RANCHO MIRAGE - WEXLER

For the past 2 1/2 years we have been looking for a weekend house in either Palm Springs or Rancho Mirage, CA. We wanted a house we would be excited about as a destination. Unfortunately, there are many faux Spanish places in the desert and our dream was to have a "modern" (what is laughingly referred to as Mid-Century - meaning 50's) place. Each time we saw a place we liked it was more often designed by Donald Wexler, who was among a few others, an important architect in that area. Unfortunately, those houses were beyond our budget and they are rare in Rancho Mirage. Matthew spotted it on the internet before it actually was in the listings and had been owned by a woman since '57. As the actress Bette Davis would say, "She died"! We bid and the heirs accepted. Googling Wexler, I discovered he was from my home town of Minneapolis. I wrote to him in Palm Springs and asked if either he or an associate would consider consulting with us on the restoration of the house. It had been untouched since '57. Surprisingly he called and invited us to lunch just this past week. He and his associate came to the house and Lance, his associate wunderkind, will work with us on the restoration. But! it also seems that Mr. Wexler, who is now 84, and I went to the same Grade school, Junior High and High school. It is Fate....Destiny....Bishert. It will be a stimulating creative project. So y'all come. (only bring you own liquor please)