An historic architectural treasure is now a new attraction in Palm Springs. An exact scale replica of the 1952 Walker Beach House by modernist architect Paul Rudolph is installed in Palm Springs.

Through the innovative thinking of local architectural preservationists and a partnership with several sponsors, the replica of Rudolph’s Walker Beach House will be on view for public tours beginning October 2018 through March 2020. It will be located between the Palm Springs Art Museum and The Rowan Hotel in the new downtown development on land provided by Grit Development.

Rudolph originally built the Walker Beach House for Dr. Walter Walker as a family guest house on Florida’s Sanibel Island. The 576-square-foot beach cottage is still currently used by the Walker family.

Much like Albert Frey’s Aluminaire House which will be installed in 2020 in approximately the same location, the Walker Beach House installation in Palm Springs was sparked by equal parts serendipity and perfect timing. In this case, the effort was spearheaded by the Palm Springs Modern Committee.

“The Walker Guest House was first introduced to me by board member Stephen Rose,” says Nickie McLaughlin, Palm Springs Modern Committee (ModCom) executive director. “Stephen had visited Florida and taken the annual Sarasota Architectural Foundation (SAF) tour.”  

Having met board members of SAF, Rose learned that the Walker Beach House had been carefully dismantled and placed into custom-made crates after its first exhibit at Sarasota’s Ringling Art Museum which had been on display from the fall of 2016 until April of 2017. Essentially it was in storage waiting for the next destination where it could be displayed.

“Stephen was an enthusiastic supporter of bringing the house to Palm Springs and asked me to give it some thought. This took several weeks to research as the project came with a lot of logistical hurdles and a large budget that the Palm Springs Modern Committee had not undertaken before,” McLaughlin added.

Working with Joe King, the architect who recreated the house, and Elliott Himelfarb, a board member of SAF, a loosely-formed group was created that included Rose and McLaughlin who took it to the ModCom board for their consideration. The board made the decision to support the project and a subsequent contract with the Sarasota Architectural Foundation was entered into in June 2018.

“As the project manager I came up with a plan to offset some of the costs associated with reconstruction of the house by going into the community seeking sponsors. This is the most expensive adventure that PS ModCom has embarked on and recouping funds will be possible through daily tours, fund raising events and generous sponsors.”