Vista Las Palmas
Buying or selling in Vista Las Palmas?
Midcentury modernism at the foot of the mountains.
Vista Las Palmas sits against the San Jacinto foothills, immediately west of Old Las Palmas. Uptown’s cafés, restaurants, galleries, design stores and shops are walkable from many homes, with the route east passing through Old Las Palmas to North Palm Canyon Drive.
Alexander homes, pools and indoor-outdoor living.
Vista Las Palmas is known for its Alexander-built midcentury homes, with living spaces opening onto private pools, patios and gardens. Lots are generally around a quarter to a third of an acre, and properties range from largely original houses to carefully restored homes and extensive renovations.
Typical features
- Private pools and outdoor living areas
- Sliding glass doors to patios and gardens
- Breezeblock privacy screens
- Courtyards and sheltered entries
- Mature landscaping
- Mountain views
Useful property details
- Original architect and builder
- Original floor plan and roofline
- Year built and historic designation
- Original versus altered architectural features
- Renovation and permit history
- Lot size and orientation
- Mountain-view corridors
- Previous sale history
The Alexander era helped define modern Palm Springs.
The Alexander Construction Company began developing Vista Las Palmas in 1956, close to the established Las Palmas estates. Development continued in several phases through the late 1950s and into the early 1960s, with homes designed by Charles DuBois and the firm of Dan Palmer and William Krisel.
Robert and Helene Alexander lived at the House of Tomorrow, designed by William Krisel at 1350 Ladera Circle. Elvis and Priscilla Presley honeymooned there in 1967, giving the house its lasting association with the couple.
Butterfly roofs, Swiss Miss houses and breezeblocks.
Post-and-beam construction, walls of glass, clerestory windows and deep roof overhangs define much of Vista’s midcentury architecture. Decorative concrete breezeblock screens add geometric pattern, privacy and shade to façades, entries and outdoor spaces.
Architectural features
- Post-and-beam construction
- Walls of glass and clerestory windows
- Butterfly and folded-plate roofs
- Low-pitched and flat rooflines
- Swiss Miss A-frame designs by Charles DuBois
- Deep roof overhangs
- Decorative concrete screen blocks
Architects with documented work here
- William Krisel
- Dan Palmer
- Charles DuBois
- Harold “Hal” Levitt
Hal Levitt expanded the Palmer & Krisel-designed Morse Residence.
Modernist homes with a Hollywood history.
- Elvis & Priscilla Presley
- Robert & Helene Alexander
- Dean Martin
- Peter Lawford
- Debbie Reynolds
- Joan Collins
- George Hamilton
- John Phillips
- Trini Lopez