Well fly me to the moon, because this Palm Springs Midcentury Modern is out of this world! Seldom do you find a home built in 1960 that has been so beautifully preserved. This one is a Hollywood set designer’s dream.
A True Palm Springs Vibe
Palm Springs became the getaway for the Hollywood elite decades ago. Of course, they brought along their cutting-edge architects to design second homes.
Frank Sinatra, for instance, was one of those stars. His 1947 house, Twin Palms, is still a huge attraction. It didn’t take long for the Palm Springs Midcentury Modern to become a popular architectural style and spread throughout the country.
Bringing Palm Springs to Big D
One local Dallasite was certainly taken with the style. Joe Roger Crownrich had earned degrees in both aeronautical and civil engineering, but his heart was in architecture. He founded the Crownrich Companies of Dallas to fulfill that architectural desire. He started with a washateria and went on to build homes and doctors clinics.
His biggest accomplishment? Designing and building over 300 car dealerships nationwide. Specializing in providing the total package from design and development to engineering and construction oversight, he left his mark on companies you’ll know, like Sewell, Huffines, and John Eagle.
Crownrich decided to build several homes on Valleydale near the intersection of Northaven Road. He reserved the corner lot and designed this Palm Springs Midcentury Modern for himself. The house has been referred to as “extreme contemporary” because he pulled out all the stops. That included surrounding the home with a brick breezeway wall, also called a brise soleil, to provide complete privacy and to enclose a swinging courtyard I think Sinatra would love.
A Delayed Debut
The home was to be showcased on the Preservation Dallas Fall Architectural Modern Masterpieces tour last October. Then the North Texas tornado struck a week before the tour date. That gorgeous wall sustained irreparable damage. Over the past few months, the present owners have done a stellar job of rebuilding and capturing the drama of that original wall.
The 2,618-square-foot Palm Springs Midcentury Modern has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. There are two master suites because Crownrich built the home to also house his parents.
It’s an incredibly exciting residence because it has so many original elements. There are carved room separators, lighted ceiling coves, massive block fireplace walls, and oh, those swirl pattern ceilings. Don’t look up if you have a few cocktails!
Do you remember the television series “The Astronaut Wives Club“? (If not watch it, and prepare to fall in love with all things Midcentury Modern.)
Production designer Mark White sent shoppers to several states to find 1960s kitchen appliances. The aquamarine kitchen of character Renee Carpenter stands out as the real design hero. But, it cannot hold a candle to the dual pink Hotpoint refrigerators and insanely hip pink laminate countertops in this Palm Springs Midcentury Modern. It would be absolutely criminal to replace any of this, so please, do not buy this wonderful home if you don’t get it.
If you do appreciate the value of these unique homes, I’d suggest calling listing agent Renee Saulnier with The Michaels Group as soon as you finish reading this. It’s only been listed for a few days and at $645,000, it’s going to move fast, in any market.
Ask Alexa to play some Sinatra, get out the cocktail shaker and shelter in place suddenly looks like a vacation in this Palm Springs Midcentury Modern at 7847 Northaven Road!
