Elvis and Priscilla’s Honeymoon House
image from: http://architecture.about.com/od/housetours/ss/ElvisHoneymoonHouse.htm
Right after they were married in May of 1967, Elvis and Priscilla Presley retreated to this funky mid-century modern home tucked away in Palm Springs, California.
image from: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1350-Ladera-Cir-Palm-Springs-CA-92262/18023249_zpid/
Elvis had rented it out a few months prior to the wedding and the couple had actually planned to be married on the grounds of the house until a gossip columnist blew their cover. They were then forced to go to Plan B - getting hitched in Las Vegas.
Later on the same day that they were wed, the couple flew back to their Palm Springs hideaway and Elvis carried Priscilla over the threshold into their new home.
image from: http://www.elvishoneymoon.com/
Exactly nine months later TO THE DAY, their daughter Lisa-Marie was born.
image from: http://www.elvishoneymoon.com
The Honeymoon Hideaway House was famous even before its legendary lovebirds moved in, however.
image from: http://architecture.about.com/od/housetours/ss/ElvisHoneymoonHouse_10.htm
It was built in the early 1960′s – completed in 1962 - by famed mid-century modern builder Robert Alexander as a gift for his wife Helen. Early on it became known as the “Honeymoon House” for its love connections.
The home was constructed in four circles over three levels, utilizing tons of glass, terrazzo flooring, and “peanut brittle stonework”. It was designed by the architecture firm Palmer and Krisel in the Desert Modernism style.
image from: http://architecture.about.com/od/housetours/ss/ElvisHoneymoonHouse
Shortly after it was completed in 1962, Look magazine did a feature on the Alexanders and their ‘House of Tomorrow’. The article celebrated not only the mid-century architecture of the house, but the glamorous mid-century lifestyle of the home’s hip young owners.
image from: http://architecture.about.com/od/housetours/ss/ElvisHoneymoonHouse.htm
According to Zillow.com the 4,695 square foot home has 2 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. It is located on Ladera Circle and is sometimes referred to as the “Ladera Estate”.
image from: http://architecture.about.com/od/housetours/ss/ElvisHoneymoonHouse.htm
The Alexander’s glitzy lifestyle was tragically cut short when the couple was killed in a plane crash in 1965. The following year, Elvis Presley leased out the house with the intention of using it as a hideaway and vacation home.
image from: http://architecture.about.com/od/housetours/ss/ElvisHoneymoonHouse.htm
Apparently Elvis decorated the mid-century home in the same gaudy, over-the-top fashion as his infamous Graceland mansion.
image from: http://architecture.about.com/od/housetours/ss/ElvisHoneymoonHouse.htm
Elvis and Priscilla leased the Ladera home for only a year, moving on by 1968. Their next house was also a mid-century home located in the Trousdale Estates area of Los Angeles. Incidentally, the LA home sold last year and is rumored to be razed in the near future to make way for a new construction home.
image from: http://www.elvishoneymoon.com/
The Palm Springs honeymoon house was restored in the 1990′s to how it would have looked in the early 1960′s. But there’s still a bit of Elvis & Priscilla here…
image from: http://architecture.about.com/od/housetours/ss/ElvisHoneymoonHouse.htm
Many dazzling pool-side parties were held out in the yard; and many famous people came to call at this memorable home.
image from: http://www.elvishoneymoon.com/
Today the Honeymoon House is privately owned and can be rented out for parties and special events. The owners also give guided tours and they allow (and even encourage) photography inside the house – which is a nice departure from most historic home tours.
The owners are not crazy about kids running wild through the house, however.
Children 5 and under are required to be in a stroller or carrier on our property.
I don’t know about you, but putting my five-year-old in a stroller or carrier would have bordered on child abuse - he was a really big kid!
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For more information on the famous Honeymoon Hideaway House and additional photos please see the following websites:
http://www.elvishoneymoon.com/
http://architecture.about.com/od/housetours/ss/ElvisHoneymoonHouse.htm
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1350-Ladera-Cir-Palm-Springs-CA-92262/18023249_zpid/
4 Responses to Elvis and Priscilla’s Honeymoon House
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That’s a really cool house! The fireplace with the low seating all around it–so 1960s and ready for parties.
Jayne, speaking of parties, I read a newspaper article last year that said neighbors of the Honeymoon House are complaining because of all the loud parties that go on there!
The circular kitchen looks so “House of Tomorrow” – that obviously never happened, but is so cool !!
Fantastic website you have here – I am going to check out some of the other mid-century moderns you featured. Love the Honeymoon House! You can’t get much more Palm Springs than that!