Barry's former Palm Springs abode

[Scooter]

https://bit.ly/2IGFc0p

Architectual Digest
October 19, 2020

Iconic Neutra-Designed Home Featured in Slim Aarons Photo Hits
the Market

The Kaufmann Desert House—once home to singer singer Barry
Manilow—is listed at $25 million

By Joyce Chen

One of legendary architect Richard Neutra’s iconic Palm
Springs, California, homes is on the market for a potentially
record-setting $25 million. The substantial price tag isn’t
without good reason, however. The property, known as the
Kaufmann Desert House, was immortalized in photographer Slim
Aarons’s popular 1970 photograph Poolside Gossip, and is
largely considered to be one of Neutra’s most recognizable
works. As a means of comparison, the most expensive property
ever sold in Palm Springs was owned by the late entertainer
Bob Hope and went for $13 million in 2016.

[snip of rest of article]
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There have been several owners, and an article on the KCET-TV
website says this about the house:

[snip to]

In 1968, the Linsks offered the house for sale for $350,000,
furnished. It was purchased by Eugene and Francis Klein,
owners of the San Diego Chargers, who sold the house in 1973
to entertainer Barry Manilow who owned it until 1993.

It is not known what changes were made by the Klein's, but of
the Manilow years, Beth Harris relates an amusing story.
Filmmaker John Waters visited Manilow at the house during his
ownership. Manilow had decorated the two guest bedrooms for
favored guests; one was actress/comedienne Susanne Somers --
the other was a male friend. Somers' suite was tricked out
with wallpaper, drapes, linens, and bed clothes done in a
famous Laura Ashley lavender floral print. The other guest
room was decorated with faux-marble wall coverings and stage-
set Roman columns. The interiors of the main house were also
extensively wall-papered. Years later, upon a return visit to
Palm Springs, Waters toured the Harris' extensive restoration,
remarking to Beth with an arch grin: "My dear, you've just
ruined the place!"

Barry Manilow ultimately moved into the old Walter
Braunschweiger Residence, a 1935 Spanish-style compound on a
private hilltop in the town's Mesa neighborhood, leaving the
Kaufmann desert house to sit empty for 3 ˝ years. His realtor
indicated that although the location and the site of the
Kaufmann house were spectacular, the house itself was no
longer considered valuable and the property was being sold
(ultimately at $1.5 million) as a tear-down.

[snip rest of article]
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Here's the Sotheby's listing with 28 gorgeous photos:

https://bit.ly/2TcN4bW

Not exactly a "tear down" any longer. ;^)

Scooter