Building History

Film studio owner Walter Elias Disney (1901-1966) became a member at Smoke Tree Ranch in 1946, and commissioned Palm Springs architect William F. Cody (1916-1978) to design his first vacation residence there in 1948 (See D23.com, "Walt's Hidden Hideaway," published 11/16/2011, accessed 04/26/2018.) Disney was forced to sell this property in 1954, as he sold assets to enable him to open Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, in 1955.

Disney returned to Smoke Tree Ranch in 1957, building a second vacation residence there flush with the profits gained from Disneyland's phenomenal success.

Building Notes

According to his biographer, Michael Barrier, Disney first began vacationing in Palm Springs, CA, circa 1938. (See Michael Barrier, The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney, [Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007], p. 134.) During his early visits to the desert, he came to play polo with other Hollywood figures who congregated there.

PCAD id: 21971