Driving through the swanky Vista De Las Norte neighborhood is tough. You have to dodge a lot of private landscaping trucks. The area is no longer the elite nexus of Palm Springs, but it's still quite hoity-toity and forbidding nonetheless. The legendary Kauffman House (Richard Neutra, 1945-47) is in this neighborhood - set so far away from the road behind a huge wall of chain link that casual visitors can't see it. My highlight was seeing the "Elvis house" (above), where The King once honeymooned with Priscilla Presley. Originally built for architect Bob Alexader, it now stands as a monument to outlandish Tomorrowland-esque futurism. The living room boasts a 63-foot long couch - enough said. Nowadays, the home is owned by a Canadian company which rents it out for corporate retreats.

While in this area of Palm Springs, I would strongly recommend checking out all the buildings along this stretch of Palm Canyon Drive - structures that the city's residents are just now starting to appreciate for their own angular, Eames-era beauty. The one pictured here was basically just empty office space. Isn't it the coolest?

Copyright 2001 Matt Hinrichs. All rights reserved.