on what was then a remote cliff. With Kaptur’s styling, the generous use of glass to frame the views, the sophisticated use of boulders on the site by Frey to provide interior decor, this structure is a valuable resource for the study of Midcentury Modernism. Frey continued to contribute to the project in the 1978 to 1993 phase designing lyrical sunshades, a carport, a garage and a guest house. These structures rely on black steel framework and white enameled steel panels or white canvas for form. These exaggerated shapes are in the Late Modern Style. William Burgess was a discerning client and Albert Frey was meticulous in his planning and monitoring of the construction. Fortunately, the current owners have preserved all of these structures and they are intact.
55 LOCATION
Location is the place where a historic property was constructed or the place where a historic event occurred. The relationship between the property and its location is often important to understand why the property was created or why something happened. The actual location of a historic property, complemented by its setting, is particularly important in recapturing the sense of historic events and persons. Except in rare cases, the relationship between a property and its historic associations is destroyed if the property is moved. The history of Palisades Drive is representative of the Post World War II period when war surplus explosives were plentiful, GIs were available as laborers and permits were being issued to blast away the side of a mountain. The Burgess Residence and Addition remains in its original location at 550 Palisades Drive, therefore it qualifies under this aspect.
SETTING
Setting is the physical environment of a historic property. Wheres location refers to the specific place where a property was built or an event occurred, setting refers to the character of the place in which the property played its historic role.
It involves how, not just where, the property is situated and its relationship to surrounding features and open space. Setting often reflects the basic physical conditions under which a property was built and the functions it was intended to serve. In addition, the way in which a property is positioned in its environment can reflect the designer’s concept of nature and aesthetic preferences. As residential clients were seeking privacy at higher elevations in the Post World War II period, Pawling filled this niche by developing Palisades Drive.
In 1957 Kaptur designed a house for 550, the first lot available. The house has a low profile to allow the spectacular setting to be dominant. Extensive use of glass on the south and west elevations and the relaxed “V” shape of the floor plan provide wrap around views of Palm Springs, the Coachella Valley and the mountains while sitting inside the living area. Stacked rock piers on the south elevation brought site materials into the home’s design.
The 1958 swimming pool sited in front of the house is a central focal point of the setting. As Frey modified the house in 1967, mirrored glass was introduced to reflect the setting. Olaf Engum, a stonemason, carved the cliffside to allow the expansion of the home and other structures while creating outdoor living features such as three waterfalls, a Koi pond, a balustrade that surrounds the property and gracious living spaces that 56 include carved stone seating, tables and a grill. A guesthouse and garage appear to be carved from the mountains and float above it. A series of sunshades float in the sky providing shelter. The 1957 Burgess Residence by Hugh Kaptur and 1967-1993 Additions by Albert Frey continue to maintain a strong connection to its site.
FEELING
Feeling is a property’s expression of the aesthetic or historic sense of a particular period. It results from the presence of physical features that, taken together, covey the property’s historic character. For example, a rural Historic District retaining original design, materials, workmanship and setting will relate the feeling of agricultural life in the nineteenth century. The Burgess Residence and Additions stands as a statement to the vision of William and Clara Burgess. Their trailblazing purchase of this property with its Hugh Kaptur house plans exemplifies their aesthetic passion. They imagined themselves in a Mediterranean setting in their white cliffside home surrounded by Palms, cascading Bougainvilles and large ceramic amphoras. They recognized the opportunity their neighbor Albert Frey represented and sought his help to update and reimagine their home. They went on to commission Frey to design them fanciful mirror and steel grillwork structures to serve as a guesthouse, carports and sunshades. Frey even designed a grill for them to prepare lamb, a signature dish. This sun washed modern Mediterranean feeling is intact on the property to this day.
ASSOCIATION
Association is the direct link between an important historic event or person and a historic property. A property retains association it is the place where the event or activity occurred and is sufficiently intact to convey that relationship to an observer. Like feeling, association requires the presence of physical features that covey a property’s historic character. For example, a Revolutionary War battlefield whose natural and man-made elements have remained intact since the eighteenth century will retain its quality of association with the battle.
Because feeling and association depend on individual perceptions, their retention alone is never sufficient to support eligibility of a property for the National Register. The Burgess Residence is not associated with an important historic event.
57 INTEGRITY SUMMARY: The integrity analysis confirms that the site and structures of the Burgess Residence and Additions possess six aspects of integrity.
APPENDICES
I OWNER’S LETTER OF SUPPORT
58 II BRAD DUNNING’S ENDORSEMENT
“The Burgess House (as I have always known it to be called) because of its site, architecture and landscape design epitomizes Palm Springs style in an unparalleled dramatic and theatrical desert modern vision.
With the Albert Frey additions, including the unique and lyrical shade structures, the house insures itself onto an inventory of the great properties of Palm Springs, certainly qualifying, in my opinion as a former Palm Springs Preservation Foundation board member, for Class One designation.” III ASSESSOR’S MAP AND AERIAL
59 IV BUILDING PERMITS
60 61
1958 Permit for the Kaptur
designed Burgess House.
62 (Top) 1968 Permit for the
Frey addition to the Burgess
House.
(Bottom) 1998 Permit
legitimizing the Frey guest
house for Burgess.
63 V. PHASES OF CONSTRUCTION OF THE BURGESS RESIDENCE
1. Original home and pool, 1958 2. Addition of primary bed and bath, 1967 3. Addition of “Grand children’s room” to the west and expansion of living room and patio to the east, 1974 4. Carport, 1979 5. Sun shades, 1979 6. Enclosure of the patio, 1980 7.
Guest house and garage/carport, 1993, later enclosed as a garage, 2012 Grill area, 1962, Sunken dining area, date unknown.
Frey’s site plan for Palisades Drive. Courtesy the Albert Frey Collection, Palm Springs Museum of Art. 64 Frey’s 1978 site plan with revisions in 1993. Note the southeast corner of the living space is not shown on this drawing. The position of the carport/garage is shown in relationship to the guest house. Courtesy of the Albert Frey Collection, Palm Springs Museum of Art.
VI. CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHS
Photos from 2025 by the author, except Fig. 9
by James Crump.
Fig. 1. 1980 Carport by Albert Frey.
65 Fig. 2. 1979 Carport and 1989 Guest House by
Albert Frey..
Fig. 3. View to the southeast showing the gate
to the pool deck.
Fig. 4. The 1987 Guest House by Albert Frey.
66 Fig. 5. “The Grandchildren’s Room” Built by
the owner.
Fig. 6. The south elevation of Hugh Kaptur’s
1957 house with 1967 modifications by Albert
Frey.
Fig. 7. The southeast corner of the porch,
showing 1980 enclosed area,
67 Fig. 8. A 1984 Sunshade by Albert Frey on the
south terrace,
Fig. 9. View from the northeast showing the
porch and patio area with Albert Frey’s grill to
the right,
Fig. 10. The north elevation of the addition
showing the reflective glass sliders and
mirror cladding to the right.
68 Fig, 11. The north elevation of the house
showing mirrored cladding and reflective
glass sliders
Fig. 12. Guest House by Albert Frey from
the east elevation showing boulder walls,
reflective glass cladding and enameled
steel tube framework and paneling
Fig. 13. Sunshade by Albert Frey
suspended from trees.
69 Details of exterior stone carvings which was a collaboration between William Burgess and Olaf Ergum. Photos by James Crump. 70 VII. GRANT DEEDS
71 72
73 74
75 76
77 78
79 VIII. ALBERT FREY CORRESPONDENCE RELATED TO THE BURGESS HOUSE Courtesy of the Albert Frey Collection, Palm Springs Museum of Art.
80 81
82 83
84 85
86 IV. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ady, Barbara. “Art fundraiser proves a hit,” The Desert Sun, March 11, 2007, p.
33. Biddle, Ouida Angelica. “A Short History of the Mirrored Facade,” Pin-Up Magazine #17, Fall/Winter 2014-2015.
Brown, Conrad. “What it’s Like to Make a Million,” Ladies Home Journal, October 1961, pp. 126-133).
Burgess, William. “The Story of a Palm Springs Cabana,” Unpublished manuscript, undated, Palm Springs Historical Society.
Cygelman, Adéle. Palm Springs Modern (New York: Rizzoli, 1999), esp. pp. 64-71.
Dosti, Rose. “Celebrating The Joffrey,” Los Angeles Times, April 3, 1986, p. 104.
Dunning, Brad (ed.) Albert Frey: Inventive Modernist (Santa Fe: Radius Books, 2024), esp. pp. 66-8.
Francis, Betty. “Meyermans receive star in front of art museum,” The Desert Sun, February 26, 2012, p. 72.
Keylon, Steven. The Modernist Architecture of Hugh Michael Kaptur (Palm Springs: Palm Springs Preservation Foundation, 2019. Especially pp. 52-61.
Riche, Melissa. “Joseph Stark Pawling,” Unpublished manuscript, undated.
Rosa, Joseph. Albert Frey, Architect (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999), esp. pp. 133-5, 143.
Townsend, Dorothy. “Design for Living: How the Desert was Won: Desert Living,” Los Angeles Times: March 22, 1963, pp. D1-D3.
Whiffen, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780: A Guide To The Styles (Cambridge, Massachusetts: M.I.T. Press, 1969).
87 X. PRESS CLIPPINGS FOR REFERENCE
88 89
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96