There’s nothing quite as gracious as walking over a shallow, reflecting pool to reach the front door. The effect is dazzling, not something to be found everywhere, and used by architect William Cody in his design for the 1961 Desert Bel Air Showcase House to spectacular effect.
A cast of characters, including Cody, Fillmore Crank and Robert McCullough, contributed to the creation of the charming desert destination where the house is located. The optimism in the mid-century desert, populated by these characters, is reflected in the architecture of the house and shallow front door pool.
The Desert Bel Air Showcase Home built for Fillmore Crank and his second wife, Beverly Garland is located at 75-900 Fairway Drive, in what is now Indian Wells. The house is situated directly opposite the entrance to Eldorado Country Club, designed in 1957 by Cody.
The area was wide open desert when El Dorado Country Club was conceived by friends and business associates Johnny Dawson and Jimmy Hines in 1956. Dawson had previously been part of the development of Thunderbird Country Club and Hines had been the first head golf professional there.
A protected cove, farmed to dates, grapes, and grapefruit, was identified as a prime site for a golf course, as it was sheltered from wind, and fairway homes would enjoy lovely views of the surrounding jagged mountains. Investors were secured, and construction began in early 1957. The 18-hole golf course was integrated into a planned residential community, and the clubhouse design was entrusted to Cody who had already contributed work at Thunderbird.
Crank had previously commissioned Cody to design a residential development in Las Vegas and in 1960 asked him to design the model home directly across Fairway Drive from the Eldorado entrance.
The Eldorado clubhouse was a masterpiece of integrated design and showed Cody’s consummate skill. For the surrounding homes, both in, and adjacent to the club, Cody struck particularly elegant lines which emphasized natural light and blending indoor and outdoor living.
Immediately outside the entrance to the clubhouse, the Showcase Home featured glass walls framing steep views of the Santa Rosa Mountains. The use of steel as a structural component to minimize bulk creates a roof that seems to float above the structure seemingly supported by that glass, interrupted only briefly by a kiva fireplace. Circular concrete pads compose the driveway and add a touch of whimsy to the approach.
The recent nomination of the house to the National Register of Historic Places notes, it “is a simple composition of two parallel volumes; one contains the living, dining, and kitchen areas, which are open to each other, and the other the bedrooms.”
The Desert Bel Air Development began in April 1960. There were 25 lots in the tract. Crank, as owner and developer of the project, appointed Holiday Realty Corp. as exclusive sales agents for the Bel Air tract. In early 1962, Crank promoted the development, announcing the second unit of this multi-million-dollar neighborhood with 26 lots would follow.
Cody designed several other “spec” houses for Desert Bel Air Estates, including one called the Monterey that was described as “an unusual Romantic Spanish type home.” This house was a departure for Cody, with its “Spanish Mission plaster” walls and rough-hewn beams. Cody’s final contribution to Desert Bel Air Estates was a group of six homes on the north side of Altamira Drive, completed in 1963 and 1964. One of these was purchased by William Cody’s brother, and his wife.
The nomination continues, “Fillmore Crank was busy working in Palm Desert, supervising his housing development, Desert Bel Air, a 40-acre community of single-family homes, across from the Eldorado Country Club. The golf course location attracted a buyer of note … avid golfer and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who planned to move in directly after the inauguration of his successor, John F. Kennedy.”
Eisenhower’s winter retreat at Eldorado Country Club was designed by renowned Los Angeles architect Welton Becket, known for landmark projects including the Capitol Records Building and the Los Angeles Music Center, the home sits alongside the 11th fairway and was completed in 1961. Eisenhower used it as his winter residence from 1963 through 1968, spending five seasons there after leaving the White House. Visiting presidents Kennedy and Nixon both landed by helicopter on the fairway to call on him there.
Robert McCullough, the inventor, businessman, and developer of Eldorado, first built a presidential cottage as part of his master plan to add additional cottages along the driving range to the west of the clubhouse.
The Desert Sun noted in March of 1960, “Construction of a Presidential home for President Eisenhower or other world leaders will start this summer at Eldorado Country Club — but the person who uses it will have to pay rent. Robert McCullough, president of Eldorado, made the announcement in Los Angeles, and said that the bungalow, which will be ready for occupancy next fall will be available for the use of Eisenhower and all future presidents.”
“Eldorado manager Bill Daugherty explained that the home, which will have a living room, two bedrooms, a den, a kitchen, a service room and a small pool will actually be ‘a presidential suite such as many hotels have,’ that will be kept available for use by dignitaries and world statesmen. Plans for the cottage are now on the drawing boards, and construction will start his summer.”
“The home will be constructed in a new area that the club is opening for additional bungalows – a total of 24 will be constructed this summer. The 24 new bungalows will be purchased by club members and will be rented by the club when the owners are not in residence. The club will own the Presidential bungalow and rent it to visiting dignitaries, McCullough said. Eldorado was visited recently by President Eisenhower and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer of West Germany.”
With the conclusion of his second term, Eisenhower accepted McCullough’s invitation to become an honorary member of the club.
The proximity of Eldorado, and perhaps Eisenhower, was a major selling point for the adjacent Desert Bel Air development, with its Showcase House making real the charm of modern desert living. The idea had proved attractive enough for Eisenhower, and many regular homeowners would follow.
The Showcase House’s gracious entry way, enticing visitors over the reflecting pool, has been included on the National Register of Historic Places, an important achievement for Indian Wells. The house will be open on Friday, March 27th from 4-7pm for an event by the Indian Wells Preservation Foundation to celebrate. Tickets at iwpf92210.org.
Tracy Conrad is president of the Palm Springs Historical Society. The Thanks for the Memories column appears Sundays in The Desert Sun. Write to her at pshstracy@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Playground of presidents: Eisenhower’s Eldorado Country Club retreat
Reporting by Tracy Conrad, Special to The Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
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