Tamarisk Gardens #5 70-152 Frank Sinatra Drive, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
A collaboration between builder Richard F. McCarthy, Jr. and architect J. Don Hartfelder, AIA, Tamarisk Gardens #5 is an example of modernist architecture expressed in a residential condominium complex. Constructed in 1965, Tamarisk Gardens #5 displays many of the characteristics of the Desert Modernist style including overall horizontality, massed geometric volumes, a flat roof, deep eaves, floor-to-ceiling glass, and a blurring of the indoor-outdoor transition. The #5 unit is one-quarter of a multi-family housing structure with the units of the fourplex fitting together like “puzzle pieces.” The entire Tamarisk Gardens complex consists of a total of 28 units (i.e., seven “fourplexes”) and includes a community pool.
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On July 29, 2026, PSPF submitted the historic resource nomination for Tamarisk Gardens #5 (1965, J. Don Hartfelder, AIA) to the city of Rancho Mirage. The 74-page nomination was prepared by PSPF board members Ron and Barbara Marshall.
