When crooner Frank Sinatra made his first million dollars and moved to Palm Springs in 1947, he asked architect E. Stewart Williams to build him an impressive Georgian-style mansion with a brick facade. But Williams insisted that Sinatra would be happier in a desert-modern-style home.
“Ol’ Blue Eyes” agreed to Williams' Twin Palms concept—a sprawling 4,500-square-foot house with four bedrooms (including a master suite that occupies its own wing), seven bathrooms, and a piano-shaped swimming pool off the living room. When completed, the chic estate set the standard for mid-20th century Hollywood glamour with its low, rectangular wings, flat roof, and massive sliding glass doors integrating indoors and outdoors.
During the nine years Sinatra lived here, Twin Palms hosted two of the crooner’s wives, Nancy Barbato and Ava Gardner, and a bevy of Hollywood celebrities. The house's exterior appeared in the 1950 film The Damned Don't Cry starring Joan Crawford, and its sleek lines and smooth surfaces were famously photographed by Julius Shulman.
For Sinatra, Twin Palms was also his escape from Hollywood's gossip and glitter—he even installed a sound studio so he could make voice recordings without leaving the property. But despite his desire for seclusion, Sinatra also loved a good party. The Rat Pack singer would hoist a Jack Daniels emblem flag between his yard's two palm trees to alert neighbors when cocktail hour had begun.
To see this legendary home, gather up your club, organization, or 20 of your best friends for a 45-minute private, guided tour. Or, for the ultimate "I Did It My Way" experience, rent the house for an unforgettable dinner party, wedding, photo shoot, or weekend getaway. In addition to the main house filled with exquisite period furnishings, there's also a kitchenette-equipped pool house and an expansive patio with room for outdoor entertaining and lounging.
