The Orchid HousePalm Springs, California1971Book your stay

Palm Springs architecture, fame, and desert modernism

Celebrity Homes
Driving Tour

Drive 6 stops from Sinatra’s Twin Palms Estate to Neutra’s Kaufmann Desert House, crossing Movie Colony, Old Las Palmas, and Vista Las Palmas.

A self-guide researched and published by The Orchid House.

Your routeDriving route
Distance
3.5 miles
Stops
6 homes
Allow
45–60 min

Point to point

Free self-guide · house histories and live directions

Directions to tour startView route map

Start with arrival directions. On a phone, follow the 2 numbered legs in order.

Driving route

Drive from Hollywood history to desert modernism.

Begin in Movie Colony, cross Palm Canyon Drive, then explore the streets below the San Jacinto Mountains. The route ends north of where it began.

StartTwin Palms Estate
FinishKaufmann Desert House
Moving time12–15 minutes
ShapePoint to point · no return loop

Planning estimate. Google Maps and independent open routing produced slightly different results. Live traffic, construction, closures, and lawful stopping choices can add time.

Open in Google Maps

Arrive first. Keep every stop in order.

Phone: follow the numbered legs. Desktop: use the complete itinerary. Directions target the street frontage; Maps may display a nearby address.
Directions to tour startOpen the complete driving itinerary in Google Maps Leg 1 · Twin Palms Estate → Dinah Shore Residence Leg 2 · Dinah Shore Residence → Kaufmann Desert House

Route map· Across Palm Springs

Palm Springs celebrity homes driving route

Numbered homes follow the route order. Use the paired stop stories and live directions when you are ready to navigate.

Homes
6
Distance
3.5 mi
Experience
45–60 min
Neighborhoods
3
Palm Springs celebrity homes driving routeThe city-scale map numbers Twin Palms first, followed by Casa Adaire, the Dinah Shore Residence, House of Tomorrow, Piazza di Liberace, and the Kaufmann Desert House as the sixth and final stop. Public streets are shown from OpenStreetMap data checked 2026-09-17. Orientation only—not turn-by-turn. The route line follows reviewed OSRM street geometry; live conditions and Google Maps may produce a different lawful route.

Movie Colony · Frank Sinatra

Twin Palms Estate

Frank Sinatra commissioned and occupied Twin Palms beginning in 1947; preservation title research places his ownership from 1947 to 1953.
Open house history Jump to stop story
Driving routeNumbered stop

Orientation only. The route line follows reviewed OSRM street geometry; live conditions and Google Maps may produce a different lawful route. Pins are spaced apart where needed for selection; dotted lines connect them to their street locations.

Frontage checks: City of Palm Springs parcels · Route geometry · Street-map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, checked .

The 6-stop order

  1. 01Twin Palms EstateStart · Frank Sinatra · Movie Colony
  2. 02Casa AdaireElizabeth Taylor and Mike Todd · Old Las Palmas
  3. 03Dinah Shore ResidenceDinah Shore and Maurice Smith · Old Las Palmas
  4. 04House of TomorrowElvis and Priscilla Presley · Vista Las Palmas
  5. 05Piazza di LiberaceLiberace · Old Las Palmas
  6. 06Kaufmann Desert HouseFinish · Edgar J. Kaufmann · Vista Las Palmas

Two homes on Hermosa Place: Casa Adaire and the Dinah Shore Residence sit opposite one another. This route approaches from the east, so read them in that order as one viewing area—not two separate parking stops. The House of Tomorrow adds an out-and-back along South Via Las Palmas and Ladera Circle.

Why finish here: Kaufmann Desert House shifts the focus from celebrity ownership to Richard Neutra’s architecture. Finish in Vista Las Palmas without a return drive to Twin Palms.

Six stories in driving order

The homes—and
their stories.

Meet the people behind each home. Open its history for the architecture, key dates, ownership, and tour access, with sources for further reading.

Movie Colony

Twin Palms Estate

Driving stop 1
Image: The Jon B. Lovelace Collection of California Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's America Project, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Twin Palms Estate's piano-shaped swimming pool in front of the glass-walled house and two tall palms.

Commissioned · Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra commissioned and occupied Twin Palms beginning in 1947; preservation title research places his ownership from 1947 to 1953.

Why this stop

E. Stewart Williams’s 1947 design curls around a sheltered pool, with glass walls and long rooflines opening Sinatra’s retreat toward the San Jacinto Mountains.

1145 E Via Colusa, Palm Springs, CA 92262

Old Las Palmas

Casa Adaire

Driving stop 2Walking stop 4
Image: Visit Palm Springs
White Spanish Colonial Revival exterior of Casa Adaire behind palms and desert landscaping.

Leased · Elizabeth Taylor and Mike Todd

Elizabeth Taylor and producer Mike Todd rented Casa Adaire beginning in October 1957. Taylor celebrated her 26th birthday here on February 27, 1958; the couple did not own the property.

Why this stop

Built twenty years before Taylor and Todd’s stay, Casa Adaire adds a Spanish Colonial Revival house to a tour better known for mid-century modernism.

417 W Hermosa Place, Palm Springs, CA 92262

Old Las Palmas

Dinah Shore Residence

Driving stop 3Walking stop 5
Image: 432 Hermosa property gallery
Covered entrance promenade of the Dinah Shore Residence with adobe walls, reflecting water, clipped trees, and mountains.

Commissioned · Dinah Shore and Maurice Smith

Singer and television host Dinah Shore and her then-husband, Maurice Smith, commissioned the residence in 1964.

Why this stop

The commission connects Dinah Shore’s entertainment career to Donald Wexler’s unusual pairing of adobe and precise modern construction.

432 W Hermosa Place, Palm Springs, CA 92262

Vista Las Palmas

House of Tomorrow

Driving stop 4
Image: Carol M. Highsmith's America, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Street-facing view of the House of Tomorrow with its angular roof, glass walls, stonework, palms, and garden.

Leased · Elvis and Priscilla Presley

Elvis and Priscilla Presley leased the Robert Alexander Residence for about a year around their 1967 marriage and Palm Springs honeymoon.

Why this stop

Palmer & Krisel’s 1960 design groups polygonal forms beneath broad overhangs. The unusual house predates the Presleys’ honeymoon by seven years.

1350 Ladera Circle, Palm Springs, CA 92262

Vista Las Palmas

Kaufmann Desert House

Driving stop 6
Image: The Jon B. Lovelace Collection of California Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's America Project, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Street-facing view of the Kaufmann Desert House with pale stone, metal shade fins, boulders, cacti, and palms.

Architecture stop · Edgar J. Kaufmann

Department-store owner and architectural patron Edgar J. Kaufmann commissioned the desert house after having commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater.

Why this stop

Steel, glass, and pale Utah stone make this a distinctly different finale: a house commissioned by an architectural patron, rather than a Hollywood star.

470 W Vista Chino, Palm Springs, CA 92262

Sources and notes

How the route was researched.

The house histories link to city records, preservation nominations, archives, and property sources. Browse the full source list below.

Open route research notes24 sources · checked August 12, 2026
Publisher
The Orchid House
Research checked

Sources checked for this route

  1. Sinatra Twin Palms EstatePalm Springs Preservation Foundation · checked
  2. Walter and Adair Kirschner Residence Class 1 nominationCity of Palm Springs · checked
  3. Walter Kirschner ResidencePalm Springs Preservation Foundation · checked
  4. Donald Wexler Tour: Dinah Shore ResidencePalm Springs Modern Committee · checked
  5. Palm Springs historic resources registryCity of Palm Springs · checked
  6. Citywide Historic Resources Inventory — 1350 Ladera Circle entryCity of Palm Springs · checked
  7. Piazza di LiberacePalm Springs Preservation Foundation · checked
  8. Edgar J. Kaufmann HouseNeutra Institute for Survival Through Design · checked
  9. Palm Springs Stars’ Homes: Self-Guided TourVisit Palm Springs · checked
  10. Street closure and detour informationCity of Palm Springs · checked
  11. 1145 E Via Colusa property and ownership historyHomes.com · checked
  12. 1145 E Via Colusa sale historyRedfin · checked
  13. Frank Sinatra’s Twin Palms Estate TourModernism Week · checked
  14. 417 W Hermosa Place property and ownership historyHomes.com · checked
  15. 417 W Hermosa Place sale historyRedfin · checked
  16. An Evening to Remember: Night at DinahModernism Week · checked
  17. 432 W Hermosa Place sale historyRedfin · checked
  18. 1350 Ladera Circle property and ownership historyHomes.com · checked
  19. House of Tomorrow Home TourPalm Springs Life · checked
  20. 1441 N Kaweah Road property and ownership historyHomes.com · checked
  21. A Night of Sparkle: Cocktails at Piazza di LiberaceModernism Week · checked
  22. 470 W Vista Chino property and ownership historyHomes.com · checked
  23. Richard Neutra Kaufmann House sells for a record price in Palm SpringsNeutra Institute for Survival Through Design · checked
  24. Garden Tour of Kaufmann ResidenceModernism Week · checked

Another route—or a live guide

More ways to explore.

Visit Palm Springs covers more homes than this six-stop route. Compare its stop list if you want a longer itinerary.

Self-guided alternativeVisit Palm Springs Stars’ Homes self-guideVisit Palm Springs includes many more homes. Use it for a longer itinerary; this guide independently verifies only the stops listed here.Open self-guide

Keep exploring Palm Springs

Take the other route—or plan the rest of the day.

Continue with the companion walking tour, or return to the full visitor guide for restaurants, culture, outdoors, events, and seasonal planning.
Return to the Palm Springs Visitor Guide