Donald Wexler: Palm Springs House for Dinah Shore, Re-Invented
Author:Philip Ferrato
Donald Wexler is one of the defining architects of the mid-century Palm Springs Modern style. The house he designed for Dinah Shore in 1964 is for sale after an over-the-top renovation.
The basics: six bedrooms, eight baths on over an acre with a tennis court, pool and pool house, asking $5,995,000. Not so basic: it was built for Dinah Shore as a weekend retreat during the period when Hollywood partied in Palm Springs. The house has been re-invented “using current materials Wexler might have used if available to him during its original creation” according to the listing. OK! And no surface left untouched. If nothing else, it’s glamorous. For almost six million dollars, though, the realtor could have provided better pictures. There are many more at the listing.
Donald Wexler had a huge impact on Palm Springs and the surrounding communities, with a number of civic structures to his credit, but also with the designs for the Alexander homes, the series of tract developments that brought us, among other things, the butterfly roof. More about him at the Palm Springs Modern Committee site and of course, there’s a trailer for his bio-pic.
Listing: 432 West Hermosa Place, Palm Springs [MLS]
