Desert Magazine: Tell us about the origins of Modernism Week.
Lisa Vossler Smith: It started with a grassroots effort by a group of friends who were aficionados of architectural history. They got together in late 2005 and conceived the idea of home tours and collaborative events between the organizations that were already hosting architectural events around President's Day weekend in February. The Modernism show had already been taking place at the convention center for five years. So, it was really this group of friends that grew into a committee that ultimately started the organization [called] Modernism Week. They had their first event that year in February 2006.
Desert: Tell me a little about your background and how that led you to become involved in Modernism Week.
Smith: My background was [in] large-scale corporate event planning. When I came back to the desert in 2000, I had been working in New Orleans for seven years as an event producer. I came back here with a lot of big world experience … and then here in the desert, I worked on golf tournaments – lots of large-scale, made-for-TV kind of golf events. And then I was hired by the Palm Springs Art Museum in 2005. While at the museum, I started producing their fundraising events … and worked my way up to senior director. When I was ready to make a jump in 2013, Modernism Week was looking for their first full-time executive director. I was actually the first full-time employee of Modernism Week.
Desert: The Modernism Week organization began in 2005 and eight years later is in a position to hire a full-time CEO. That’s pretty phenomenal growth.
Smith: It was the former part-time executive director who got them to that point. Her name is Nickie McLaughlin, and she's still very involved in the modernism community. She is still the staff person and executive director for [the] Palm Springs Modern Committee, which is one of the founding organizations of Modernism Week.
Desert: Can you explain how that organization works with Modernism Week?
Smith: Palm Springs Modern Committee and Palm Springs Preservation Foundation both have missions to advocate for the preservation of historic properties. Palm Springs Modern Committee is more focused on modern architecture, where Palm Springs Preservation Foundation takes in projects that include Spanish Adobe architecture and a broader span than just modernism. But, those two organizations were already working in Palm Springs. They had committee members that were on this formation committee for Modernism Week. And because they were already hosting tours and programs, it made sense that they would coordinate their tours and programs during Modernism Week. They are still producing partners. We have about 60 partner organizations between all of the neighborhoods, their HOAs, and all of the other non-profits and small businesses that help us produce events during Modernism Week. We're able to revenue share with our partner organizations.
Desert: Where does the bulk of the revenue come from?
Smith: Ticket sales. That revenue share last year was $2.2 million back to these partner organizations [and] businesses here in the Coachella Valley.
Desert: If I'm coming to Modernism Week for the first time, how do I buy tickets? What am I buying tickets for? What am I looking to do?
Smith: Well, all of the events are available a la carte. You go right to our website and then you can peruse the entire schedule of 11 days of events. And I recommend for first-timers [to] figure out what date you're available and then take a look at the schedule of that day, because there's 40 to 50 events going on every day. There's something great to choose from any day of the week during Modernism week, and we plan it that way so that there's activity that lasts and continues and repeats sometimes through the week, so that more people can have a chance to see it.
Desert: How have events and offerings changed over the last 20 years?
Smith: We haven't strayed too far from the things that we did in the very beginning. We had one architectural bus tour. Now, we'll have a dozen a day. We had some homes, some significant historic mid-century modern homes open for home tours. Now, we'll have hundreds of homes that will be open over the course of 11 days of Modernism Week. And we had presentations like we do now in the Annenberg Theater with internationally known architects and scholars coming to talk about modernism. And today, we still do this incredible series at the Annenberg Theater, bringing in keynote presenters and people from all over the world.
Desert: Modernism Week is actually more than a week, isn't it?
Smith: That's our secret byline. It's more than a week. It is more than a mouthful, for sure. It started as a week that spanned two weekends, and we eventually added the Thursday of the first week. We get started with a long weekend, and it's President's Day that weekend in February. So, we had a long holiday weekend for people to come to Palm Springs, and hopefully they stay. That's what we found, is that they'll come and stay for a good two-week period.
Desert: There was an art director from GQ who bought one of the Case Study homes around 1999. I think a lot of people say that's kind of ground zero for the resurgence of interest. Would you say that's accurate?
Smith: That and the timing of the restoration of the Kaufmann House, which began in the ‘90s but took several years to complete. But, Jim Moore's Steel House is what you're talking about, and it began to appear in photo shoots, and it was really the first [time] that we had seen Palm Springs on the pages of a fashion magazine in many years. It immediately elevated the profile of Palm Springs. The wave that came after that of true home restoration really ignited an economy out here that was dying. Palm Springs sat somewhat vacant and untouched.
Desert: Even with the renewed interest in modernism 25 years ago, there must’ve been a growing sense that there was a grave threat to a lot of significant architecture?
Smith: Yes, definitely. I mean, we had already started to see not only in Palm Springs, but [also] in the surrounding desert cities, that properties were being torn down and that projects were greatly at risk … everything from the (Frey) gas station to the Maslon House. Awareness and education was always the number-one motivation behind starting these events. Why have tours? Why have lectures? Why raise awareness? Because the community needed to understand that what we have here is a treasure, and that we were fortunate enough that much of it had been saved and that it was worthy of protecting. And now, fast-forward 20 years, there's a book coming out at Modernism Week this year [about] the Palm Springs School of Architecture because these desert modernist architects are finally being recognized in an academic culture as being innovators in their time. It's taken 20 years to build the conversation to this major point that Rizzoli is helping produce this book [titled “The Palm Springs School: Desert Modernism 1934–1975”] that will help reestablish Palm Springs as a mecca of mid-century modernism in America.
Desert: What were the milestones that marked the growth of Modernism Week?
Smith: One huge victory that comes to mind that's easily illustrated is the Aluminaire House, which now sits proudly at [the] Palm Springs Art Museum. This is an Albert Frey-design[ed] structure from the 1930s that now finds its home here in Palm Springs, where Albert Frey's own home up on the mountain above the Palm Springs Art Museum is also in their collection. And it's only natural that they have his archive and are the repository of Albert Frey architecture in Palm Springs. This was a conversation that was started at Modernism Week way back in 2017 or 2018 when we invited the architects who were basically saving and securing the Aluminaire House as a kit of parts stowed away in a storage container. They came and spoke at Modernism Week, and from there, the conversation started about how to eventually move it to Palm Springs and have it erected. And then, many years later, this has actually happened, and so now it's available to the public to view and visit and learn about Albert Frey and Desert Modernism. The more public-facing opportunities that we have to engage the public about why historic and significant architecture is worthy of preservation helps [sic] tourists and visitors understand why it's important in their own community.
Desert: What are you looking forward to this year? What are some of the standout events?
Smith: Well, this year, because it's our 20th anniversary, we wanted to open up the best of the best houses that have been open over the last 20 years. We worked with many homeowners that have worked with us before to be able to open what we like to call “legacy houses.” Their significance is tied into the overall historic legacy of Palm Springs. So, that's houses like Arthur Elrod's own personal residence in Las Palmas, and of course the [Frank] Sinatra House, which is always on everybody's list. [There’s also] the House of Tomorrow – the famous Bill Krisel-designed house that was also the Elvis Honeymoon Hideaway. All of these houses … have not only an architectural history but [also] a celebrity pedigree as well, but are always very interesting to the public. And then we have new houses, new to Modernism Week that have never been opened before. One, we're calling The Vibe house because it is a total ‘70s vibe on the inside. From the outside, it looks like a typical glamorous Palm Springs home, but inside, it is wall-to-wall velvet.
Desert: It must be really hard to control demand to get in to tour some of the more celebrated homes.
Smith: We're very sensitive to that because it also compromises the experience when you're visiting somebody's home. If it's too crowded or people are lingering too long, taking photographs, you really want people to have a nice and solitary experience. So yes, we do limit the number of tickets that we will sell within a half-hour time period. There's typically 80 to 100 people coming through [per hour].
Desert: What speakers will participate this year?
Smith: Our speakers this year are terrific. I'm most excited about Raymond Neutra coming. The son of Richard Neutra is coming as our keynote speaker. He's been a friend of Modernism Week all 20 years. And it's important to us to have him come not only to speak about Neutra architecture in Palm Springs but [also] about how Neutra's legacy continues today through their institute. [Designer] Todd Oldham is coming back again this year to talk about one of his favorite subjects – Alexander Girard, [who was] so influential in the mid-century design period. We've got a special Black Mountain College series [and] a special symposium on the Palm Springs School of Architecture as well, which will have multiple speakers. We've got a few films that are debuting as well, [including] one about the Maslon House. It was produced locally by residents of Rancho Mirage and concerned parties that are involved with a group called Preservation Mirage.
Desert: It’s interesting that you brought up Preservation Mirage. Do you find it encouraging that the various modernism groups in Palm Springs have helped spawn architectural activists throughout the Valley?
Smith: For us, they're ambassadors of Modernism Week in these various communities, and they're residents that get involved in their community because they also share the values of preserving these properties and protecting that part of our architectural heritage. And so, you will find this in Indian Wells and Palm Desert as well, and cities throughout the Valley where residents have helped the city raise awareness and become interested in their historic properties. And many times, they're also city-owned buildings or schools that were created by these same desert modernist architects who were working throughout the Valley at the time. So yes, we very much value the homeowners and residents throughout the different desert cities that have gotten involved to support modernist architecture.