Written on 1/3/20 by Erik Rosenow, past President of the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation
While mid-century architects in Palm Springs such as Donald Wexler, William Cody, and Albert Frey have been celebrated for years, it was only recently that Hugh Kaptur’s work began to share the spotlight. Beginning his career with the firm of Wexler – Harrison and quickly departing on his own, Kaptur is the last living architect of the canon who practiced in that era.
2019 began with a one-two punch of Kaptur-mania. The Palm Springs Art Museum’s Architecture and Design Center hosted the exhibition “Hugh Kaptur: Organic Desert Architecture” while the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation published Steven Keylon’s tome The Modern Architecture of Hugh Michael Kaptur. While Kaptur began with more traditional modernist post-and-beam structures, he evolved into an organic style that paid homage to ancient American styles of architecture.
The Purcell Residence, which hides in the Mesa district at 389 West Crestview, marks this departure and is in an intriguing Pueblo style. Built in 1969, it led to a decade of building in more solid forms. Clearly, this was a departure from the more traditional modernist architecture prevalent in Palm Springs at the time.
Hugh Kaptur Purcell Residence
Kaptur continues his fascination with these organic forms with Fire Station #4, which is at 1300 S La Verne. It was inspired by the Mayan temples of Mexico. Built in 1971, it was recently restored and expanded with the guidance of Kaptur. Its reopening was celebrated during the Modernism Week Fall Preview in October 2019.
Hugh Kaptur Fire Station #4
Kaptur Plaza (formerly Tahquitz Plaza) sits between 600 and 750 East Tahquitz Canyon Drive and was built between 1974 and 1977. This building really galvanized the appreciation for Kaptur’s work a few years back when it was threatened with demolition. With the help of the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation, the building was quickly designated a Class One Historic Site with the City of Palm Springs. Today, it is a hotbed of activity with a thriving coffee shop, a recently opened wine bar, and other local businesses.
Hugh Kaptur Plaza, or Formerly Tahquitz Plaza
To honor Hugh Kaptur’s work, the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation spearheaded a campaign to rename the street adjacent to Kaptur Plaza as Hugh M Kaptur Way. His work continues to astound, and with more Kaptur-related events planned for Modernism Week 2020, we will continue to celebrate this iconic architect.
Hugh M Kaptur Way
