How it got its name
The neighborhood organization says the Movie Colony was named after the many movie stars who owned homes here between the 1930s and the 1960s. The Historical Society dates its start to the 1930s, with the luxurious El Mirador hotel as its centerpiece.
The Historical Society's walking tour names Cary Grant, Gloria Swanson, Tony Curtis and Roger Moore among the Hollywood names connected to the neighborhood.
Spanish estates, then modernism
What you see on these streets is a mix of romantic Spanish Colonial Revival estates and modernist houses. One of the more unusual ones is the Kramer Residence on East Granvia Valmonte, built in 1963 to a design by James McNaughton. The Preservation Foundation calls it a rare desert take on New Formalism, and the city made it a Class 1 Historic Resource in January 2020.
Ruth Hardy Park sits inside the neighborhood, between Via Miraleste, Avenida Caballeros, Tamarisk Road and Tachevah Road. Hardy was a civic leader who ran the Ingleside Inn, which is south of here on West Ramon Road.
Houses with a record
- Allan and Mildred Kramer Residence800 E Granvia Valmonte
James McNaughton, 1963. Desert New Formalism. Class 1 Historic Resource, approved January 9, 2020.
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Next door: Movie Colony East
Movie Colony East, on the other side of Avenida Caballeros, is its own neighborhood with its own organization. That is where Frank Sinatra's Twin Palms actually stands, even though it is often described as being in the Movie Colony.
- Frank Sinatra's Twin Palms1148 E Alejo Road
E. Stewart Williams, 1947. City Class 1 Historic Site in 2011; National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
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The Movie Colony today
The Movie Colony has its own neighborhood organization, listed by the city's ONE-PS network separately from Movie Colony East.
The Palm Springs Historical Society runs a "Stars of the Movie Colony" walking tour that starts at East Granvia Valmonte and North Avenida Caballeros. Check their calendar for dates.
