Step inside the private world of Donald Wexler, one of the architects who helped define Palm Springs Modernism. Built in 1955 and home to Wexler and his family for nearly four decades, this remarkably personal residence offers the opportunity to experience not simply one of his designs, but the house he created for himself.
Set in the Movie Colony East neighborhood, the residence reveals how Wexler approached designing his own family home. His distinctive wood post-and-double-beam system created an open, flexible plan that evolved as his family grew, while tongue-and-groove ceilings, vertical fir siding, broad overhangs and walls of glass demonstrate his deft handling of structure, shade and natural light.
Today, the house has entered a new chapter with owners Alison Neeley and Ben Roberts, whose shared love of architecture and design is reflected in more than 30 years of collecting Modernist art, furnishings and objects. Their reaction upon first walking through the door was immediate: “This is it!” That passion now guides their stewardship of the property. Throughout the house, their collection brings another layer of Modernist design to Wexler’s architecture, while their commitment remains firmly rooted in preserving the home he built for his own growing family.
Surrounded by desert boulders and native landscaping, the residence is a City of Palm Springs Class 1 Historic Site and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
We invite you to explore this celebrated residence and experience firsthand how one of Palm Springs’ great Modernists chose to live.
A portion of the proceeds from the tour directly benefit the Palm Springs Modern Committee (PS ModCom), a non-profit organization dedicated to the appreciation and preservation of Desert Modern architecture and design. We accomplish this through education, advocacy for threatened buildings, promotion of heritage tourism, and the celebration of successes in preservation and adaptive reuse.
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