In Palm Springs, the epicenter of desert modernist architecture, a home has hit the market that played a pivotal role in popularizing the style. Modernist pioneer Albert Frey’s first Palm Springs residential design, the Guthrie House, has been listed for $2.4 million by BBS Brokers Realty.

The original 1935 home looked deceptively simple: three plain structures set on the desert floor.

Top Name Celebrities Frequented The Home

Through the decades, owners had largely erased that look, covering the buildings with pink stucco, adding Spanish arches and theatrical touches like mirrored ceilings, glass block and dark brown tile. Those Hollywood Regency stylings matched the preferences of the A-list celebrities who frequented the home, including Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe.

“Errol Flynn lived in the estate while building the first nudist hotel in the area in the 1940s,” wrote Marina and Avalon Rossi in a chronicle of the home. The mother and daughter, who head Palm Springs-based Avi Ross Group, purchased the home in 2015 for $745,000. The pair first considered styling the home as a Moroccan retreat, but after uncovering the Frey roots, they launched a three-year, $1 million renovation. Their efforts returned the home to the original look, but with modern conveniences and Frey-inspired additions.

In 2020, the Rossis sold the home, located in the central El Mirador neighborhood, for $1.9 million.

Surrounded by palms and backed by sweeping mountain views, the light-infused 3,583 square-foot home has a spa-like feel. Polished cement floors broadcast a coolness, the wood cabinetry and furniture warming the spaces. In the dining room, three large wall cut-outs act like art pieces, framing trees and palms. In the master bath, a shower is banked by a wall window that opens to an outdoor shower.

Frey’s Flying Wedge Canopy Is A Palm Springs Landmark

Swiss-born Frey (1903-1998) was committed to using industrial materials in elegant ways—and ones that responded well to the desert’s brutal heat. The architect created more than 200 building designs in the area: houses, churches, hospitals, shopping centers, hotels and more. The 1965 Palm Springs Visitor Center, once the Tramway Gas Station, is among his best-known designs. The structure is topped with a flying wedge canopy that looks like it’s about to take flight.

Frey’s first home, however, is not as well known. But the Rossis’ efforts put it on the midcentury map.

“They had to peel back all those Mediterranean layers that were added,” said Bahareh Kamoei of BBS Brokers Realty. “They fired two contractors because they wanted to add things like overhangs that didn’t match Frey’s vision.”

After consulting Frey experts, the Rossis took the home down to the studs, arriving at the original look: three boxes placed on the desert floor. From there, the duo devised a “Frey test” to determine how the architect might have envisioned an update. Initial elements like cement floors and corrugated metal used to cut the heat were retained.

“One of the biggest dangers a Frey building faces is people’s urge to adorn or encrust it over the years,” wrote the Rossis.

A New Pool House Adds Understated Elegance

A custom designed range hood inspired by a 1947 Frey home was installed in the kitchen. A Parisian carpenter the Rossis had worked with built maple cabinetry to mimic originals, and cabinets in the hallway and bedroom were restored. Fireplace mantels were removed, leaving hearths framed by a simple cement surround. Although sliding glass doors are a midcentury design trademark, aluminum-framed entryways were added that referenced the originals.

Outside, patios were laid with natural stone pavers to blend into the landscape. Digging through research, the Rossis identified original plants, which they sourced and placed in their native locations. The result is like happening upon an oasis, one designed with understated luxury.

A new pool mimics a pond with its black plaster surface paired with stone coping. A ground-level fire pit off the master bedroom looks like it’s always been there.

A pool house was added, but “set off to the far right to not intrude on line of sight of the original structure,” the Rossis wrote.

Frey favored corrugated metal for its distinctive look and texture. The Rossis used the material throughout the new design: on a sliding barn door, on garage doors and on a gate. Rusted to a bright orange, the metal varies the home’s palette of beige and natural stone.

“During their process, the Rossis found a piece of stucco between the walls,” Kamoei said. “They took it to a Dunn-Edwards paint store and matched the color to use it on the exterior.” The beige stucco was hand-troweled for a rough adobe look.

In their chronicle, the Rossis likened the home to a Jackson Pollock painting—bold, original and defiant of its era. The home is a reimagined classic, central to Palm Springs’ desert modernism history.