Provided
The Cody residence in Palm Springs is shown in photos from 1952.
William F. Cody (1916-1978) is considered one of the most important Modernist architects working in the mid-century. Originally from Ohio, he chose Palm Springs as the base for his booming architectural practice and to raise his growing family.
Cody is best known for his large-scale commissions such as the Thunderbird golf course. Still, Cody’s more intimate residential projects showcased some of his most successful design ideas and allowed him to freely experiment with landscape and interior design.
Art + Design historian and co-author of Master of MidCentury: The Architecture of William F. Cody, Jo Lauria notes that Cody intuitively understood how to site a structure on the land to take the best advantage of its surroundings. Lauria describes what makes Cody’s residential commissions unique. "Courtyards and patios with wide overhanging roofs were entered through floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, as were many of the communal living areas, to dissolve the boundaries between interior and exterior spaces. Interior rooms, such as bedrooms and bathrooms, were frequently designed with adjoining small patios accessed through sliding glass doors for more intimate views and enjoyment of nature."
Cody designed his family's desert home in 1952, where he and his wife, Wini, raised their three daughters. The house was recently sold to a young family who will care for the space and have plans to bring back some of its missing original features.
Cathy Nemirovsky Cody remembers her family’s life in the desert:
" My parents enjoyed music and dancing and had a large collection of blues, jazz, classical, bossa nova, Mexican, and Cuban. My mother was a professional blues singer before they married. Sometimes, she would sing for our guests. My parents liked to entertain. Our home had many parties; the gardens were beautifully up-lit and tiki torches were strategically placed. The house hummed with music, laughter, and conversations."
"His use of teak, redwood, walnut, travertine, slate, marble, quarry tiles, and indigenous stone added texture, color, and tonal qualities to the interiors." — J o Lauria, Writer and Curator
"Strangers would come to see our home. They were potential clients, other architects, or interested people that wanted to see the house. My father was a generous person and quick to invite people, and this was sometimes stressful on my mom as he often didn’t give her much of a 'heads up' when he called home to tell her.
"Whoever was home would grab the suitcases and throw in the unfolded laundry, unread mail, bills, newspapers and anything left out — and it all went into either the trunk of mom's Cadillac or shoved in the bomb shelter. We would then grab the feather duster, Windex window spray, Pledge furniture spray, the broom and mop and 'go to town' cleaning 'like mad' while mom made herself presentable.
"The house was surrounded by pockets of gardens. There were three Torrey pine trees, an olive and a Jacaranda, plus two large trees in the east side yard, three very tall palm trees in the back east corner, plus many cacti varieties with the natural indigenous desert landscaping. It was a great space to play.
"Initially, the children's room was in the main house to the east side of the atrium. Our room became the library after my parents' second trip to Europe in 1962 when they purchased 12 teak modular shelving units in Denmark and we three girls moved into the guest rooms."
"Cody's hallmarks are slender steel beams, structural columns, and ultra-thin roof lines that seem to disappear, allowing for maximum, unobstructed views; clear vistas from the entry point to the exterior patio, and easy circulation from indoors to outdoors. Elegance achieved through lightness and transparency." — Jo Lauria, Writer and Curator
"We always had a large dog; first a collie, then a Labrador-German shepherd mix, and a German shepherd who was related to the original Lassie. [The] average amount of cats we had were five and at the most, there were 24! Once, an abandoned poodle was left outside our home, and he became part of the mix.
"My father’s exuberant personality and generosity has often been acknowledged to me and appreciated by those who knew him. My father seemed to always be smiling; he was jolly and made us laugh. While he worked long hours at the office, he was home for dinner. He told us bedtime stories with character voices and sound effects — often while we lay on the bed — with the sliding roof panel open to see the night sky."
