Celebrity-Loved Rancho Mirage Celebrates 50 Years

Palm Springs is where one goes to be seen; neighboring Rancho Mirage, well, not so much. That’s why many A-List Hollywood stars pulled up sticks in the mid-20th century, moving from Palm Springs — and L.A. — to the more discreet Rancho Mirage, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary as a city this year.

Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Lucille Ball, Red Skelton, at least one Marx brother, Bing Crosby, and even the guy who played the wizard in The Wizard of Oz, MGM contracted character actor Frank Morgan, lived there. All were seeking the country club lifestyle away from the party scene and camera flashbulbs.

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Rancho Mirage also has long been known as the “Playground of the Presidents,” especially golfing ones — everyone from Eisenhower to Obama has played its course, and Gerald and Betty Ford lived there for years. Betty Ford co-founded the Betty Ford Center in the city in 1982, and it’s also home to Sunnylands, the former Annenberg Estate, which is currently showcasing the furniture design of interior designer William Haines.

“Sinatra moved from Palm Springs to Tamarisk; Bing Crosby moved to Thunderbird Heights, Lucille Ball moved from Palm Springs to Thunderbird,” says real estate agent Keith Markovitz of TTK Represents of Compass, noting Rancho Mirage’s two famous country clubs. “They moved to have that country club lifestyle,” he says. Singer, actress and talk show host Dinah Shore also famously founded The Dinah Shore golf tournament at Rancho Mirage’s Mission Hills Country Club in 1972.

“Sinatra did have a house commissioned in Rancho Mirage,” agrees Melissa Riche, founder of Preservation Mirage and author of the architectural tome Mod Mirage.

“He was splitting up with Ava Gardner at the time and decided to build a house at Tamarisk Country Club,” she adds. Sinatra’s pad sat famously along Tamarisk’s 17th hole. “From Here to Eternity was just coming out and his career was reborn, and he was putting Ava in the rearview. He was also very anti-prejudice of any kind. Tamarisk, which was founded by Hollywood Jewish emigres, was not restricted,” she says.

Rancho Mirage, which was incorporated in 1973, was initially bought and developed as date palm ranches and farmland 100 years ago, making it one year younger than the Hollywoodland residential tract. However, for far longer, the land has been home to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.

Markowitz recently listed a spectacularly reimagined historic home in Rancho Mirage for $3.96 million that’s currently in contract.

The four bedroom and three bath home on Rancho Road predates those big Hollywood move-ins and was crafted from a mid-1940s, classic desert-ranch style home, originally clad in a crimson wood exterior. Architect Sean Lockyer of Studio AR&D and designer Anthony Cochran of Anthony Cochran Design reimagined this modest home, adding 1,700 square feet to create a total of 3,349 square feet of interior space, and a heightened profile from the original eight feet to 10 and even 12 feet in some parts.

Yet, it was all done without losing the original’s classic desert ranch low aspect.

“You walk up to the home and you can see the 1940s volumes with lower ceilings and smaller living areas,” says Markovitz. “Then, as you go into the new area there are 10 foot ceilings and disappearing walls onto the outdoor pavilion. Both the kitchen and primary bedroom completely open up to the pool.”

The effect is a contrasting cozy vibe that switches to an airy bright open one, giving the best of both worlds: intimacy combined with fresh modern style. “It’s like the best marriages,” says Markovitz. “It’s an amazing juxtaposition that is a beautiful compliment to one another.”

The organic meeting of old and new included keeping the original kidney shaped pool, just with an uptick of vertically placed tiles and sun benches; and the 1940s beamed car port, which is upgraded with a hidden electric vehicle charger. “It really helped keep that period look,” says Markovitz.

Whilst Markovitz can’t say if any stars ever lived in the home, it’s doubtful. But Hollywood marquee names were neighbors.

“The land where the house stands at Barbara Drive and Rancho Road was originally owned and developed by Hollywood entertainment lawyer A. Ronald Burton. He worked with Hal Roach Studios and stars like Ronald Reagan. He also repped Hedy Lamarr and he sold her a house round the corner — I am sworn to secrecy of the location by the current owners,” she adds. “People here love the history, but they love the privacy too.”

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