ESTATE BOUGAINVILLEA

OVER FIFTY YEARS AGO, A FAMILY FROM PASADENA, WILLIAM AND CLARA BURGESS DISCOVERED A ROAD THAT ALLEGEDLY HAD BEEN BUILT BY PRISON LABOR UP THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN BEHIND THE ORIGINAL DESERT INN IN PALM SPRINGS. A SHELF WAS BLASTED OUT OF THIS MOUNTAIN FOR A WEEKEND HIDEAWAY. A CABANA WAS CONSTRUCTED CONSISTING OF A SMALL BEDROOM, BATH, KITCHEN AND LIVING ROOM WITH PART OF THE MOUNTAIN INSIDE THE HOME. FOR TEN YEARS THE ONLY ACCESS TO THE PROPERTY WAS A CLIMB UP 50 STONE STEPS, WHICH STILL EXISTS TODAY, FROM THE ROAD BELOW.

THE HOUSE HAS APPROXIMATELY 3,000 SQ.FT. OF FLOOR SPACE WITH AN ADDITIONAL 2,500 SQ.FT. OF ROOF OVERHANG AS PROTECTION FROM THE SUN.

ALL OF THE EXTERIOR WALLS OF THE HOUSE AND GUEST HOUSE ARE EITHER GLASS OR MIRROR, REFLECTING THE SURROUNDING ROCK WALLS AND DISTANT MOUNTAINS, GIVING THE ILLUSION OF BEING PART OF THE SURROUNDING AREAS. INTERIOR MIRRORS IN THE HOUSE SERVE A SIMILAR PURPOSE.

A NORWEGIAN MASON, OLAV ENGUM, WAS THE PROPERTY’S SCULPTOR FOR 25 YEARS, USING PNEUMATIC JACKHAMMERS TO BREAK UP THE ROCK AND GRANITE AROUND THE HOUSE WHILE EXPANDING THE PATIO. OLAV WAS FOLLOWED BY ASAN ASANI, A VERY TALENTED “ROCK” MAN FROM MACEDONIA WHO, FOR 20 YEARS, COMPLETED THE STONE WORK, WATERFALLS, OUTSIDE SHOWER, STONE STEPS AND A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE ITALIAN PERLOTTA MARBLE ON FLOORS AND WALLS USED INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE HOUSE.

ALBERT FREY DESIGNED THE GUEST HOUSE. IT MEASURES 600 SQ.FT. AND WAS ADDED ON A SMALL PAD OF BLASTED GRANITE

BOTH IRON AND MANGANESE ARE PRESENT IN THE GRANITE OF THE MOUNTAIN. OVER THE AGES, THE IRON HAS OXIDIZED, RESULTING IN A DARK COLORING OF THE SURFACE OF THE ROCK. THE MANGANESE, BLOWN ONTO THE SURFACE OF THE GRANITE BY DESERT DUST, ALSO HAS OXIDIZED, GIVING THE GRANITE AN ALMOST BLACK COLOR, NOTABLY IN THE LIVING ROOM WHERE THE BACK AREA NEAR THE PIANO WAS STAINED BROWN SINCE IT WAS NEVER EXPOSED TO THE ELEMENTS. UNDERNEATH THE GRANITE IS GREY. THAT IS WHY THE RETAINING WALLS ARE GREY.

THERE IS AN EXTENSIVE COLLECTION OF LARGE URNS FROM AROUND THE WORLD, INCLUDING BOTH ANTIQUE AND CONTEMPORARY JARS. THERE ARE WINE JARS FROM THE PHILIPPINES, A FRENCH JAR USED ON SLAVE SHIPS OVER 300 YEARS AGO, DECORATIVE JARS FROM ITALY AND MEXICO. THE ANTIQUE GREEK JARS ARE NATIONAL TREASURES THAT WERE SMUGGLED OUT BY GYPSIES. MR. BURGESS WAS PROUD TO CALL HIMSELF THE LARGEST COLLECTOR OF URNS, SINCE HE IS THE ONLY COLLECTOR.

TODAY, THIS UNIQUE PROPERTY HAS NEW OWNERS WHO HAVE LOVINGLY RESTORED IT AND PAY TRIBUTE TO THEIR FRIENDS, WILLIAM AND CLARA BURGESS, BY CARRYING ON MANY OF THEIR TRADITIONS.