Restoring Hope: The Restoration of the Bob & Dolores Hope House in Palm Springs, CA

In 1969, Bob and Dolores Hope commissioned architect John Lautner to design a new home for them on the highest building site in Palm Springs, CA. They had admired his recently completed home for designer Arthur Elrod on the same road, and asked Elrod to handle the interiors. Mrs. Hope envisioned “a modern Castle of Spain in Palm Springs”. It was conceived as a shelter from the sun and wind, with private family quarters on the upper floor, and a large entertainment space on the lower level —with 360 degree views. After many delays, the final design was started in 1977. The completed house was much different from Lautner’s original plan. In 1995, a new addition was added that further disrupted the original concept. In 2016, the house was purchased by Ron Burkle with the goal of bringing the property back closer to Lautner’s original intent. He hired Lautner’s long time chief architect, Helena Arahuete —who was the original project architect in 1977, and Tim Gleason to handle the restoration. The extensive 2.5 year project has brought back the Lautner magic. Tim Gleason will discuss the history of the project and show many details of the completed home.

Tim Gleason is a Designer, craftsman, consultant and curator with 30+ years experience in architectural preservation, and the decorative arts field. He has helped form some of the most comprehensive collections of 20th century design in America. Tim founded the Tim Gleason Gallery in New York City in 1994. He was the contributing editor for NEST: A Quarterly of Interiors from 1998 - 2004, and is the curator of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis House in Los Angeles, CA. He was the project manager and designer for the restoration of the Hope House, Palm Springs, CA. Since 1994, Tim has been a curator and consultant for Crab Tree Farm Foundation in Lake Bluff, IL- one of the most comprehensive collections of English and American Decorative Arts and currently serves on the Council for American Art at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C.

Free and open to the public.

Organized as part of the Preservation Lecture Series, an initiative of the Historic Preservation Program at Columbia GSAPP.