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HERBERT W. BURNS (1987-1988)
Burns was a designer and developer in Palm Springs CA. His first wife was Mildred Burns. The definitive book is The Design of Herbert W. Burns by Steven Keylon. If you know more about him, please write us.
1947 - The Town and Desert Apartment Hotel, 370 West Arenas Road, Palm Springs CA. Restored in 2002 by Christie Eugenis and Stan Amy with architect Lance O'Donnell. Renamed The Hideaway. Photo by Dan Chavkin.
1947 - The Edith Eddy Ward House, aka Sun and Shadow Apartment Hotel, 45-350 San Luis Rey Avenue, Palm Desert CA. Ward was a realtor who requested her home be designed so that it could one day be converted into an apartment hotel. Sold in 1950 to Fred Talbot. Converted to an apartment hotel with a 10-unit addition by Burns. A heated pool was also added. Sold in 1978 to Bart and Rose Rallo. Sold in 1981 to Ralph and Vonna Westfall. Sold around 1991 to Michael Fedderly. Converted to the Lotus Garden Center.
1948 - The Claude Freeman House, 441 West Chino Canyon Road, Palm Springs CA. Addition built in 1949. Sold in 1998 to Kristen Bishop and Janice Smith.
1948 - The George Gillman House, 574 West Mariscal Road, Palm Springs CA. Sold to Fred Elg. Sold in 1990 to Morgan Petersen. Sat vacant for many years. Sold to Barbara Malott Kizziah. Restored by Thomboy Properties.
1948 - The Solomon (Dinty) and Helen Moore House, 375 West Vista Chino, Palm Springs CA. Sold in 1956 to Leland James, who added a bedroom and bath. Sold to James Kormas. Significantly renovated and modified.
1948 - The Fay Brainard House, 1120 East Alejo Road, Palm Springs CA. Sold in 1950 to Arthur and Helen Booz, who added a swimming pool. Sold to Ed Robbin. Interior designer Arthur Elrod designed the Asian-inspired interior. House sat vacant for many years. Sold in 2018 to June Hill. Significantly altered.
1948 - 1165 Linda Vista Road, El Mirador Park, Palm Springs CA. 2024 sf, 3 bedrooms and 3 baths. El Mirador Park comprised 49 tracts developed by Rod Inger and Rae Wheeler. Sold in the 1950s to George Ripley. Sold in the early 1970s to Gary Scherotter. Sold around 1976 to Leroy Peterson. Significantly altered.
1948 - The Harriet Merry Van Horn House, 1121 Linda Vista Road, El Mirador Park, Palm Springs CA. 2258 sf, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, maid's quarters, and swimming pool. She rarely lived there and used it as a rental. Sold to O. W. Karn. Sold in 2022 to Kerry Francis Cunningham and Ken Thien Sim.
1948 - The Jean Bell House, 1241 Linda Vista Road, El Mirador Park, Palm Springs CA. 2148 sf, 3 bedrooms and 3 baths. Sold in 1953 to Terry and Marie Ray, who purchased the remainder of the El Mirador Park lots. Sold in 2013 to Mario Cabrera and Barry Becker.
1949 - 73-605 Juniper Street, Palm Desert CA. Built to help sell lots near the Shadow Mountain Club. 2168 sf, 3 bedrooms and 3 baths. Sold in 1982. Sold in 1998. Sold in 2015 to Erik Larsen and Vera Miles.
1949 - The Vern Briggs House, 1480 North Vía Maraleste, Palm Springs CA. Sold in 1950 to Isadore Rosenblatt, owner of Globe Lighting Products Co. Sold around 1996 to Gregory Scott Pettis. Sold around 2002 to John Patrick Farrar. Sold in 2018 to Richard Racine.
1949 - The Christian Von Schneidau House, 1525 Vía Salida, Palm Springs CA. 1634 sf, 2 bedrooms and 3 baths. Von Schneidau was an artist. Sold in 2001 to Edmund Eugene and Barbara Sue DeBoer.
1949 - The Indio Biltmore Apartment Hotel, 82-640 Miles Avenue, Indio CA. Sold to Dale Lawrence.
1950 - The Mitchell and Joyce Slayman House, 1141 South Calle Marcus, Palm Springs CA. 1589 sf, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. Clayton McCauley developed this and about dozen houses with A. B. Crist in Sun View Estates. Sold in 1953 to Leonard and Shirley Bock. Sold in 2016 to Steven Keylon and John Delarosa. Restored. Sold in 2024.
1951 - The Holiday House Apartment Hotel, 200 West Arenas Road, Palm Springs CA. 10,500 sf with a large apartment for the owners, another for an on-site manager, and 11 guest apartments. Second story added in 1962, against Burns' advice. Renamed the Chase Hotel for several years. Restored in 2017 by Richard Crisman and Jeff Brock.
1951 - The Merrill Crockett House, 590 West Linda Vista Drive, Palm Springs CA. 2350 sf, 3 bedrooms and 4 baths. B/W photos by Julius Shulman. Sold around 1963 to Abe Prell. Sold in 2014 to Michel Horn.
1951 - The Stewart Weiss Interior Remodel, 1319 South Calle Marcus, Palm Springs CA. House originally built in 1949. Bedroom caught fire in June of 1951, causing significant smoke damage. Sold in 2019 to Charles Carpenter and Carlton Brown.
1951 - The Avalon Apartment Hotel, 1404 North Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs CA. Building originally built in 1941 as a five-unit courtyard hotel. Walter Cowan commissioned Burns to create a 17-unit hotel by remodeling the existing building, adding a new lobby, and building a 2-story addition. Converted to retail space. Sold around 2006 to Chris Spencer.
1952 - The Desert-Ho Resort Hotel and Apartments, aka The Velvet Rope Hotel, 120 West Veredasur, Palm Springs CA. A 10-unit apartment hotel built for Bill and Marjorie Harvick. Units have small kitchenettes. Sold in 2022.
1952 - The Desert Riviera Apartment Hotel, 610 East Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs CA. Designed for Austin and Eva Spencer, who occupied a large owners apartment.
1954 - The Parocela Place Apartments, 980 Parocela Place, Palm Springs CA. A 4-unit apartment building. One unit served as a substance abuse program meeting place in the 1980s. Restored in 2005. Sold in 2021 to Brad Robert Prescott.
1955 - The Village Manor, 562 West Arenas Road, Palm Springs CA. Built by Hale and Greenslade. Originally comprised of a large owner's unit with attached guestroom and kitchen and five self-contained apartments with small kitchen nooks. Converted into a 9-unit apartment hotel. Restored in 2001 by architect Lance O'Donnell. Renamed the Orbit Inn. Sold in 2022 to Orbit Ps Holdings.
1955 - The Four Hundred Condominiums, 400 West Arenas Road, Palm Springs CA.
1956 - The Starlighter Apartment Hotel, 888 North Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs CA. Built for Phoebe K. Peeler and her daughter Bernice. Originally had 6 apartments opening out to a swimming pool. Over the years it has been expanded and heavily altered. Renamed the Bearfoot Inn, a gay-friendly, clothing-optional hotel for men (circa 2016). Sold in 2022 to James Murphy and Harold Keasler who own ModMansions, a property management firm. Restored in 2024. For sale in 2024.
1956 - The Vagabondia Apartment Hotel, 589 South Grenfall Road, Palm Springs CA. An 8-unit apartment hotel in the Warm Springs neighborhood; the second of two commissions for Phoebe K. Peeler and daughter Bernice. Renamed Lover's Paradise, a gay resort. Sold in 2015 to Mexican pop star, Juan Gabriel who did an extensive makeover and converted it into a private residence. Gabriel died a year later. Sold in 2017 to R. E. Cobalt.
1959 - The Madge Phillips House, 310 South Patencio Road, Palm Springs CA. Sold in 1962 to David and Hope Hearst. Sold around 2009 to Matthew Wehling. Sold in 2018 to Bonnie Serkin and William Emery.
1962 - The Four Seasons Apartment Hotel, aka 4Seasons Flats, 290 San Jacinto Drive, Palm Springs CA. Addition built in 1982 by Laguna Beach architect Chris Abe. Converted into condos.
1964 - The Joseph Regorrah House, 45-740 CA-74, Palm Springs CA. The Regorrahs purchased the Carousel Motor Inn and hired Burns to build a spacious owner's unit adjacent to the existing hotel. Deeded to the Joseph Regorrah Trust (John T. Rogers and Ira Jaffe). Destroyed by 2010.
1970 - The 500 West Condominiums, 500 West Arenas Road, Palm Springs CA. Ten luxury units designed for Ronald K. and Jeannette Miller.
Sources include: The Design of Herbert W. Burns by Steven Keylon.