Modernism Week: The Ocotillo Lodge in Palm Springs

Had a wonderful time touring through the Ocotillo Lodge, my third time since the mid-century-modern-motel-turned-condo-complex was added to Modernism Week festivities in 2023. You see, my mom stayed at the Ocotillo Lodge for a week in October 1961 while on assignment for Sunset’s cover story on Palm Springs.

Mom even made the cover of that January 1962 issue and posed for other photos throughout the magazine.

Designed by mid-century architects Dan Palmer and William Krisel, the Ocotillo Lodge originally served as a motel for prospective buyers eyeing properties in the adjacent Twin Palms development. The lodge’s illustrious history included ownership stints by notables such as Gene Autry (owned the Angels) and Jerry Buss (owned the Lakers). It’s believed that celebrities like Lucille Ball and Marilyn Monroe also spent time on the property.

For the 2025 tour for Modernism Week, the folks at the Ocotillo Lodge added an illustrated lecture about the history of property that is tied so closely to the neighboring Twin Palms development (Twin Palms is even mentioned in the 1950s series called The Saint). In looking to the future, presenters explained how they are working to restore the Candlewood Room (above photos from the Huntington Library’s Maynard Parker collection). The Ocotillo Lodge’s current community and multi-purpose room originally served as a restaurant on one side and lounge on the other. Keeping my fingers crossed that the preservationists are able to locate some of these original metal sculptural pieces on the wall.

What I love about touring the Ocotillo Lodge during Modernism Week is the opportunity to chat with fellow mid-century modern enthusiasts, discussing the ups and downs of designing/living in mid-century spaces. It’s such a treat to tour through the handful of bungalows and see the unique ways that residents have paid homage to the place’s mid-century roots.

Cartographer Mary Hall Atwood

I’m also including two cartographic representations of Palm Springs by the map-maker by Mary Hall Atwood, a cartographer featured on my recent tour of the map collections of the Los Angeles Public Library (organized for L.A. as Subject archivists). I knew about the mapmaker Laura Whitlock from LAPL’s previous map librarian Glen Creason, so I was excited to learn about another woman cartographer from the new(ish) map librarian Peter Hauge. And like Whitlock, Mary Hall Atwood had to sue for copyright infringement regarding this map below.