Dec. 1 Daily Briefing: Iconic house rising downtown, theater family’s legacy continues, and more

Happy Friday and welcome to December! This is the last day of our fundraising campaign!

The Post is made possible by readers, like you, who contribute what they can, when they can. If money is tight, don’t worry! We’re not going anywhere.

If you’ve got a few bucks to spare, however, please consider supporting The Palm Springs Post. We’re raising money now to fund our journalism in 2024 so we can keep serving you with vital information about our city.

🎶 Setting the mood: “Our House” by Madness

---

LEADING OFF

Piece by piece, iconic Aluminaire House rising outside Art Museum

In a town where modernism is used more as a shorthand for a particular design style, the Palm Springs Art Museum wants to bring more context to the origins and ideas behind modernism.

Driving the news: Installation of the historic Aluminaire house, designed by Albert Frey and A. Lawrence Kocher, is currently underway near the Palm Springs Art Museum.

Background: The all-metal prototype house was first exhibited in 1931 in New York as an example of pre-fabricated, mass-produced, affordable housing. 

How it happened: After the exhibition, the house exchanged hands several times before falling into disrepair. The Aluminaire House Foundation rescued the building and donated it to the Palm Springs Art Museum.

• The museum raised about $2.3 million to relocate the house.

Why it matters: In an hour-long question and answer session, museum leaders explained their reasoning behind the acquisition of the house, saying it represents the philosophical motivations behind modernism that are often forgotten in a city like Palm Springs, where modernism is considered mostly for its style.

What they’re saying: Underlying much of the philosophy is “the idea that American industrial force can be used to create houses that are not just well-designed, but able to be distributed in a way that is accessible to everybody,” said Museum CEO Adam Lerner.

Details: The installation will be completed in January, right before Modernism Week.

Yes but: Visitors will not be allowed inside the house due to modern ADA requirements.

• The museum hopes to create a permanent exhibition inside the museum related to the house, which would feature a virtual reality experience of walking through the house.

Dive deeper with our complete story here.

BRIEFLY

✈️ Aircraft to roll through city streets

Five aircraft from Palm Springs International Airport will take to city streets soon as part of the 2023 National Agricultural Aviation Association Expo.

• Rolling street closures are planned for Sunday (Dec. 3) and next Thursday (Dec. 7) as the planes are moved from the airport to the Convention Center and then back to the airport.  The entire process is expected to last roughly two hours and begin at 4 a.m.
  
  
• Details: On Sunday, the planes will be towed from the airport at Alejo Road, travel west to Avenida Caballeros, then south to Amado, west again, and finally south on Calle Alvarado. On Thursday, the route will be reversed. 

🎞️ Jeffrey Wright to receive Career Achievement Award

The Palm Springs International Film Awards has named Jeffrey Wright the recipient of the “Career Achievement Award” for his outstanding work in “American Fiction.”

• In the new film, Wright portrays a disillusioned novelist in the film, an adaptation of the novel “Erasure,” by Percival Everett.
  
  
• Wright will be celebrated alongside Emma Stone, Cillian Murphy, and others at the upcoming awards gala. The Palm Springs International Film Awards are set to take place on Jan. 4, at the Palm Springs Convention Center.
  
  
• Bottom line: Wright’s role as novelist Monk has resonated with audiences and critics, confronting offensive stereotypes in “Black” entertainment.

👷🏽‍♀️ County plans to demolish collapsed Whitewater bridge

During a board meeting this week, the Riverside County Transportation Department announced its plans to demolish what’s left of the bridge at the Whitewater cutoff, which runs parallel to the I-10.

• The bridge closed in August due to damage during Tropical Storm Hilary and finally collapsed last month. The county estimates the project will cost nearly $1.6 million, which will be paid for entirely by revenue from the gas tax.
  
  
• Bottom line: The county told KESQ that the collapse had no effect on residents as it was only used by one local business, which has another point of access.

---

YOUR WEEKEND

ALL WEEKEND

Comfort and Joy Concert
Saturday and Sunday | Cultural Center
Modern Men: Coachella Valley Men’s Chorus will perform holiday favorites at their Comfort and Joy Concert. ($25)

TODAY

Star Dedication: Timothy Ray Brown
2:30 p.m. | Downtown Park
The Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce will posthumously honor humanitarian Timothy Ray Brown, widely known as the “Berlin Patient,” with the 464th star on the Palm Springs Walk of the Stars. 

Tree lighting and banner awards
4 p.m. | Frances Stevens Park
This year nearly 800 students entered their art for a chance to have it displayed on banners around the city. At 4 p.m. several student artists will be awarded for their work. The tree lighting begins at 5:15 p.m.

Latin Fire
5:30 p.m. | Annenberg Theatre
Join cellist Sara Sant’Ambrogio and pianist Robert Koenig for a night of Latin music, followed by a reception celebrating Latin culture, music, and food. ($100)

Fellini Retrospective: “The White Sheik”
7 p.m. | Cultural Center
The Cultural Center continues its Fellini retrospective with the director’s first solo feature, a charming comic fable about the lure of fantasy and the pitfalls of temptation. ($12)

SATURDAY

Certified Farmers’ Market
8 a.m. – 1 p.m. | Camelot Theatre
The market returns to its outdoor location, with local farmers and vendors offering fresh agri­cul­tural and related products.

Wine ‘n’ Wags
12 p.m. | hyphen- Wine Shop
Taste over 70 wines from small producers around the world at this benefit for the Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter. ($75)

Pearl Harbor: The Sinking of the U.S.S. Oklahoma
1 p.m. | Palm Springs Air Museum
Learn more about the “date which will live in infamy” with presenter Michael Carra.

Velvet Rope PS Open House
2 p.m.-5 p.m. | Velvet Rope Boutique Hotel
Discover nine glamorous suites, each dedicated to iconic celebrities, as you tour this boutique hotel on West Verada Sur curated by designer David Rios.

Palm Springs Festival of Lights Parade
5:45 p.m. | Downtown Palm Springs
The parade starts at Palm Canyon Drive and Ramon Road and will travel down Palm Canyon Drive. Look forward to lots of holiday lights, marching bands, floats, and Santa Claus of course! 

SUNDAY

Palm Springs Vintage Market
7 a.m. | Cultural Center
This vintage market only comes around on the first Sunday every month, so this weekend is your chance to see what’s on offer at the boutique flea market. ($5)

Typewriter Poems Around the Country with Brian Sonia-Wallace
2:30 p.m. | Welwood Murray Memorial Library
Brian Sonia-Wallace, poet and founder of Pride Poets, will appear at the downtown to share his experiences from the book “The Poetry of Strangers” and offer live poetry performances for attendees. 

Sounds of the Holidays: Palm Springs High School Choir
5:30 p.m. | Tramway Mountain Station
The tram presents high school choirs singing holiday favorites on the Pines Café stage. (Complimentary with a regular tram ticket).

SAVE THE DATE

• Swim Center community meeting on Dec. 5
  
  
• Author Talk: Wade Rouse on Dec. 5 at the Palm Springs Public Library
  
  
• Rock the Park: Chicago Experience on Dec. 6 at the Downtown Park
  
  
• American Legion toy giveaway starting on Dec. 7.
  
  
• Friends of the Palm Springs Library Holiday Bazaar on Dec. 9.
  
  
• Sip, Shop, Swim holiday market on Dec. 9 at Drift Palm Springs

---

AND FINALLY …

Palm Canyon Theatre is keeping it all in the family with its special production of the musical “Elf.”

Driving the news: Opening night for “Elf” is tonight at the playhouse. It features a talented cast led by Scott Clinkscales as Buddy, the human raised by elves embarking on a quest to find his identity in New York City. 

Why it matters: There’s a diverse cast of 30 local performers in the production, and one very special role reserved for a member of the family that originally founded the theater.

Some background: 27 years ago Dr. Bill Layne and his wife Sylvia repurposed the Frances S. Stevens School and turned it into the Palm Canyon Theatre after their son, JW, first got the idea.

• The theater’s first production was “The Desert Song,” where Se Layne, Bill and Sylvia’s daughter, played one of the leading roles. 

Family tradition: All these years later, JW and Se serve as co-artistic directors at the theater, and tonight, JW’s daughter SJ will become the third generation of the Layne family to participate in a theater production.

• This will be the two-and-a-half-year-old’s debut acting performance in what will surely be a long and productive career in theater!

Details: Opening night for the production is tonight at 8 p.m. and the show will run through Dec. 17. Get tickets online here.