“We also had to reassess the structure — we’re now in earthquake country and in a very challenging desert environment [...] To make this a permanent installation, we had to work with the city to assess how to permit it. We couldn’t classify it as a habitable structure because that would trigger the ADA and energy requirements, so we had to classify it as an exhibit." — Palm Springs Life
The house had sat dormant in a Long Island storage facility until its relocation was finally worked out in March of 2015. Site preparations took until last year to commence after the museum added the house to its permanent collection in 2020. The entire 37-year process earned an Advocacy Citation of Merit at the 2024 Modernism in America Awards last month.
"We understand that frustration, but we would have had to have made the entire structure accessible and install an elevator," Marmol explained of the exhibition's limitations. "It’s tiny, the stairs are too narrow and steep, the doors are too narrow. There was no way to comply with ADA accessibility and fire safety codes without redesigning the entire house."
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I lived in Palm Springs for over 15 years and have visited many of its historic homes. I recently spent some time looking at this "exhibit" and Frey's show at the museum. Although I fully understand the permit issues, I was disappointed that I could not experience the interior spaces. Perhaps the Palm Springs Art Museum could install an interactive kiosk on the site so that people could explore the spaces inside, regardless of their current renovation.
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