Thursday, January 22nd: Home Of The Stars

Today we got off to a leisurely start with a mid morning tour of old Palm Springs and the homes of the stars.  It seems like at one point in history anyone who was anyone had a vacation home in Palm Springs.  Part of this may be because in the good old days of movie studios and their contract stars, they were required to stay within 2 hours of LA so they could get back in a timely manner if called to do so.  And of interest were in general how modest - at least from the outside - most of these homes were and how close together they are.  Not the aprawling mansions when we think Hollywood stars homes of today.  For example, Bob Hopes home was a modest 1300 sq foot bungalow.  But he had wonderful neighbors - Bing Crosby had a home directly across the street and and Dorothy Lamor lived next to Bing.  If you recall, they were the three stars of the "Road To" series of movies.

As  you might expect, most of the homes had privacy fences around the property so in some cases you only caught a glimpse of a roof line above the gate, but still we got a good overview of this residential side of Hollywood and the architecture of the homes.  Many we simple ranch style bungalos, some were more modern as in mid century modern.  Very few modern day stars have homes here - at least that we were told about.  But we did see Barbars Streisands sprawling complex on a hill side just outside of downtown and Leo Di Caprio's home that use to belong to another star of the early era.  And we got a good view of Elvis' home which many believe is hainted by his spirit to this day!

One of Liberace's Homes - wasn't hard to see this one

This is where you might find Leonardo

The Kaufman Home - they also built Falling Waters (by Frank Lloyd Wright)

The main street of Palm Springs was bustling with afternoon activity - people shopping and dining and strolling among the statuary.  We had plans to return there later in the afternoon to take advantage of the Art Museum and the Villagefest evening activities of art, street food, and vendors.

Went back downtown to take advantage of Free Thursday at the museum.  Was  an eclectic collection of art wroks from sculptures to Native American crafts to art glass to contemporary art.  Interestingly they had a special exhibit of Art Glass from Australia, many of the contributing artists coming out of The Jam Factory in Adelaide which we had actually visited when we were in Australia!  It was a nice hour of culture.  

Interior of the Art Museum

Who Knew I Was Creating Art Curbside Every Friday

Chuily

How Tall Can You Stack The Dishes?

After the museum we strolled our way up and down the 6 or so blocks of the downtown area that was closed off for the weekly street fair called VillageFest.  There was street food and entertainment and artists of every sort.  TThere was also a nice Farmers Market down one of the side streets.

A Few of the Booths as the Market Begins

Palace Theater where The Follies use to be

One of The Interesting Buildings Along the Street

I was impressed with the variety and quality and size of the festival along with the volume of the crowd.   Lots of people - citizen and tourist alike - enjoying a mild evening stroll and people watching.