Design Post Update

One of my favorite buildings to visit on my walks around the city is the Hotel de Salm home to the Legion of Honour Museum next to the Musee d'Orsay along the banks of the Seine. I've never been inside however despite a rather fascinating collection and renowned building. There are simply always more pressing things to do or it's just too lovely of a day to spend inside.

The entry court probably looks familiar to you as it has been copied in many forms in public buildings around the world.

 I've always admired the 1920s quiet beaux-arts entry to the museum which faces the d'Orsay.
The interiors are quite spectacular and date to the rebuilding of the structure in 1871 when it was burned during the Commune. How  I would have loved to have seen the original! What is it with the French burning their heritage every few decades?
The main salon seen in the image above and below is the center of the river facade, obviously with water views.
The image below taken after the Commune shows the burned shell. In the background you can see the opulent Palais d'Orsay which was also burned during the Commune and eventually replaced with the train station which now houses the famous art museum.  The burned palace sat unused for 30 years, a daily reminder of the civil war.
The Hotel de Salm may be relatively obscure to the common tourist but has inspired many of our most beloved public buildings and been nearly replicated many times, most notably at the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco, seen below and at my previous post HERE, and also at the Chateau de Rochefort en Yvelines (a few images below).  It was one of Thomas Jefferson's favorite buildings, aspects of which he incorporated into his own home at Monticello.
The odd thing to me about the Legion of Honor in San Francisco is that the main facade of the original in Paris which faces the Seine and is most widely known, is actually the back of the museum in San Francisco which no one ever sees (below).
The museum should really provide a more landscaped courtyard to the rear of the museum to take advantage of the beautiful structure.
One really senses the similarity of the buildings most through these aerial views (the Chateau de Rochefort en Yvelines seen below).
The French book L'hotel de Salm published by Monelle Hayot further details the existing building and opulent interiors should you be interested.
Most images are not my own.  To see accreditation please refer to the image file names.

I recently escaped the cold winter weather and explored (mostly) sunny Palm Springs, California. I say mostly because 1 of my 4 days there included an unusual gloomy, albeit warm, rainy day.
Known as the retreat of the Rat Pack and full of Mid-Century modern architecture, I was pleased to find some older buildings to interest the classicist in me.
The El Paseo building in the Uptown Design District was built in 1927 and is of the fitting Spanish style that fits so well with the sunny weather. White washed walls repel the strong sun and the clay tile roofs help to keep the roof ventilated and cool.
Across the street were a number of other interesting older Spanish buildings, full of charm. Of course I was mostly interested in the blue skies and warm air!
This building above directly across the street has seen better days but if you look past the broken windows and worn exterior the concrete structure is really beautiful. The antique shop inside is entertaining as well.
Of course when one thinks of Palm Springs one thinks of its' famous houses. Neutra's famous Kaufmann House from 1947 was an exciting find -click the link for a great tour at Architectural Digest.
Another fun find although on an entirely different level, was driving by Liberace's house below.  The Old Las Palmas neighborhood is full of beautiful mid-century houses and lush gardens.
Palm Springs is a surprisingly small town with the main activity (after golfing) being sitting Poolside.
I stayed at the beautiful Colony Palms Hotel and can't recommend it highly enough: both for style and most of all location.
Shopping is another popular past time particularly for vintage home goods (fun for me!). I have to recommend (the unfortunately named) Just Fabulous for its wonderful and stylish book collection and gifts just a block from the hotel.
I used the Elle Decor travel tips (very useful) to find a lot of the better vintage stores and weed out the junk (literally). The best string of about 5 shops I found thanks to that magazine are in a sort of run-down business park just outside of Palm Springs in Cathedral City adjacent to its best store, Hedge. I was a bit surprised to find the stores empty on a Saturday during the high season but after the shabby treatment I received in most of the shops (Hedge was moderately friendly) I wasn't so surprised.  After trying to get help in 2 (empty) shops to purchase something and receiving no recognition I just left with empty hands. More money to spend elsewhere!  Is it because I'm much under the average age in Palm Springs of 80?  I still have money to spend!
Shop owners beware; finding great merchandise is only 1/2 the battle.  Selling it to VERY willing customers is just as important! Customer service matters particularly with high end merchandise.

While in Palm Springs I spent a few days outside of the 'city' at a newly renovated resort from the golden age of Hollywood, La Quinta.
Built in 1926 it was said to be as far from Hollywood as an actor in the studio system could travel while on call. And they did come; Garbo was a regular as was Gable.
Frank Capra spent many summers at the resort with his wife, writing scripts for many of his award winning movies including It happened one night (one of my favorites), Mr. Smith goes to Washington, and It's a Wonderful Life (which I can't stand).
While the Hollywood history is interesting, one comes for the weather and mountain views.
The rooms are all individual casitas interwoven through beautiful gardens and interesting public spaces.
41 swimming pools and 53 hot tubs make sure that everyone gets their own personal space with mountain views and plenty of sunshine.
I loved this pergola with climbing roses right outside of my casita. I'll have to go back to see it in full bloom!
Even though roses weren't in season, there were still plenty of fragrant hangers on to admire.
Beautiful architecture, luxurious gardens, swimming pools, and Palm Springs weather; the La Quinta Resort is wintertime heaven on earth to this weary Washingtonian!

Nestled against the Parc Monceau in the chic 8th arrondissement is one of the most famous house museums of Paris, the Musee Nissim de Camondo managed by the musee des arts decoratifs (see my posts on that wonderful museum adjacent to the Louvre at the link). I had always wanted to visit this storied house but never had a chance until my last visit -I shouldn't have waited!
The story of this most elegant house however is a very sad one.The count's son died during WWI and he donated the house and his collections to the Decorative Arts museum in his son's honor which opened to the public in 1935. A few years later the remainder of his family were murdered at Auschwitz.  This is therefore not a happy family home but rather has survived as a testament to the endurance of this generous public donation, securing the Camondo legacy.

 Above you are standing at the front door of the house looking through the offices to the street.
I love the continuity of Parisian architecture: the same warm 'french grays' and blue-gray trim prevail throughout the city lending a cohesion to the disparate building styles.
 Notice the interesting Greek key base on the lanterns which light the courtyard above.
The backyard is rather formal, but who needs a backyard when you have private access to the Park Monceau!
The parterre were still beautiful despite their autumnal lack of color. Imagine being the gardener responsible for keeping all of this gravel raked and weed-free!
One gets a sense of the level of detail to the limestone facade when looking out the windows on the 2nd, or private, floor.
 Notice the netting to keep birds from nesting on the statuary.  I am normally against any sort of graffiti but I can't help but admire what some 'artist' had done to the building's mailbox on the street facade!
Next I will post some of my highlights on the much-published interiors. You may also want to check out the fantastic book, "The Camondo Legacy" by Jean-Marie del Moral if you can find a copy.
 As always, images in this post are my own.