Why the Rich and Famous Continue to Flock to Palm Springs – Palm Springs architecture has long made the town a favored destination of midcentury-modern design lovers, and the biggest names of that era (say, Walt Disney or Frank Sinatra) enjoyed the desert oasis plenty. A-lister home design standards have changed quite a bit since those days—you wouldn’t expect to find a Richard Neutra home equipped with smart home technology—and yet the appeal of the San Jacinto Mountain–surrounding region remains strong for big names and design lovers alike.
Take Leonardo DiCaprio, for instance. The Academy Award–winning actor supports a number of noble causes, and the preservation of Palm Springs’ distinct place in the history of modern architecture happens to be among them. In 2014, the actor purchased a gorgeous home designed by Donald Wexler, one of the key figures in Palm Springs’ midcentury architectural scene, right as superstars began flocking to the desert locale that’s just two hours from Los Angeles by car.
