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Image: John Lewis Marshall

Snyder Residence

Spanish Colonial Revival garden facade of the Snyder Residence beneath mature trees, with terracotta paths and desert planting.

Palm Springs house history · Walking stop 2

This 1932 winter retreat makes room for a generous garden: William Charles Tanner placed its U-shaped Spanish Colonial Revival plan off-center on the site.

Built
1932S02
Architect
William Charles TannerS02
Style
Spanish Colonial RevivalS02
Historic status
Palm Springs Class 1S02

Celebrity history

Rod Taylor at Snyder Residence.

The John C. and Estella Snyder Residence later became the home of actor Rod Taylor.S02

Architecture

Design, materials, and historic status.

William Charles Tanner designed the adobe-inspired U-shaped Spanish Colonial Revival residence in 1932 around an expansive garden.S02

The house was deliberately placed off-center on its Merito Vista parcel, reserving a large share of the site for the garden rather than treating landscape as leftover space.S02

Historic status

The Palm Springs City Council approved Class 1 historic designation for the Snyder Residence on May 12, 2026.S02

Architectural details

  • Adobe-inspired U-shaped plan

    The residence wraps an expansive garden, making the landscape a central room in the composition.S02

  • Room for the garden

    Tanner placed the house off-center on its parcel to leave a large area for the garden.S02

The wider story

The house in context.

John C. Snyder, a wealthy Indiana businessman, commissioned the house as a winter retreat for his family and called it Morada La Estrella—approximately “Home of the Star”—long before Rod Taylor’s later residence.S02

House chronology

Key dates in the house’s history.

Dates come from the records cited below.

  1. William Charles Tanner designs the Snyder ResidenceS02
  2. Actor Rod Taylor makes the residence his homeS02
  3. Most recent documented saleS05
  4. Modernism Week Retro Martini PartyS06
  5. Class 1 historic designation approvedS02

Research notes

Sources for Snyder Residence.

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

  1. Palm Springs historic resources registryCity of Palm Springs · checked
  2. John C. and Estella Snyder ResidencePalm Springs Preservation Foundation · checked
  3. Open Source Routing Machine service informationFOSSGIS and OpenStreetMap contributors · checked
  4. Snyder Residence historic-site staff reportCity of Palm Springs · checked
  5. 271 W Merito Place sale historyRedfin · checked
  6. Retro Martini PartyModernism Week · checked