Modernism Week, Palm Springs, CA Runs February 16th - 26th

South Beach has it's Art Deco buildings. Chicago has it's magnificent skyline. San Francisco has their Painted Ladies. And Palm Springs, California is famous for mid-century modern architecture. Nude sunbathers are extremely lucky as they get to stay at one of the most famous Mid-Century Modern designed hotels in the US, The Terra Cotta Inn.

There were many modernist architects in the 1950's and 1960's, but one of the most famous is Albert Frey. He only designed a few hotels in the Palm Springs area, but his most famous is our small resort. Albert Frey is considered the father of desert modernism.

Above is a photo of Mary Clare and Albert Frey in front of our hotel shortly after we bought it in 1994. Mr. Frey called us as he saw an article about our resort in our local newspaper and he immediately recognized it as the hotel he designed which was originally called The Monkey Tree.

The Monkey Tree was built for celebrities. That's why we have large rooms (300-500 square ft) and why we were built with very high walls to protect the privacy of the celebrities that stayed here. We have learned that Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Desi & Lucy, Spencer Tracy, President Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, and many other famous celebrities used to stay here. To this day, we still get some celebrities from time to time.

What is cool is we chatted with Albert Frey for a few hours where he told us he came up with the slanted roof line design to be in synergy with the slope of the San Jacinto mountains. Another thing he told us is he has always been a nudist at heart, (he was Swiss). When he was young, he used to go to Ile du Levant which is in the Mediterranean and was one of the very first organized nudist destinations in the world. Albert Frey was so proud that one of his hotels became a famous nudist resort.

Starting February 16th and running for 10 days, Palm Springs is celebrating modernism week. Click here for things to do: http://modernismweek.com

Albert Frey would also be very proud to know that Palm Springs Life Magazine in their latest Best of the Best issue, reported we are the Best Boutique hotel in the whole Palm Springs area.

Nude sunbathers are the lucky ones as they get to stay at one of the most famous hotels in all Palm Springs. And since we are the most mainstream nude sunbathing resort in the US, we are perfect for couples trying topless or nude sunbathing for the first time.

So try something fun, unique and romantic. Come on out to The Terra Cotta Inn clothing optional resort and spa, Palm Springs most famous mid-century modern hotel.

Tom Mulhall
Terra Cotta Inn Clothing Optional Resort and Spa, Palm Springs, CA
Call 800-786-6938 for info or reservations
Visit our website: http://sunnyfun.com
Visit our facebook page: http://bit.ly/TerraCottaInnFBPage

Hope to see you soon in sunny Palm Springs!

Labels: Albert Frey, art deco, hotel, mid-century modern, painted ladies, palm springs, san francisco, South beach, nudist, nude sunbathers, modernism week, Monkey Tree, celebrities, mid-century modern hotels

Modernism Week is almost over - However, nudists can stay anytime at the Terra Cotta Inn

South Beach has it's Art Deco. San Francisco has Painted Ladies. Palm Springs, California is famous for mid-century modern architecture.

There were many modernist architects in the 1950's and 1960's, but one of the most famous is Albert Frey. He only designed a few hotels in the Palm Springs area, but his most famous or infamous (if you have a closed mind) small resort is The Terra Cotta Inn clothing optional resort and spa, our resort. He is considered the father of desert modernism.

Above is a photo of Mary Clare and Albert Frey in front of our hotel shortly after we bought it in 1994. Mr. Frey called us as he saw an article about our resort in our local newspaper and he immediately recognized it as the hotel he designed which was originally called The Monkey Tree.

The Monkey Tree was built for celebrities. That's why we have large rooms (300-500 square ft) and why we were built with very high walls to protect the privacy of the celebrities that stayed here. We have learned that Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Desi & Lucy, Spencer Tracy, President Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, and many other famous celebrities used to stay here. To this day, we still get some celebrities. Those that want a fun nude experience where they can meet lots of other nice people, come. Those that want privacy and want to go to places where hardly anyone else is around or talks to each other stay at other nude places in town.

What is cool is we chatted with Albert Frey for a few hours where he told us he came up with the slanted roof line to be in synergy with the slope of the San Jacinto mountains. Another thing he told us is he has always been a nudist at heart, (he was Swiss). When he was young, he used to go to Ile du Levant which is in the Mediterranean and was one of the very first organized nudist destinations in the world. Albert thought it was so cool that his hotel became a nudist resort.

All week long Palm Springs has been celebrating modernism week. http://www.modernismweek.com/ A few years back I went to the Palm Springs Modernism Committee and asked them why they never list The Terra Cotta Inn as one of the famous mid-century modern properties in palm Springs. I got a nose up in the air and a committee member very condescendingly said "honey, this is family friendly event, we would N-E-V-E-R mention your place because you are N-U-D-I-S-T-S." When he snidely said nudists, it sounded as if he was going to gag having to say that word.

Thus, visitors to Palm Springs Modernism Week would be sad to know that Albert Frey's most favorite hotel doesn't even exist in the committees small minds.

Now in all fairness, we have been treated extremely well in Palm Springs by almost everyone. I am a past President of the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce, I work well with Palm Springs tourism, we have had very good stories in our local newspaper and TV, I was on The Palm Springs City Council's Citizen Finance Committee for 2 years, and was a campaign treasurer for one of our city council members. This December in palm Springs Life Magazine's Best of the Best issue we were picked as the BEST boutique hotel in the whole Palm Springs area. I could not ask for a more friendly community. Albert Frey would be proud of us.

But, sadly I have never been able to break into the little Palm Springs Modernism clique. They obviously do not really care about history, or only their version of it!

Nudists are the lucky ones as they get to stay at one of the most famous hotels of all Palm Springs. And since we are the most mainstream nude sunbathing resort in the US, we are perfect for couples trying topless or nude sunbathing for the first time.


Tom Mulhall
Terra Cotta Inn Clothing Optional Resort and Spa, Palm Springs, CA
Call 800-786-6938 for info or reservations
Visit our website by clicking: http://sunnyfun.com
Visit our facebook page by clicking http://bit.ly/TerraCottaInnFBPage

Hope to see you soon in sunny Palm Springs!

The Los Angeles Times has a travel article about Palm Springs

The Los Angles Times newspaper just came out with an interesting article about Palm Springs. Here it is:

"A visit to 1959 Palm Springs
The year was a seminal one for the desert resort town; 50 years on, it's still a swingin' time.

Dwight Eisenhower, on holiday from the White House, whips a golf club beneath a blue October sky... Meanwhile, other rich and famous folk are partying at the Chi Chi Club or pulling up their Cadillac coupes (nice tailfins!) in front of the Riviera, that vast new mod hotel. All over the Coachella Valley, architects and builders are seducing tourists with butterfly roof lines, space-age appliances, minimalist graphics and backlit starbursts.

Yes, 1959 was a swinging year in Palm Springs. And it's not over yet.

Thanks to legions of preservationists, entrepreneurs, publishers and design-driven travelers, the cult of Desert Modernism gets bigger and bigger, drawing all sorts of retro pilgrims to Palm Springs, including me....

Picture a whole ultramod 'hood of soaring roofs, clerestory windows, carports instead of garages, peek-a-boo screens made of stacked concrete blocks, pebbles and palms in the yard, and living rooms just begging for somebody to slip a little Dean Martin on the hi-fi. New, these houses sold for $19,000...

"Nineteen-fifty-nine was a good year for architecture here," Jade Nelson, the 33-year-old manager of the Orbit In hotel, told me. His place went up in 1957, but "my father and grandfather went to the opening week of the Riviera in 1959. In a white 1960-model Cadillac Coupe de Ville with red leather interior."

The building, designed by Rudy Baumfeld of Victor Gruen Associates, was actually a nod across the Atlantic -- an homage to a tall, curvy, ultramod chapel that modernist pioneer Le Corbusier designed in Ronchamp, France, just a few years before.

Now it's a Bank of America. But it's also a reminder: Before the first management consultant claimed credit for coining the phrase, the builders here were thinking outside the architectural box.

So was architect Albert Frey. In addition to a number of startling private homes and a compound now known as the Movie Colony Hotel, Frey collaborated on the low-slung City Hall and Fire Station No. 1 in the mid-'50s. By 1959, he was working on the city's aerial tram project, which would be completed in 1963.

Later came Frey's enormous pointy-roofed Tramway gas station, near the northern entrance to town. And even though it's a 1965 structure, you should stop there, because it now houses the Palm Springs Visitor Center. Go in and buy a $5 map to 75 local modernist landmarks, including many designed by Frey, William F. Cody and E. Stewart Williams...

Not everybody wants to stay in a big hotel, and by 1959 Palm Springs was already full of tiny ones. In the Tennis Club district, a short stroll from downtown, you had the Town & Desert (built in 1947, designed by Herb Burns). The Village Manor (1957, Burns again) was its younger sidekick a few doors away....

The reborn Parker, Moruzzi writes, is proof "that Palm Springs truly is the face-lift capital of the desert."

Of course, plenty of '50s Palm Springs landmarks have been lost, including the Desert Air (a fly-in hotel) and the Chi Chi Club (closed in the '60s)....

But in a territory that's supposedly so mutable and history-averse, it's a great comfort to lie low in the shade of the rediscovered buildings that endure..."

For the full article Click here

It's great that so many people are fascinated my the mid-century modern homes and hotels. And nude sunbathers are lucky, they get to stay in an Albert Frey building.

Yes, The Terra Cotta Inn clothing optional resort and spa was once the famous Monkey Tree hotel designed by Albert Frey in 1960. We were originally designed as a celebrity resort, so we have very large rooms (300-500 sq ft).

So far this year, the press loves Palm Springs modern properties. The Los Angeles Times, New York Times, CNN, Washington Post and more have praised all the preservation work.

So it's time you should try something new, something fun, and different. We are the most mainstream nudist resort in the US and are perfect for couples trying topless or nude sunbathing for the first time! And you get to stay in a historic hotel.

Give us a call at 800-786-6938 for more information or to make reservations.

Visit our site at http://sunnyfun.com

Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/nudist_resorts

We hope to see you soon in sunny Palm Springs!

Desert Modernism week is this week in Palm Springs

Our resort, the Terra Cotta Inn is the only historic and famous nudist resort in the US. Lots of celebrities stayed here in the 60's and 70's (and some still do). We were designed by the famous architect Albert Frey in the desert modern style which is so popular.

Palm Springs tourism loves our resort as we are one of the most popular of ALL hotels in Palm Springs. I am also a past president of the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce and was the campaign treasurer for one of our city council members.

As well known as we are in town, we have never had the people on the Palm Springs modernism committee recommend our resort for people to even drive by as an example of a famous Albert Frey design.

When I talked to a few of the committee members a couple of years ago, I got the response, "well you're a nudist resort. What would we say to families if we told them one of the most historic hotels in Palm Springs was a nudist resort?"

Of course when I told them to say we are very popular and you should tell everyone about us, it didn't work. Also they didn't like it that I told them that Albert Frey told us he was also a nudist and was proud that one of his designs became a popular nudist resort.

Here is information about Palm Springs modernism week:


"Modernism Week is in full swing in Palm Springs.


But with all the events — from the Modernism Show at the Palm Springs Convention Center to screenings at Camelot Theatres — choosing which to attend can be difficult.


...Double Decker Bus Tours
Robert Imber's tours start at the Riviera Resort & Spa, which underwent a $70 million restoration to reopen in all its mid-century modern grandeur last fall.

...The tour will, however, include Palm Springs City Hall (designed by Albert Frey), the Alexander homes in the Vista Las Palmas area, the Del Marcos Hotel in the Tennis Club district, the Bank of America and the old Santa Fe Federal Savings Bank, now the offices of Wessman Development Company.


Orbit In Artist Reception
Wine and cheese reception for modern art from Dezart Collection. Artists include Kim Chasen, Mike Hovey, Gary Janis, George Perrou and Michael Pfleghaar.

...Frey House II Tours
There are a limited number of tickets available for the tours, according to Sidney Williams, associate curator at the Palm Springs Art Museum and chair of the Palm Springs Site Preservation Committee.

“There was a gentleman who was an architect here last weekend,” Williams said. “His wife was attending the photography symposium and he wanted to see the house. He was just in awe when he got a tour.”

The house is an architecturally significant example of modern design and material use, she said.

“It's known all over the world,” she said.

Details: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, $50 (except for last tour), $100 includes cocktail reception. Shuttle departs from Palm Springs Art Museum, South Parking Lot, 101 Museum Drive. Reservations: 325-4490, psmuseum.org...

for the full article click here

It is nice to know even architects can be closed minded when it comes to nudist resorts.

And if you have always wanted to stay at a historic nudist resort, give us The Terra Cotta Inn clothing optional resort and spa a call at 800-786-6938.

Visit our site at http://sunnyfun.com

We hope to see you in sunny Palm Springs!

Elvis Presley's Palm Springs estate is for sale

Elvis Presley's estate in Palm Springs is now for sale. If you ever wanted to buy some history, now is the time.

Palm Springs is the coolest vacation destination in the US. There is so much Hollywood history in our town. Lots of movie stars have or had homes here.

Elvis Presley honeymooned here and later bought a home. It is now up for sale.

Here's the story:

"Elvis Presley's Palm Springs Home On The Market


Some names add cachet to a house years after they have moved on. Elvis Presley definitely falls into that category. Now his Palm Springs home, basically his "Graceland West" is up for sale... The home is located in the foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains in Palm Springs. Elvis lived in the home for almost eight years (he purchased it in 1970) and spent his last birthday there.

The approximately 5,000 square foot home has four bedrooms. Architect Albert Frey designed the Spanish-style stucco home which includes Presley's bedroom suite with two complete bathrooms, a sunken black and red tile tub, and dressing area. The living room has a cathedral beamed ceiling and overlooks the pool. The home is being sold with Presley's original kitchen appliances, a separate indoor sauna and steam room, plus his private covered Jacuzzi...

The property is approximately two acres and is listed at $17 million. For more information about the property, or to request a showing, contact Honey Brooks at 415.435.2585"

And if you want to stay at another famous Albert Frey designed Palm Springs hotel, you need to stay at The Terra Cotta Inn clothing optional resort and spa. We are a unique, fun, romantic nudist resort.

Never been topless or nude sunbathing? No problem. It is the fastest growing trend in the travel industry.

Terra Cotta Inn is considered the most mainstream nudist resort in America and perfect for couples trying nude sunbathing for the first time.

So give them a call at 800-786-6938. Visit their site at http://sunnyfun.com

Hope to see you in sunny Palm Springs!

Palm Springs modernist architecture featured in Time Magazine

Palm Springs has more modernist architecture per capita than any other city in the US.

Albert Frey is one of the famous modernist architects of Palm Springs. He designed around 200 properties including our resort, The Terra Cotta Inn clothing optional resort and spa.

Time magazine just had an article about renting modernist houses. Well for a lot less you can stay at our resort. We have had many first timers stay with us and one of the reasons they booked was because we are a historic Albert Frey hotel.

"Renting Frank Sinatra's House

It was the city where the Rat Pack partied, Elvis honeymooned and Eisenhower swung the only hole in one of his life. Palm Springs, California's fabled desert oasis, has long been a winter playground for the Hollywood set; the city lies just 100 miles (160 km) east of Los Angeles. But it is also home to an extensive array of beautifully preserved Modernist structures that have turned this golf-and-cocktails resort town into a must-see destination for devotees of architecture.

For several decades in the middle of the 20th century, internationally renowned architects such as Richard Neutra and John Lautner--who is currently the subject of a retrospective at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles--created audacious buildings in Palm Springs that helped revolutionize the way Americans lived and played. Out went stuffy Victorian parlors; in came sleek, glass-walled structures that blurred the line between indoors and out. The bulk of what these architects designed was residential, which meant the only way to see one of the buildings back then was to have Frank Sinatra invite you over for drinks. Today, though, many Modernist homes are available as vacation rentals, including the long, lean, flat-roofed manse that once belonged to the Chairman of the Board himself.

Renting one of these houses can be an intimate way to get to know the city, to see a side of it that can't be found on the noisy pool deck of a chain hotel...

And then there's Twin Palms. The Sinatra estate, designed by local architect E. Stewart Williams in 1946, has four bedrooms, ample areas for entertaining and one very thick shag rug. "You can sit by the piano-shaped pool and sip cocktails from the retro bar," says Kevin Blessing, CEO of Beau Monde Villas, which manages the house..."

To learn more about the beautiful city of Palm Springs, go to http://palmsprings.com

So if you have always wanted to try topless or nude sunbathing, give us a call at 800-786-6938. Visit our site at http://sunnyfun.com

Hope to see you in sunny Palm Springs!