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Roadside Tiki California Desert
Caliente Tropics

To kick off this tiki section in Palm Springs, here are some of the tiki homes from the area. Many thanks to Jon for the photo contributions and the text below.

 

"Tiki Home"
Palm Springs, CA
Photo courtesy Jon

 

A little about the houses: all the tiki homes you see here were constructed by the Alexander Construction Company -- the company responsible for building the majority of Palm Springs' mid-century modern homes. Though I am still performing research on the subject, I am currently attributing these home designs to the architect Don Wexler who was also responsible for the Royal Hawaiian Estates -- another tiki-style condo complex in Palm Springs.

Unlike most Alexander homes, the tiki style homes pictured here have larger floor plans: each was originally approximately 1800 square feet. The homes run up and down two streets only: Lakeside Drive and a portion of Pebble Beach. The tiki homes are one of three architectural styles that are repeated in the neighborhood.


"Destroyed"
Palm Springs, CA
Photo courtesy Jon

 

The tiki home titled "destroyed" was bulldozed just a month ago. It was the only tiki style home on the block featuring lava rock masonry. Only four others remain in various compromised states, and only one (titled "grey") maintains the jutting beams coming from the tip of its A-frame. The other homes have tragically sawed most of their beams off. I have convinced the grey-home owner to keep the beams, however. (He had been planning to to remove them due to the mess perching birds make.) Many owners have added gates, which are not original features of the homes and also "mansionized" the interiors by adding new rooms/floor space

Lakeside Drive/Pebble Beach are just off of Gene Autry and Highway 111. If you are coming down Gene Autry towards 111, make a left onto Waverly, left on Brentwood, and then right on Lakeside. Lakeside eventually turns into Pebble Beach.

 

 

Caliente TropicsCaliente Tropics
Palm Springs, CA
Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo

The Caliente Tropics Resort in Palm Springs, CA is one of the last remaining tiki styled treasures left in the area.

Check out the Caliente Tropics here at Roadside Peek's Spotlight on the Caliente Tropics.

 

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© Copyright 1998-2021 Syd Nagoshi. All rights reserved. No portion of this document may be reproduced, copied or revised without written permission of the author.