Sinatra's Twin Palms Estate
1148 East Alejo Road, Palm Springs, CA 92262
The Story
A sailor cap, an ice cream cone, and a modernist landmark
In 1947, Frank Sinatra walked into the offices of architect E. Stewart Williams in Palm Springs wearing a white sailor cap and eating an ice cream cone, and asked him to build a Georgian-style mansion. Williams, to his eternal credit, refused. He showed Sinatra two drawings — the Georgian one and a single-storey modernist design — and Frank, who knew a good thing when he saw one even if he hadn't known he wanted it, chose the modern house. The result was Twin Palms, one of the founding landmarks of "desert modernism," that distinctively clean, horizontal, glass-and-steel style of architecture now synonymous with Palm Springs: 4,500 square feet, four bedrooms, floor-to-ceiling glass, and a piano-shaped swimming pool off the living room. Sinatra demanded the house be finished in time for a Christmas party he was planning. It was completed, just about, at a cost of $150,000.
" The piano shape, according to Williams, was accidental rather than a deliberate tribute to Frank's musicianship. Nobody has ever believed him.
The flag, the flood of Jack Daniel's, and the cracked sink
Sinatra planted a flagpole between the property's two signature palm trees and had a Jack Daniel's banner made. When the flag went up, the neighbours knew cocktail hour had begun. Sales of Jack Daniel's reportedly doubled in 1955 after Sinatra began calling it "the nectar of the gods." Not every evening ended so happily. The master bathroom still has a crack in the sink basin from a champagne bottle hurled during one of Frank and Ava Gardner's fights. Ava later recalled that it was the site of probably the most spectacular fight of their young married life — and, as she put it, she knew that was really saying something.
The strongest pedigree of any pool in Hollywood
Sinatra lived at Twin Palms from 1947 to 1954. Before selling the house, he rented it to Moss Hart, so that Hart and Judy Garland could work on rewriting A Star is Born — which means this pool has arguably the strongest pedigree of any private pool in Hollywood history. The estate is now available as a vacation rental through Natural Retreats, from around $2,600 per night for up to eight guests, and is filled with Sinatra memorabilia. It sits in the Movie Colony neighbourhood, within walking distance of homes once owned by Cary Grant, Jack Benny, and other old Hollywood neighbours.
Signature Experiences
The piano-shaped pool
The estate's most photographed feature, a swimming pool shaped unmistakably like a grand piano. According to architect E. Stewart Williams the shape was entirely accidental rather than a deliberate tribute to Frank's musicianship, though nobody has ever quite believed him.
Sinatra's original recording studio
The property still contains Sinatra's original recording studio, preserved as a relic of musical history. It remains in place but is not connected for use, which is probably for the best.
Private guided tours
Groups of twenty or more can arrange private guided tours of the estate. During Palm Springs Modernism Week, held annually in February, the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation runs popular public tours of the house.
Famous Connections
Who Came Here
Plan Your Visit
Good to Know
- How to Book: Book direct through naturalretreats.com, which manages the estate as a vacation rental and event venue. For the February public tours, check the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation during Modernism Week.
- Best Time: Palm Springs Modernism Week each February brings public tours of the estate run by the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation.
- Accessibility: Contact the venue directly to confirm access requirements.
- Tip: Twin Palms is rented privately rather than visited like a museum, but you can get inside in two ways: book it as a vacation rental, or time your trip for Palm Springs Modernism Week in February, when the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation runs public tours. Groups of twenty or more can also arrange a private guided tour. Bringing the dog is fine. Using the recording studio is not.
