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JOHN PORTER CLARK (1905-1991)
Clark was born in Pasadena CA. He trained at Cornell then moved back to Pasadena to work with Garrett Van Pelt and George Lind and also Albert Frey starting around 1935. Frey left and returned from NY to Palm Springs in 1939 to form a firm with Clark which lasted nearly twenty years. At the end of WWII Palm Springs' population almost tripled as an escape for Hollywood and a winter haven for east coast industrialists. The city became a resort community and Clark and Frey capitalized on this growth.
Clark's best-known projects were collaborations with Frey on Palm Springs City Hall, Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, and Desert Hospital. He was the lead designer on Frey's Hamrick House, Welwood Murray Memorial Library, and the Church of St. Paul in the Desert. After his split with Frey in 1956 he went on to design the Palm Springs Police Department, the Cabazon Library, Palm Springs Health Center, and several schools. Many thanks to Catherine Westergaard Cramer for her research.
1935 - The H. U. (Harry) Brandenstein Study, 287 East Morongo Road, Palm Springs CA. Clark designed the main house. Albert Frey designed an outdoor two room study away from the main house for privacy. Sold to Praeneste. Sold to Harold Bell. Sold to Steve Schmitt. Sold in 2021 to Ruby 27.
1935 - The Alger Shelden House, 1400 South Calle de Maria, Palm Springs CA. Designed with Albert Frey. Sold in 2018 to Sally Julien and Peter Loforte.
1936 - The Francis Crocker Renovation, 330 West Arenas Road, Palm Springs CA. Crocker had a small adobe house on the property built in the early 1910s by Lucien Hood III. Additions and changes to that house were done over the years according to an article in the Palm Springs paper in 1998 when the property was sold as part of the Casa Cody development next door. This house appears to be destroyed, needs verification.
1937 - The Bacon L. Cliffton House, 669 West Chino Canyon Road, Palm Springs CA. Sold in 1944 to Carl Nordell. Sold to Jerry and Nancy Korte.
1937 - The A. and Stella Rooke Bungalows, aka Casa del Camino, 1447 North Camino Norte, Palm Springs CA. Original address was 1446, but changed in 1940 with addition of a hotel building. Built by Cliff May. Sold in 1940 to Axel Linus who ran the hotel and bungalows until 1974. Sold in 1974 to a Nanu Patel. Plans in the early 1980s to rezone for low-cost housing fell through. Used as fire practice for firefighters. Main hotel building and land sold in 1983, destroyed soon after.
1937 - The Stanley Lewis House, 148 Camino Encanto, Palm
Springs CA. Designed while
working with Garrett Van Pelt and George Lind. Sold
in 1949 to Ralph Wilford. Destroyed around 1990.
1937 - The Byron Farwell Beach House, Balboa CA.
1937 - The James B. Oliver House, Las Palmas Estates, Camino
del Norte Drive, Palm Springs CA.
Designed while working with Garrett Van Pelt and George
Lind.
Status unknown.
1937 - The James B. Guthries Beach Cottage, Balboa CA near
the yacht club.
1937 - Duplex for William Mason, Palm Springs Estates #5, Palm Springs CA. Designed while working with Garrett Van Pelt and George Lind. Status unknown.
1937 - The A. G. Reynolds House, Tahquitz Estates, Palm
Springs CA.
Designed while working with Garrett Van Pelt and George
Lind. Status unknown.
1937 - The Spencer Kellogg Jr. additions and alterations,
Palm Springs CA.
Designed while working with Garrett Van Pelt and George
Lind. Status unknown.
1938 - The Irving T. Snyder House, 1145 Camino Mirasol, Las
Palmas Estates, Palm Springs CA.
Designed while working with Garrett Van Pelt and George
Lind. Built by Cliff May, photo from May
collection.
1940 - The John Porter Clark House, 1200 East Paseo El Mirador, Palm Springs CA. Designed with Albert Frey. Deeded to Stanley Clark. Photos by Fritz Block.
1940 - The John and Francine Hamrick Speculative House, 926 West Panorama Road, Palm Springs CA. Sold in 1950 to B. C. Adams. Sold in 1953 to Fred Albertson. Sold in 2010 to Robert and Melissa Sutton. Photos by Michael Locke.
1942 - The John and Fannie Hamrick House, 875 West Chino Canyon Road, Palm Springs CA. Published in California Pictorial, Spring 1942. Remodeled in 1958 by Arthur Elrod. Sold in 2005 to Mark Puopolo and Christopher Mullen. Designated a Palm Springs Historical Site in 2006 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. Available for lease. Top photo by Michael Locke.
1942 - The Paul Hampton Dougherty House, 1860 North Vista Drive, Palm Springs CA. Built by contractor Alvan Hicks. Dougherty was a famous seascape painter. Sold in 1953 to William and Marjorie Edris. Sold in 1964 to Warren Magnuson, a senator from Washington state. Sold in 2008 to Michael Fleming and Luis Lavin. Designated a Palm Springs Historic Site in 2014. Sold to Jay Morton. Photo by Michael Locke.
1945 - The Barney G. and Anna M. Johnson House, 667 East Mel Avenue, Palm Springs CA. The Johnsons operated Crystal Craig Lodge for 25 years. Barney Johnson was one of the founders of the Sportsmen's Club and one of the developers of the High Sierras. Sold in 2006 to Esther Helen Lyon. Sold in 2023. Bottom photo by Michael Locke.
1945 - The Florian Boyd House, 216 West Vía Lola, Palm Springs CA. Addition built in 1955, architect unknown. Sold in 1997 to Thomas Michael Johnson. Sold in 2018 to Russell Iadevaia, Samuel Goodrich, and Michael Adams.
1947 - The George F. and Marcia Barrett House, 1323 South Driftwood Drive, Palm Springs CA. Built by Joe Pawling. Sold in 1966 to William Holden. Sold in 1977 to Eugene Grace. Sold many more times. Sold in 2017 to Mark and Jane Garrison. Top photo by Michael Locke.
1950 - The Hugh E. and Mary Stephens House, 645 East Morongo Road, Palm Springs CA. Designed with Albert Frey. Photos by Michael Locke. Sold to Robert Metcalf and David Skousen. Sold in 2018 to Glenn and Judith Hudgens.
1955 - The Edward H. (Buddy) and Carolyn Morris Renovation, 650 North Vía Miraleste, Palm Springs CA. Original house built in 1939 for Stanley and Alice Guthrie. Interiors by Arthur Elrod. Sold to Jeffrey Dunham.
1956 - The Culver and Sallie Nichols House, 1120 East Paseo El Mirador, Palm Springs CA. Designed with Albert Frey and Chambers. Landscape design by Ken Nishimoto. Interiors by Arthur Elrod. Destroyed.
Sources include: Morris Newman; Palm Springs Modern Committee; City of Palm Springs Survey; Adele Cygelman.