Our History

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Dr. Lowell John Bean (pictured to the left) was well regarded within the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians having been honored by former Tribal Chairman Richard Milanovich (right) for his work.  Dr. Bean arrived in the desert in 1958 as a graduate of anthropology from UCLA and spent his life learning (and writing) about  the Cahuilla people's customs and culture.

Dr. Bean once said, “historians, the public, and even anthropologists had viewed the California Indians as simplistic, primitive people.  And they weren’t.  It turned out these were very complex cultures with beautiful music, epic poetry, sophisticated social organization, and philosophical systems.”

Dr. Bean went on to write about all of those subjects in scores of books and papers, as well as matriculate to a teaching position at California State University, Hayward.

In 2008, Milanovich presented him with a ceremonial blanket traditionally given to important elders saying, “Dr. Bean, you have our respect and gratitude.”

Dr. Bean lived in Little Beverly Hills for the last thirty-four years.

This home was originally owned by Antone (Tony) Dalu.  Dalu was a prominent interior and landscape designer who was a contemporary of famed Palm Springs interior designer Arthur Elrod.  Records show Dalu doing business in Palm Springs as early as 1954 and by 1957 he was working with the Alexander Construction Company.  He was the interior designer for their Ocotillo Lodge and staged the Enchanted Village model home located at 640 Compadre Rd in Little Beverly Hills.  Dalu later worked with architect Hugh Kaptur, AIA, who designed The Palm Condos, also located in Little Beverly Hills.

Alta Lee Davis (and her husband Roy)  lived at 692 Roxbury Dr until her death in 2020.  While Mrs. Davis’ name may not be well known today, she was the Executive Assistant to Arthur Elrod, the famed interior designer.  Ms. Davis began working with Elrod in 1954, the year that he started his design firm in Palm Springs, and was employed for thirty-one years including approximately ten years after Elrod’s death when Steve Chase co-ran the Arthur Elrod Interior Design following his death.

Gale Eldridge resided at 634 Bedford Drive with his wife Emelina and three children (Gail, Donna and Bobby).  He was a patrolman with the Palm Springs Police Department for less than two years before tragically becoming the first police officer killed in the line of duty in the village.

His tragic murder was front page news in The Desert Sun following his death on Wednesday, January 18, 1961. While this was a tragedy for the small village, the community rallied behind the fallen officer's family, establishing the Gale Eldridge Fund which raised over $10,000 from ~350 individual contributions. It is believed that his family left their rental home shortly after Officer Eldridge's passing.

According to his family (as of 2013), his legacy continues, however, with four grandchildren, sixteen great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren. Eldridge was 32 years old.

This home was owned by Arnold "Buddy" Gillespie in the early 1960's.  Gillespie was a special effects artist for MGM from 1925-1962 and was nominated for thirteen Academy Awards including for The Wizard of Oz, Mrs. Miniver, Mutiny on the Bounty (1962), and won for his work on Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, Dolphin Street, and Ben Hur (1959).  His career with MGM spanned the 1925 and 1959 versions of Ben Hur and the 1935 and 1962 versions of Mutiny on the Bounty.

Actors Stacy Keach and his wife Jill Donahue lived at 690 Compadre Rd during their marriage from 1981-1986. 

Keach is an American actor who was active in theatre, film and television since the 1960s.  He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in Authur Kopit's 1969 production of Indians.  He appeared in films such as Fat City, Up in Smoke, Nice Dreams, among others.  Donohue is known for appearing in 13 Demon St, Winter A-Go-Go and Burke's Law.

This Alexander home (Suburba elevation) was originally owned by three time Olympic medalist Parry O'Brien.  O'Brien won the gold medal in shot put twice in 1952 and then again in 1956 (just prior to owning the home).  He also won the silver medal in 1960.  O'Brien was inducted into the IAAF and  US Olympic halls of fame.  Interestingly, he attended the University of Southern California at the same time as Robert Alexander and William Krisel.  Telephone directories indicate that O'Brien never lived in the home, but rather rented it (initially to William Podell and then to Police Officer Gale Eldridge) before he sold it in early 1963.

Harriet Oettinger Parsons (1906 – 1983) was an American film producer, actress, director, and magazine writer; one of the few female producers in the United States at the time.   She and her partner, Janet Wolfson, resided at 613 Beverly Dr.   Parsons was the daughter of the famous Hollywood gossip columnist, Louella Parsons. 

Among the more notable films produced by Harriet Parsons were ''I Remember Mama'' (1948); ''Enchanted Cottage'' (1945); ''Clash By Night'' (1952); ''Never A Dull Moment (1952), and ''Susan Slept Here'' (1954). Before becoming a movie producer, Harriet Parsons was a screen and magazine writer. She had her own radio program, ''Hollywood Highlights,'' in 1938.

Louella Parsons was the first American movie columnist and was retained by William Randolph Hearst because she had championed Hearst's mistress, Marion Davies.  Louella subsequently became an influential figure in Hollywood.  At her peak, her columns were read by 20 million people in 400 newspapers worldwide. Louella remained the unchallenged “Queen of Hollywood gossip” until the arrival of the flamboyant Hedda Hopper, with whom she feuded for years. 

This home has also hosted various celebrities and Coachella performers like Solange Knowles and Goldroom.

John (and Mary) Seamans was the original owner of this home.  John was a real estate agent representing the Alexander Construction Company for at minimum the Enchanted Village tract in Ramon Rise Estates (now Little Beverly Hills) - meaning that he not only sold the Alexander tract homes in the neighborhood but also resided here.  Real estate advertisements of this period reveal an office at 3175 East Ramon Road which was likely a temporary building as that address no longer exists (located on property now comprising The Palms Condos).

Howard Wiefels was the eleventh Mayor of Palm Springs from April 1967 through March 1974.  He was the original owner of 605 Roxbury Dr but did not reside in the property, instead owning the property as an investment property and renting the home out.

During his time as mayor, Wiefels was instrumental in the passage of Proposition R which provided funding for the following projects: Sunrise Park (including the PS Public Library, Leisure Center, The Pavilion, and the PS Swim Center) and Desert Highland Park (present day James O. Jessie Park including the community center, gymnasium and playground and baseball field).  Additionally, he and his brother were owners of Wiefels & Son - Palm Springs Mortuary which their grandfather had started.  The mortuary is still in business today and is located at 690 (formerly 666) Vella Road.