learn about:
the twin palms estates
The
Twin
Palms
Estate
The ultimate mid-century modern neighborhood
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Below you can learn about some key moments in the fascinating history of The Twin Palms Estate neighborhood, soon to be your Palm Springs homebase.
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Any history of this part of the world, however brief, should start by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which Twin Palms and wider Palm Springs sits, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians whose ancestors and current members we at the TPAH acknowledge and respect.
And in that is our first recommendation - less than five minutes drive in either direction from the TPAH sit the Indian and Tahquitz Canyons and their surrounding systems. Both are wonderfully managed by the Agua Caliente and well worth a visit.
And sticking with this theme, another recommendation is to take the time to visit the new and rather beautiful Agua Caliente Cultural Museum in downtown Palm Springs (and while you there why not spoil yourself with a some time in a restorative halotherapy salt cave at The Spa at Séc-he, it's a stunner).
You can see our Top 10 Palm Springs recommendations elsewhere in this House Guide.
If you want to learn more about the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians click the button below.
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Recognizing the original
First Nations owners
The land upon which the Twin Palms Art House sits is freehold land that was carved out of the original Smoke Tree Ranch, a high-end Western themed getaway “camp”.
Amazingly you can still stay at Smoke Tree Ranch but you better be ready for some serious old school house rules. Learn more here including about the associated group known as "the Colony" (which also still exists) and the not-to-be City of Palmdale which was originally begun and was planned to cover all of what is now South Palm Springs
As the land was separated from the Ranch its existing development regulations came along with it meaning the whole Twin Palms neighborhood inherited a 1930s planning rule limiting structures to single story, which still applies today.
But it really wasn’t until the 1950s that several key players saw the potential for a unique tract development to be called Twin Palms or Twin Palms Estates.
The arrival of the 20th century
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You can still see this sign today
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Exact location of The Twin Palms Art House is marked
Listen to the man himself
The extraordinary team Krisel & Alexander
The show had certainly began for Twin Palms and Palm Springs more widely
The story of Twin Palms is the story of its principle architect, William Krisel, who only passed away less than a decade ago in 2017.
Designed in the mid-1950s ands build between 1957 and 1959, Twin Palms, or more accurately Twin Palms Estates was Coachella Valley’s first Alexander Construction Company subdivision.
(To read more about the amazing impact of the Alexander Construction Company on this area and more widely, including its link to.an infamous JFK/Marilyn Monroe hook-up here in Palm Springs and it's ultimately tragic demise, click the button below.)
Originally dubbed Smoke Tree Valley Estates, Twin Palms Estates features homes with a common floor plan but with varying facades, rooflines and plan-rotations on approximate 10,000 square-foot lots, and each home came standard with two palms, leading to the name change to Twin Palms. See picture above for the TPAH's original palms, which are still going strong.
These homes embody the quintessential Palm Springs lifestyle – swimming pools, private yards and mountain views.
In all the material we've read on this neighborhood and its connection to this extraordinary man, none summarizes the history and the true extent of what happened here in little Twin Palms better than an article published in late 2023 by SF GATE.
To give you the best chance of taking this all in we've had an AI read it out for you (you are on a break after all!). Just click on the button below to link to the audio file and give it a listen. We hope you enjoy learning about this unique neighborhood and its role the building of modern America as much as we have.
And it must be said this style of tract development has influenced planners and tastes across the Western world, including in places as far away as Australia and Norway.
Note if you do prefer to read the article you can find it here or via the QR code on the graphic.
Twin Palms - an outsized impact on modern America (and beyond)
The coolest neighborhood in North America?
Several dedicated residents have played a key role in making sure the original heroes of this tale - the architect William Krisel in particular, but also George and Bob Alexander, the developers of the land here in South Palm Springs - are being recognized.
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At the TPAH we are forever grateful to those locals who really drove this forward with such passion, we are all in their debt.
And in recent years the wider world has comprehensively cottoned-on to this gem with Twin Palms being declared variously cool, a unique global first and irreplaceable - but we'll let others, less biased than us, elaborate on all that.
Just click below for recent prominent take that we fully endorse and also articles in the Palm Springs Tribune and Finding Beautiful Truth.
Enjoy, all while knowing you made the right decision to come and stay right here.
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Time to explore?
You bet it is!
How about you? Ready to see some of this for yourself. Just walk out the door, go left or go right and you're sorted. Honestly spend a few hours just wandering Twin Palms. You will sweat and you won't regret it one little bit.
And when (or if) you're keen to go further afield a self-guided tour is your best bet and there obviously free to do and available all year round (and let's be honest, it's a really gonna be a self-air-conditioned car guided driving tour, right?).
The best one in our opinion is the amazing mid-century modern architecture self-guided tour pulled together by Visit Palm Springs which you can see more on by clicking below.
Note that beyond walking tours, Visit Palm Springs is an extremely useful general resource for you while here - trust me the locals rely on it too!