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House of Tomorrow

Street-facing view of the House of Tomorrow with its angular roof, glass walls, stonework, palms, and garden.

Palm Springs house history · Driving stop 4

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

Built
1960S02
Architects
Palmer & KriselS02
Plan
Clustered polygonal formsS02
Historic status
Palm Springs Class 1S01

Celebrity history

Elvis and Priscilla Presley at House of Tomorrow.

Elvis and Priscilla Presley leased the Robert Alexander Residence for about a year around their 1967 marriage and Palm Springs honeymoon.S02

Architecture

Design, materials, and historic status.

Palmer & Krisel designed the 1960 residence with a complex plan of clustered polygonal forms, wide overhangs, and extensive glass, plaster, stone, and wood.S02

Historic status

Palm Springs recognizes the Robert Alexander Residence as a Class 1 historic site.S01

Architectural details

  • Experimental massing

    The house is assembled from polygonal forms rather than a conventional rectangular plan.S02

  • Layered material palette

    Glass, plaster, stone, and wood sit beneath broad overhangs, giving each volume a distinct texture.S02

The wider story

The house in context.

The residence contributes to the Vista Las Palmas Historic District, a subdivision established by the Alexander Construction Company in 1956. Its custom polygonal plan is notably different from the firm’s repeatable tract-house kits.S02

Dan Saxon Palmer and William Krisel formed their partnership in 1950 and developed modular post-and-beam houses with open plans, glass walls, simple lines, and roof variations for Alexander subdivisions across the desert.S02

House chronology

Key dates in the house’s history.

Dates come from the records cited below.

  1. Palmer & Krisel design the Robert Alexander ResidenceS02
  2. Elvis and Priscilla Presley lease the houseS02
  3. Ticketed Modernism Week interior toursS05
  4. Most recent documented saleS04

Research notes

Sources for House of Tomorrow.

Claims on this page are tied to the records below. Research was checked .

  1. Palm Springs historic resources registryCity of Palm Springs · checked
  2. Citywide Historic Resources Inventory — 1350 Ladera Circle entryCity of Palm Springs · checked
  3. Open Source Routing Machine service informationFOSSGIS and OpenStreetMap contributors · checked
  4. 1350 Ladera Circle property and ownership historyHomes.com · checked
  5. House of Tomorrow Home TourPalm Springs Life · checked