The 1931 Aluminaire House, as The Architect’s Newspaper (AN) has reported, was left adrift in New York (its birth home) and then sent packing last week in a big rig to Palm Springs, California. The Lawrence Kocher and Albert Frey-designed house arrived safe and sound and was welcomed to Palm Springs in an official ceremony with dignitaries at the Albert Frey-designed Tramway Gas Station. While it’s sad to see the house leave New York, it does make sense for the all-metal structure to ‘retire’ to the sunny dry desert. Architects Michael Schwarting and Frances Campani worked for years to save the Aluminaire from destruction and oblivion, but when it became obvious that New York no longer wanted the structure and Palm Springs did, they decided to ship it to Frey’s long-time home on the desert.

The container holding the house will be parked on south Palm Canyon Drive throughout Modernism Week (which runs February 16 to 26). After Modernism Week concludes, the container will be stored in the Palm Springs City Yard. It is meant to be included in the plans for the new Downtown Park. Once the park is completed (date to be decided) and the site for Aluminaire prepared, the home will be reassembled and opened for the public to tour.