Stunning images show Palm Springs in its Golden Age during the 1960s
Palm Springs is famous for its lush golf courses, multi-million dollar vacation homes, and mid-century modern architecture.
As an outsider, Doisneau had a somewhat cynical view of Palm Springs. He's quoted in the intro of his book: "I have been introduced to millionaire golf-players as 'Robert-from-Paris'... I will have contacts in the oil, cinema, and the automobile industry."
In 1960, there were 19 golf courses in Palm Springs. One of the more popular courses was Thunderbird, a prestigious country club with an 18-hole course that had opened in 1951.
Today, there are 124 irrigated golf courses in the area. In the intro of "Robert Doisneau: Palm Springs 1960" Jean-Paul Dubois writes: "Doisneau confided in several letters his discomposure in discovering such a desert studded with 19 golf courses drilled into the heart of this oven."
Source: Golf Digest
The private pool is a vacation home must in Palm Springs — about 75% of the homes have them.
In the '50s and '60s, pioneering architect William Krisel built more than 2,000 mid-century modern homes in Palm Springs — including the famous Elvis Presley Honeymoon Hideaway — which is currently on the market for $6 million.
Source: Sotheby's
As Dubois says in the intro, Doisneau's images of Palm Springs in 1960 capture the end of an era — a "twilight time" in Palm Springs.
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