Following WWII, famed French-born American industrial designer Raymond Loewy desired a new winter home for himself and his family. Collaborating with local architect Albert Frey, the stunning Loewy House of 1946 was the result. Located on the edge of Palm Springs’ Little Tuscany neighborhood, the house takes advantage of an extensive boulder pile on the site. Partially clad in corrugated aluminum and reveling in its use of floor-to-ceiling glass, the indoor-outdoor nature of the house exemplifies Frey’s approach to the local desert environment. Raymond Loewy, who began his career as a fashion illustrator, was one of the luminaries of modern design.

Among his cutting-edge designs are the curvaceous Coca-Cola bottle, numerous corporate logos, gas stations, housewares, and the iconic packaging for Lucky Strike cigarettes. In 1961, Loewy’s design team retreated to Palm Springs with the exquisite Studebaker Avanti as the result. In the early 1960s, after viewing Air Force One, Loewy quietly collaborated with President John F. Kennedy to change the livery to blue and white, emblazoning the fuselage with “United States of America.” The Loewy version remains to this day.

The Loewy house, set amidst the desert landscape, features a curved glass pavilion (referenced as a ’solarium’ by Loewy) and a large pool that extends into the living room, making it the perfect setting for entertaining. Loewy wrote, “The scene resembles a blue lagoon in a desert oasis.”

This is a rare opportunity to visit one of the ultimate classic Frey houses, aptly named “Tierra Caliente” by Loewy.

The Palm Springs Modern Committee (PS ModCom) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the appreciation and preservation of Desert Modern architecture and design. We accomplish this through education, advocacy for threatened buildings, promotion of heritage tourism, and the celebration of successes in preservation and adaptive reuse.

https://psmodcom.org/