Tiki-themed condo complex gets historic designation

The whimsical Polynesian “Tiki” design at the Royal Hawaiian Estates in Palm Springs, built in 1961-62, includes “flying seven” buttresses. The City Council voted to make the condo complex a historic district. (Wade Byars The Desert Sun)

Residents of the Royal Hawaiian Estates condominium complex in south Palm Springs now can boast living in the city's first residential historic district, too. With a 4-1 vote Wednesday, the City Council designated the 1962 Polynesian-themed complex, designed by famed modern architects Donald Wexler and Richard Harrison, a historic district as Wexler looked on from the audience. Councilman Chris Mills dissented.

Palm Springs has more than 50 Class One historic designated sites, according to a Palm Springs Preservation Foundation guide, but the city has only one other known historic district: The 1986 Las Palmas Business Historic District, which city officials uncovered last year.

Royal Hawaiian Estates, at the corner of South Palm Canyon and East Twin Palm drives, marks Palm Springs' first residential historic district.

The 12-building, 40-unit complex features the popular Polynesian architecture that took off in the mid-century, post-war United States, according to the Royal Hawaiian Estates' official Web site. Wooden tiki-style adornments, and unique “flying sevens” design buttresses dot the complex.

Bill Lewallen, a representative of the complex's homeowners association, started the application nine years ago when he learned the board intended to remove the flying sevens, according to Palm Springs Preservation Foundation President Ron Marshall.

A petition included in a city staff report showed 30 owners of the 40 units signed on in support of the designation. Director of Planning Services Craig Ewing said he was unaware of any opposition, and in November the complex's HOA president, Ed Paquette, put support closer to 90 percent of the residents.

With the council's vote, Royal Hawaiian Estates owners now can seek tax-reducing opportunities under the state's Mills Act, which covers historic properties.

“This is the type of historic preservation that we need in Palm Springs,” Mayor Pro Tem Rick Hutcheson said at Wednesday's meeting. He called it a “bottom-up” approach initiated by property owners.

The move also could bolster the effort for more Palm Springs historic residential districts.

Historic Tennis Club Neighborhood Organization President Frank Tysen said he was encouraged by Royal Hawaiian Estates' designation as he works to establish a district in his neighborhood.

The neighborhood organization discussed the prospect at its annual gathering Monday, Tysen said.

“I think we're going to go about it a little differently” since Historic Tennis Club is a broader neighborhood with an eclectic mix of architectural styles, Tysen said.

Owners of key properties in the neighborhood might apply for historic designation, instead of “blanketing” the entire neighborhood under a district, Tysen said. “We have quite a few people already who have expressed interest in doing it,” he added.